Belatedness and Testimony: A Trauma Studies Perspective of Omar Mohamed's When Stars Are Scattered

This paper analyses the portrayal of trauma and displacement in When Stars Are Scattered, a graphic memoir by Omar ohamed, in the light of Caruth, Felman and Laub’s trauma theory. The narrative shows the fragmented nature of traumatic memory, which could be aligned with Caruth’s claim that trauma cannot be fully absorbed into consciousness immediately after the event. The oncept of belatedness and testimony put forth by Caruth and Laub is applied to the text, bringing out the instances where the protagonist relives the traumatic experience through nightmares. By analyzing the visual elements of the novel, the study highlights the outstanding quality of graphic narratives in portraying the complex emotional states of the characters.