Trauma, music and resilience in Butterfly Burning, Crocodile Burning and Dog Eat Dog

Abstract

This study critically examines how traumatised characters in the selected novels Butterfly Burning, (Vera, 1998), Crocodile Burning (Williams, 1992), and Dog Eat Dog (Mlongo, 2004) have experienced resilience as a coping mechanism to deal with trauma using music as therapy on their own. Two theories; trauma and resilience were used as a way of accounting for the challenges, realities and hopes faced by the characters in the selected novels. This thesis argues that using trauma and resilience theories could provide a rich insight into the novels. African literature may genuinely represent the painful reality of life and how ordinary people resiliently tackle these obstacles by balancing these two ideas. The research found that the selected novels Butterfly Burning, (Vera, 1998), Crocodile Burning (Williams, 1992), and Dog Eat Dog (Mlongo, 2004) clearly capture the different forms of trauma endured by the characters. Furthermore, the research revealed the characters' resilience ability in dealing with the terrible events they encounter.