An Examination of Writings on Trauma in Nigerian Literature: An Analysis of Helon Habila’s waiting for an Angel and Elnathan John’s born on a Tuesday

Abstract

This paper, An Examination of Writings on Trauma in Nigerian Literature: An Analyses of Helon Habila’s waiting for an Angel and Elnathan John’s Born on a Tuesday, examines trauma writings in literature and attempted the analysis of Helon Habila’s Waiting for an Angel, and Elnathan John’s Born on a Tuesday. By using the trauma theory as a tool which is an orientation of the Freudian psychoanalysis theory, the research dealt with the vagaries inherent in the works of Nigerian writers with focus on the two text novels under review. It is found that trauma exists in Nigerian literature and writers of every era exhibit the ills that the society experiences both natural and manmade. Most importantly is the manmade actions brought about by the leaders of our society. These ills include poverty, unemployment, irresponsible governments, dictatorship, terrorism, poor infrastructure, sectionalism and nepotism. The research concluded that Nigerian writers have acknowledged the experiences of the Nigerian society and thus have been a mouthpiece and a voice of the voiceless.