Abstract
War is the greatest source of violence in the world. It is the most disastrous expression of tendencies to violence innate to human nature. Iraq has suffered for a long time from the repercussions of war and violence and in this country ravaged by war trauma; the only space left for memory has been literature. Personal and political traumas have characterized the works of Iraqi writers who have been either victims of traumatic experience themselves or have been firsthand witnesses to trauma in Iraq. Literature provides them with an avenue to reclaim the humanity of all those who have been traumatized by the violence represented by war. Drawing on the theory of trauma, the paper seeks to explore the notions of war trauma and violence in Sinan Antoon's novel The Corpse Washer (2014) that reveals Iraq’s traumatic and violent history. The paper examines the ways in which the novel bears witness to, protests against and exposes the devastating effects of war and violence.
Highlights
Iraq is a million broken mirrors scattered across a desert crushed by Rome’s hooves
Jawad has a unique understanding of the war in Baghdad
The protagonist, and most of the characters in the novel are traumatized by the experience of war
Summary
Iraq is a million broken mirrors scattered across a desert crushed by Rome’s hooves. Blind barbarians must look for the pieces and wipe the blood off them without being devoured by the wolves, which howl and growl on both sides. The world has become an ever more violent place; the growth of ethnic and sectarian conflicts and the rise of extremist movements have increasingly trapped people in unending chaos and violence.i Iraq has suffered from a long history of war and violence that has deeply affected generations of Iraqis. It has suffered from violent and recurrent change: the military coup of 1968 that put the Ba’th party and Saddam Hussein into power (1968– 2003), the long and brutal war with Iran from 1980 to1988, the two Gulf wars of 1991 and 2003, a thirteen year economic embargo, and the post 2003 invasion and occupation era.ii. It investigates the ways in which Antoon exposes the traumatic effects of war and violence
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