A Study of Transgenerational Trauma in Abulhawa’s The Blue between Sky and Water

Since the mid-twentieth century, the world has witnessed heartrending tragedies in Palestine, where Palestinians have been subjected to ruthless massacres, enforced abductions, torture and sexual exploitation by Israelis. Consequently, Palestinians’ minds are teemed with worries, doubts, and uncertainties about the future as a result of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) which is passed on to the succeeding generations. This study deals with the issue of the same transgenerational trauma in the Palestinians as a result of traumatic events of Naqba 1948 in Susan Abulhawa’s The Blue between Sky and Water. The theoretical framework of the study is Atkinson’s transgenerational theory in which Atkinson investigates how literature explicates trauma transmission mechanisms and the cultural circumstances that give birth to them and have long-term consequences. The findings of the textual analysis of this research contain the Palestinians' painful experiences, apprehensions, persistent victimisation and severity etc which are carried down to their descendants via colonization.