The Cultural Construction Of Black Trauma In August Wilson’s Plays

August Wilson (1945-2005) is acclaimed as the most important blackplaywright in contemporary American literature. His fame mainly comes from histen-play cycle which records African American experience in the20thcentury. Hishistorical cycle demonstrates his keen interest in re-writing African American historyand disseminating African American culture.Black trauma is a recurrent theme in August Wilson·s plays. Employing JeffreyC. Alexander·s theory of cultural trauma as the framework and focusing on four ofWilson·s plays, this dissertation explores August Wilson·s cultural construction ofblack trauma and demonstrates the means, the nature, and the significance of his blacktrauma construction.In his plays, August Wilson configures four types of black trauma, namelyphysical trauma, familial trauma, racial trauma, and historical trauma, and postulatesrespective healing strategies. These black traumas are, in essence, constructed byWilson as cultural trauma, which facilitates Wilson·s reconstruction of AfricanAmerican history and revision of African American identity.Starting with an appraisal of Wilson·s achievements and cultural vision, theintroduction postulates the definitions of various types of trauma and Alexander·stheory of cultural trauma, which will benefit the study of Wilson·s black traumaconstruction. A critical review of Wilson·s plays at home and abroad is also conductedin this section. In addition, the argument and the organization of this dissertation areintroduced and this section ends with an overview of all the chapters so that readersmight be better informed of the major contents of this dissertation.Chapter One explores Wilson·s representation of black physical trauma in TwoTrains Running. The self-inflicted scars and the head injuries respectively articulateAfrican Americans· urgent demand for self-definition and assertion of black rights.Wilson believes spiritual nurturing from black wisdom can alleviate AfricanAmericans· anguish externalized in their physical wounds. Through the construction of black physical trauma, Wilson reconstructs African American history as both atraumatic and a struggling history and redefines African Americans as victims andwarriors, hence revising both African American history and African Americanidentity.Chapter Two studies Wilson·s configuration of black familial trauma in Fences.With an introspective vision, August Wilson postulates transgenerational trauma asthe mirror of thwarted self-fulfillment and marital trauma as the reflection of blackgender conflict to unveil the blacks· internal oppression, which Wilson believes,conspires with racism to hamper African Americans· identity formation andself-fulfillment. Wilson prescribes forgiveness as the remedy for blacks· internaltraumatization. With black familial trauma, August Wilson ascribes responsibilities tothe blacks for their thwarted identity construction and self-actualization.Chapter Three examines Wilson·s conceptualization of black racial trauma inKing Hedley II. White racism frustrates African Americans· pursuit of AmericanDream and the blacks· self-resentful black-on-black violence threatens AfricanAmerican existence. To heal black racial trauma, Wilson proposes three dimensions ofrenewal: the social improvement initiated by the white, the change in the blackpeople·s mentality, and the regeneration of the black community. Through black racialtrauma, Wilson condemns racism, warns against blacks· senseless violence, and callsfor progress.Chapter Four investigates Wilson·s dramatization of black historical trauma inGem of the Ocean. Slavery and the Great Migration are constructed as the originaltraumatic experiences that haunt contemporary African American people. To healblack historical trauma, Wilson contends that only through establishing theirconnection to their near ancestors, to the black community, and to the South canAfrican Americans reconnect themselves to their African ancestry. With blackhistorical trauma, Wilson highlights the redemptive power of African Americanhistory and culture.This dissertation concludes that with drama as the medium, Wilson conducts acultural construction of African Americans· physical trauma, familial trauma, racial trauma, and historical trauma. His ultimate purpose is to make these traumas entercontemporary African Americans· collective consciousness and rebuild theircollective memory so as to facilitate their identification of these traumas as theircultural traumas. This cultural construction of black trauma helps fulfill Wilson·saspirations to restore African Americans· lost memory of a collective past, toreconstruct African American history, and to redefine African American identity. Withhis postulated healing strategies, Wilson performs the role of a cultural healer. In thisprocess, he has also accomplished self-healing.