The Role of Trees in Representing Collective Memory of Trauma in Mornings in Jenin

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Department of English, Miyaneh Branch, Islamic Azad University, Miyaneh, Iran

2 Department of English Language and Literature, Miyaneh Branch, Islamic Azad University, Miyaneh, Iran

Abstract

Morningsin Jenin by Susan Abulhawa is an individual story grounded in history. The traumatic events of 1948, Nakba, led to the characters’ displacement and exile. This rupture from homeland which is the turning point of the novel entails the consequent tragic events. For Palestinians, the Nakba is memorialized as the tragic uprooting of a long history of Palestinian culture and society, the paramount trauma shaping calls for a homeland, the injustice demanding a right for return. Displacement and the absence of man-land relationship is at the centre of this novel.Collective memory is understood here as a response to and a symptom of a rupture, a lack, an absence. This paper through descriptive-analytical methos and by applying cultural trauma theory and the concepts of collective memory attempts to prove that trees have significant metonymic and symbolic function in forming Palestinian collective memory and identity in Mornings in Jenin. Olive trees are especially emphasized in this context which acts as the symbol of resistance and perseverance and also bears witness to Palestinian trauma. In Abulhawa’s representations of trees, one finds threads of nostalgic recollection which are the articulations of discontent with status quo.

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Main Subjects

Research in Narrative Literature

Articles in Press, Corrected Proof
Available Online from 19 February 2025

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