The language of trauma in Arundhati Roy's "The God of Small Things"

This dissertation explores the representation of trauma in Arundhati Roy’s novel The God of Small Things, focusing on the context in which the book is set, the psychological dynamics faced by the characters, and the language with which the trauma is narrated. Through the analysis of the events that the protagonists experience, both personal and collective, emerges the mechanism of an iterative distress, which is not integrated by their mind, and for this reason causes the typical symptomatology of the victims of traumas. These symptoms are rendered by the author through many narrative techniques, such as a fragmented narration, elision and repetition. In addition, this thesis evidences how a postcolonial setting permitted to Roy to face this silenced reality of India, making the reader recognize as a witness the aftermaths of this historical subjugation.