Narratives of War: Decoding Trauma and Silence in Jean Arasanayagam's 'In the Garden Secretly'

Narratives play a vital role in the representation and exploration of the psychological trauma one receives from war. In the context of the Sri Lankan civil war, Jean Arasanayagam’s writings act as a space where the writer presents the psychological impact of war on her and the public involved. Ethnic violence has been a recurrent theme in Arasanayagam’s writings; one such text is the short story collection In the Garden Secretly and Other Short Stories. This paper seeks to analyze the title story by focusing on the narrative of war trauma. The paper will focus on the elements the writer employs to showcase war trauma. The paper aims to address the following question: What is the impact of war on both the attackers and the attacked? How does the writer use symbolism to express the physical and mental destruction caused by war? What role do beliefs play in times of war and unrest? Arasanayagam’s narratives are testaments to the trauma of war, which spares no one; such narratives provide a space for reflection as well as healing. Keywords: trauma; civil war; memory; psychology; narratives