Published Paper Details:

In the aftermath of large-scale crises--whether historical or contemporary--literature becomes a powerful space to record, remember, and reimagine trauma. This paper explores trauma as a literary theme through a comparative analysis of Toni Morrison's Beloved and Ling Ma's Severance. Both novels, although written in different cultural and temporal contexts, examine how individuals and communities attempt to survive the invisible wounds inflicted by slavery and pandemics. Drawing from trauma theory, particularly the ideas of Cathy Caruth and Dominick LaCapra, and this study explores how memory, silence, and disassociation are key indicators of unresolved trauma. In Beloved, Morrison focuses on the haunting legacy of slavery, where Sethe's personal history becomes a site of collective racial memory. In contrast, Severance engages with the trauma of a global pandemic, where the protagonist Candace drifts through an eerily empty world, representing emotional numbness in modern capitalist society. The paper argues that while Morrison's novel engages with generational trauma rooted in historical injustice, Ma's work addresses contemporary anxieties shaped by disconnection, routine, and crisis fatigue. Despite their differences, both narratives foreground the psychological scars that outlive the event itself, stressing the urgent need for healing, community, and remembrance. Through this comparative lens, the paper demonstrates that literature remains a critical medium for articulating unspeakable pain, thus affirming the resilience of the human spirit amidst social and existential disruptions.