Traumatic Discourse in Scholastique Mukasonga’s Cockroaches and Illuminée Nganemariya’s Miracle in Kigali

Abstract

This study examines the traumatic journeys of Scholastique Mukasonga in Cockroaches and Illuminée Nganemariya in Miracle in Kigali. The thematic focus of these literary tests explicates the challenges faced by these authors and how they have affected their sociological and psychological wellbeing. 1994 in Rwanda, a genocide presumed to be one of the deadliest attacks on the human race occurred, its effects spanning every sphere: political, religious, economic and educational sectors since its occurrence. The resulting violence and its lingering traumatic effects have spanned over three decades of literary discussions. Some Rwandans documented their experiences before, during and after the Genocide. This study adopts trauma theory as a theoretical framework for the interpretive analysis of the prose narratives. These literary narrations exposed the extent of the violence and its lasting traumatic effects on the people. This study foregrounds that literary works are used as post-conflict peace-building materials; they are information materials to the public and a means of offloading burdens to the writers.