Slavery, Trauma, and Identity: A Postcolonial Study of Selfhood in Buchi Emecheta’s The Slave Girl

Abstract

The paper discusses slavery, trauma, and identity as portrayed in The Slave Girl by Buchi Emecheta. This paper employs a postcolonial
methodology. It dwells on strength, oppression and revolt. The female body is a commodity as demonstrated in the novel. It also demonstrates
how slavery is a trauma physically and psychologically. Ojebeta, the main character, is a victim of a system of control. She is deprived of her
freedom and identity. Fear and silence form her life. But gradually she becomes conscious. She starts to realize her situation. The article applies
the concept of Homi K. Bhabha. It demonstrates that identity is not predetermined. It is created by fighting and living. The paper contends that
Ojebeta is not oppressed but becomes a person. In this way, the novel is a journey of trauma to self-assertion.