The layers of trauma narratives as seen in Junot Díaz’s The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao are well examined by this study. For this purpose, it employs Spatial Criticism and psychoanalytic theories to analyze the characters in the novel, their past lives and the narrative structure so that their manifestations of trauma can be understood. The study examines trauma as a psychological injury that distorts the victim’s perception of reality usually appearing through nightmares and repetitive behaviors. In particular, the study utilizes psychoanalytical ideas on trauma with specific reference to the characters’ previous traumas which dictate their current lives. It also explores how trauma is synthesized across generations, relying on Dominick LaCapra’s division of primary and secondary accounts. The story itself is an instance of trauma considered as a case in hand; Díaz represents a second-hand witness who attempts to reconstruct the pain experienced by his predecessors. The paper ends with a conclusion that asserts that The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao happens to be a strong account of trauma showing the complicated ways through which collective and self-identities are molded by traumatic incidents and transmitted over time.
