Representation of War Trauma in Hanif’s Red Birds

Abstract

After the two World Wars, several authors have focused a significant portion of their literary works on the subject of war trauma. Muhammad Hanif is widely known for his contribution to war writing. This study's primary goal is to identify war trauma in the Hanif book that was chosen. Red Birds (2018), his masterwork, was chosen by the researcher for research. By using Freud's Psychoanalysis Theory (1901) and Caruth's Trauma Theory (1996) the researcher has examined this book. The researcher discovered that the novel's protagonists have mental illnesses brought on by the conflict. Several different things can induce mental disturbances. These elements include overkill bombing, a lack of essential services in conflict areas, homelessness, the murder and kidnapping of family members, and excessive bombardment. Also, the study discovered that the war victims are dealing with inferiority complexes and that this mental disease prompted self-shattering. Children and adults respond to combat trauma in different ways. When compared to the adult characters in the novels, children are far more influenced. The trauma of war has profound and enduring repercussions on children. The individuals in the book are afflicted with a variety of psychiatric disorders as a result of this battle trauma. This study demonstrates how extensively the impacts of war trauma on the lives of the characters are shown in Hanif's work.