리비아의 국가폭력과 가족의 트라우마: 히샴 마타르(Hisham Matar)의 『남자들의 나라에서』

Abstract

This paper seeks to explore Muammar Gadhafi's dictatorship and the Libyan people’s trauma as represented in the novel In the Country of Men by Hisham Matar, a Libyan writer. In the Country of Men exposes the tragic situations of Libyans who are faced with continued and oppressive state violence. To convey this theme effectively, Matar chooses a young child as the main character and depicts the brutal realities through his eyes. Most of the novel’s characters are surrounded by widespread and systematic suppression committed by the state. This state violence is not just confined to visible and explicable things, but extends to the atrocious violence of invisible patterns, including elements of the Muslim religion and the male-dominated culture. This thesis treats how Matar focuses on the way Libyans are caught up in betrayals in their own neighborhoods due to the external environment and traumas, and that those betrayals were brought about in spite of the people’s true intentions. The violent regime used brute force against political dissidents in order to maintain his power and, as a result, dissidents became degraded and became victims. Furthermore, the victims cannot escape from this prolonged torment and trauma and are branded as traitors against the government. For these reasons, it is impossible for the victims of the dictatorship to lead normal lives. However, Matar sends out the message that Libyans can get over the effects of the violence of the state and the violence of males through the close relationships within families. Therefore, this thesis deals with Libyans’ psychological traumas and the ways for overcoming them.