hhhAnalysis of the Structure of Trauma in David Diop's Novel "Brother of Soul" Through the Lens of Slavoj Žižek's Theories

مطالعات زبان و ترجمه

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript, Available Online from 07 August 2025

Document Type: Research Article

DOI: 10.22067/lts.2025.92431.1332

Authors

Vahid NEJAD MOHAMMAD^* ; Ali Jabbari Khameneh

University of Tabriz

Abstract

Literature is filled with concepts and themes portraying social events and individual narratives. The effect caused by Trauma on individuals and societies is self-evident, and telling of the internal and identity-related transformations within the fabric of social realities. The article at hand examines the novel “Brother of Soul” by the contemporary French Author, David Diop, through the analytical lens of the contemporary philosopher, Slavoj Žižek. The main focus of this paper is the structure of trauma in the novel and its impact on the protagonist, Alpha Ndiaye, a Senegalese soldier in World War I. Using Žižek's key concepts, such as "the Real", "the Symbolic", and "Object petite a”, the text analyzes how the characters deal with the trauma of war and its impact on their identity and relationship with the "other" within social interactions. It also demonstrates how the trauma of war, as a "Real Event" disrupts the Symbolic Orde

Keywords

Trauma; Novel; Identity; Žižek; Diop

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