Memory, Women and War, Critical reflections on TADJO’S the shadow of ImanaTravels in the heart of Rwanda and Adichie’s half of a yellow sun

Abstract

This thesis sought to examine memory, women and war in Adichie‘s Half of a Yellow Sun and Tadjo‘s The Shadow of Imana ; Travels in the heart of Rwanda. The study is a qualitative one which is based on textual, content and critical analysis. The study also focused on the ways in which characters and the processes of characterization help us reflect on the broad themes of traumatic remembrances of war and its consequences on individual characters and the society as a whole. Adichie‘s novel is a historical fiction based on the Nigeria civil war whereas Tadjo‘s explores memoir in writing about the Rwandan‘s genocide. The psychoanalytic theory of trauma is used in the analysis and discussion of the texts. A critical analysis of the texts reveals major themes such as violence against women, displacement, fragmentation as a consequence of war, and role change of women as some of the traumatic issues that women encountered in these novels. Again, it is clear from the analysis that victims who are able to retell their experiences are the ones that easily overcome their trauma. The study is further a pointer to the observation that although women have often been portrayed as victims in literary texts, they are beginning to challenge these stereotypical images of themselves by asserting themselves even in the midst of tragedies such as war.