The Traumatic Effects of Colonialism in Three Irish Plays

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Tezin Türü: Yüksek Lisans

Tezin Yürütüldüğü Kurum: İstanbul Üniversitesi, Edebiyat Fakültesi, Batı Dilleri Ve Edebiyatları Bölümü, Türkiye

Tezin Onay Tarihi: 2023

Tezin Dili: İngilizce

Öğrenci: Ertuğrul Başçınar

Danışman: Özlem Karadağ

Özet:

The Traumatic Effects of Colonialism in Three Irish Plays

Ertuğrul Başçınar

According to trauma studies, violent and horrific incidents inflict various

psychological effects on the human mind. People who experience distressing events

display different coping methods individually and collectively to repress their

traumas.

This study examines the subject of trauma in the context of the colonial

exploitation of Ireland under the British Empire’s oppressive control. To scrutinise

the traumatic results of colonialism, it utilises George Bernard Shaw’s John Bull’s

Other Island, Seán O’Casey’s Juno and the Paycock, and Brian Friel’s

Translations. They focus on the psychological effects of Britain’s colonial policies

on Irish society in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. These policies consist of

confiscating Ireland’s lands, exploiting its labour force, assimilating its culture, and

violently eliminating the opposing groups. In the light of postcolonial and trauma

theories, and through the historical background of Ireland’s colonisation, this work

exhibits that these violent and assimilative acts caused personal and collective trauma

among the Irish.

The Irish characters in these plays either refuse to confront their trauma or

display their repressed emotional pain and hatred against the coloniser in violent

ways. The refusal of confrontation occurs when they escape from the distressing

colonial oppression by fabricating imaginary realities. This method provides a

temporary sense of relief at the expense of disassociating them from reality. On the

other hand, the violent discharge of suppressed trauma causes more conflict and

tension between the coloniser and the colonised, which eradicates the possibility of

reconciliation between these sides. Therefore, the plays depict these approaches as

dangerous and ineffective methods that fail to provide a permanent resolution to

colonial trauma.

Keywords: Irish Theatre, Irish History, Trauma Theory, Postcolonial Theory,

English Literature.