The Characteristics of Trauma
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DIPLOMARBEIT Titel der Diplomarbeit „Music and Trauma in the Contemporary South African Novel“ Verfasser Christian Stiftinger angestrebter akademischer Grad Magister der Philosophie (Mag.phil.) Wien, 2011. Studienkennzahl lt. Studienblatt: A 190 344 Studienrichtung lt. Studienblatt: UF Englisch Betreuer: Univ. Prof. DDr . Ewald Mengel Declaration of Authenticity I hereby confirm that I have conceived and written this thesis without any outside help, all by myself in English. Any quotations, borrowed ideas or paraphrased passages have been clearly indicated within this work and acknowledged in the bibliographical references. There are no hand-written corrections from myself or others, the mark I received for it can not be deducted in any way through this paper. Vienna, November 2011 Christian Stiftinger Table of Contents 1. Introduction......................................................................................1 2. Trauma..............................................................................................3 2.1 The Characteristics of Trauma..............................................................3 2.1.1 Definition of Trauma I.................................................................3 2.1.2 Traumatic Event and Subjectivity................................................4 2.1.3 Definition of Trauma II................................................................5 2.1.4 Trauma and Dissociation............................................................7 2.1.5 Trauma and Memory...……………………………………………..8 2.1.6 Trauma and Self.........................................................................8 2.1.7 Trauma and History…………………………………………….......9 2.1.8 Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)……………………….10 2.1.9 Typography and Severity of Trauma…………………………….12 2.2 South African Traumata……………………………………………..........13 2.2.1 Culture and Collective Trauma ………………………………….14 2.2.2 Colonialism………………………………………………………...16 2.2.3 Apartheid……………………………………………………………17 2.3 Coping with Trauma……………………………………………………….19 2.3.1 Preconditions of Recovery……………………………………….19 2.3.2 Coping with Words………………………………………………...20 2.3.3 Coping and Art……………………………………………………..21 3. Trauma and Music…………………………………………………….24 3.1 Music, Expression and Meaning………………………………………...24 3.2 Music as Medicine…………………………………………………………28 3.2.1 The Healing Powers of Music……………………………………28 3.2.2 Music as Therapy………………………………………………….30 3.2.2.1 Guided Imagery and Music……………………….........33 3.2.2.2 South African Ngoma……………………………………34 3.3 Music and Culture………………………………………………………….38 3.4 Music and Identity………………………………………………………….40 3.4.1 Song and Music in South Africa.………………………………...41 3.4.1.1 The Significance of Song and Music in South Africa..41 3.4.1.2. Song in South Africa……………………………….......43 3.4.1.3. Song and Music in the Townships…………………….44 4. Music and Trauma in M. Serote's To Every Birth its Blood……………………………………………………………………….48 4.1 The Significance of Jazz Music………………………………………...50 4.2 Jazz and South Africa …………………………………………………….53 4.3 Music in the Novel…………………………………………………………58 5. Music and Trauma in Niq Mhlongo's Dog Eat Dog….................72 5.1 The Significance of Kwaito……………………………………………....72 5.2 Kwaito in the Novel………………………………………………………..77 5.3 Toyi-Toyi in the Novel……………………………………………………..79 5.4 Further Music in the Novel…………………………………………….....81 6. Music and Trauma in Susan Mann's Quarter Tones.................85 7. Music and Trauma in J. M. Coetzee's Disgrace..........................95 8. Music and Trauma in Zakes Mda's The Heart of Redness.........99 9. Conclusion..…………………………………………………………..105 10. Bibliography..………………………………………………………..107 11. Abstract..……………………………………………………….........112 12. Curriculum Vitae..…………………………………………….........113 1.Introduction Music and literature, two forms of the arts that continuously fascinate people of every background, are not only crucial to the human existence due to its aesthetic value, but more importantly they are capable to satisfy a variety of basic human needs. In the first, place music and literature supply wants and at the same time they even can channel desires. Owing to this, it must be said that especially the genre of the novel, or actually the topics and issues it concentrates on with a critical eye, play a fundamental role in the lives of many. A part of this mentioned majority are the people of South Africa. Tormented by white colonizers, harassed in the name of acts of political injustice during apartheid, confronted with racism and crime, many suffer from the aftermath of trauma. As a consequence, one has to find a way to cope with trauma and to heal, to voice anger and dissatisfaction, to resist and fight oppression, to relief the tensions of one's soul and to forget in order to enjoy the few beauties that live offers. Here, the creative act or rather art as such supports trauma victims and helps people to continue living. In the contemporary South African novel writers deal with aspects of reality in the country. A reality, unfortunately often characterized by rape like in J.M. Coetzee's Disgrace, apartheid in M. Serote's To Every Birth Its Blood, death and crime in Susan Mann's Quarter Tones, colonization and communal trauma in Z. Mda's Heart of Redness and a loss of hope in N. Mholongo's Dog Eat Dog. Although, all these five novels deal with different themes, are set within diverse time frames and are concerned with traumas of diverging form and shape, music is the topic that establishes a link between the novels and its protagonists. As a matter of fact, music is a life-saver for the main characters in the novels. Clearly, it is not important if one creates music, listens to music or uses music as a tool for communication, but what counts is that those five novels selected, mirror in what ways music promotes healing and how it can support you, especially when suffering from trauma. In other words, the novels postulate that music as such is vital for specific characters of the text, like for example on a cultural level in terms of identity preservation. Consequently, this means that there must be something about music that is capable of defying traumatic aftereffects. What it actually is and how it manifests itself in the contemporary South African novel is to be investigated. 1 As Victor Hugo points out “[m]usic expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent” (ibd. qut. on www.quotegarden.com/music.html 05.09.2011). Without a doubt, music is a kind of language, that operates on a different level than words do. Music talks to you and helps you to communicate with others. While the South African novel itself tells a story in order to come to terms with trauma, the authors apparently suggest that music qualifies as an additional way to cope. In fact, when dealing with trauma and being forced to witness or experience traumatizing events, music appears to be the form of expression that is most suitable in order to say something about it without using words. To be more precise, people reflect and talk via sound and song, because they feel it can improve the quality of their lives, while not using it would certainly be a clear-cut mistake. In the novels, it is claimed that music motivates to fight injustice and to resist in general. It makes it easier to express cultural varieties and sometimes it simply helps to enjoy life. All these assertions are basically not new and may apply to everyone who loves to interact with music in one way or the other, but in the case of South Africa and the country's traumatic past, music is to be considered even more than that. But what exactly? What are the reasons why music, song and respectively also some forms of dance are so vital to South Africans? In what ways do the given novels reveal that music is perceived and experienced differently in South Africa compared to other cultures? How does music actually help the characters in the novel to improve their lives and what does this mean in relation to how South Africans live? What genres of music serve which purposes and where can one find the reasons for that? Those and other questions come to one's mind when reading the novels mentioned earlier. Simultaneously, the authors of the texts attempt to explain and describe in what ways music and trauma interrelate within the frame of the South African history and culture from the point of view of the novel. To sum up, music can be the the gun of the poor, it can be the emphatic listener needed so badly or it is the voice that helps you find who you are and who you want to be. As there is no point in simply glorifying music or in claiming that it is a kind of universal remedy, the novels and the observations made by other scholars will demonstrate that the significance of music in South Africa and in it's novels connected to trauma can not be denied. 2 2. Trauma 2.1 The Characteristics of Trauma 2.1.1 Definition of Trauma I Sadly, rape, murder, death, torture, catastrophes, natural and technical disasters, criminal, domestic and political violence, war, genocide, sexual abuse and a large variety of other comparable incidences can be part of life. The effects that such experiences have on the human mind are manifold and vary from one individual to the other. Without a doubt, there are few persons that are not shocked and horrified by highly stressful situations as the ones given above, still it is justifiable to say that the majority of people that undergoes or witnesses trauma experiences, is capable of carrying on with their lives after a certain amount of time. Owing to this, McNally asserts that “[e]pidemiologic studies indicate that large numbers of […people…] have been exposed to stressors classified as traumatic in the DSM [… Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders…], such as physical assault, accident, or rape, but only a minority of them have developed […disorders such as…] PTSD […Post Traumatic Stress Disorder…]” (ibd. 87). Nevertheless, there is also a considerable number of traumatized individuals that suffers extremely from the aftermath of their intense experiences and are forced to cope with prolonged mental pain.