Cuerpos en tránsito y violenciaactivismo literario de Edwidge Danticat y Junot Díaz

Abstract

The Caribbean has a bitter history of state violence (colonisation, dictatorships, gender violence, racism, denial of citizenship…), political amnesia and traumatic silences. These circumstances haunt the works of Caribbean writers, especially the ones born in The Hispaniola, as well as their public appearances. This study examines the three sources of violence and trauma that permeate the past and present of Caribbean-American people: historical amnesia, political pressure and community dislocation. It causes a sense of disconnection that takes the form of silence as its main post-traumatic stress disorder symptom. However, this study proves that voicing memory from the perspective of the oppressed and traumatised people is the best surviving and activism tool in order to break with homogeneous labels, such as Hispanic, helping Caribbean populations in the United States claim back their broken identities. The study uses a range of works by Edwidge Danticat (born in Haiti) and Junot Díaz (born in the Dominican Republic), a choice based on their political and social commitment to their countries of origin and their diasporic communities in the United States.