International Journal Of Literature And Languages
14
https://theusajournals.com/index.php/ijll
VOLUME
Vol.05 Issue07 2025
PAGE NO.
14-16
10.37547/ijll/Volume05Issue07-04
The Study of Postmemory And Trauma in Let the Great
World Spin
Rakhimova Shakhnoza
MA in Literary Studies: English Literature, Bukhara State University, Uzbekistan
Received:
11 May 2025;
Accepted:
07 June 2025;
Published:
09 July 2025
Abstract:
This article explores the concept of postmemory and its manifestation in Colum McCann’s novel Let the
Great World Spin, with a particular focus on the character of Gloria. Drawing on the theoretical frameworks of
Marianne Hirsch and Cathy Caruth, the study examines how traumatic experiences
—
specifically those related to
slavery and racial discrimination
—
are transmitted across generations not through direct recollection, but through
everyday practices, family culture, and societal cues. While Gloria’s mother
conveys the trauma of slavery
unconsciously, Gloria receives and processes this inherited memory within a context shaped by social change and
historical awareness. The article also considers how Gloria’s academic and personal achievements reflect both
resilience and the continuing presence of trauma, illustrating the complexity of postmemory in relation to race,
gender, and identity. Despite Gloria’s conscious engagement with her past, the lasting effects of trauma persist,
revealing the enduring nature of historical wounds.
Keywords:
Postmemory, trauma, intergenerational memory, African American experience, racial trauma, identity,
gender.
Introduction:
This analysis examines the figure of
Gloria as a bearer of postmemory, based on the
theoretical approaches of Marianne Hirsch and Cathy
Caruth. The focus is on the ways in which traumatic
experience is unconsciously transmitted across
generations, as well as the mechanisms through which
it is later processed within a changing historical and
social context. Particular attention is given to how
Gloria’s personal story, her upbringing, academic
achievements, and everyday encounters with
prejudice, illustrates the persistent presence of trauma,
even when it appears to have been overcome.
METHOD
According to Marianne Hirsch’s theory, Glo
ria is a
bearer
of
postmemory,
perceiving
traumatic
experience through stories, objects, gestures, and
family culture. As Cathy Caruth notes, trauma is not
always consciously recognized at the moment of its
transmission, which leads to its latent manifestation in
the next generation. In this case, Gloria’s mother does
not form a conscious understanding of trauma in her
daughter, but her everyday behavior and memory
serve as carriers of that trauma.
Gloria grew up in Missouri during the Great Depression.
She was the only girl in a family with five brothers. Life
was poor, but the family strived for unity. Gloria’s
mother, according to Gloria herself, “was old enough to
have heard all the slave stories firsthand…” —
meaning
she had direct access to stories about slavery.
[McCann, 286] However, despite this memory, Gloria’s
mother likely did not realize the full depth of its impact.
Thus,
the transmission
of
trauma
occurred
unconsciously, but Gloria perceived it with a certain
level of awareness, as the society and historical context
in which she lived fostered an understanding of that
trauma.
Thanks to numerous political and cultural events (the
civil rights movement, films, literary works), the trauma
of the generation of African American slaves, becoming
affiliative, became accessible to the wider public. The
modern environment in which Gloria finds herself
creates conditions not only for the reception of
postmemory but also for its comprehension. Therefore,
the question of whether the second generation
receives trauma in a more conscious form, if the time
International Journal Of Literature And Languages
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International Journal Of Literature And Languages (ISSN: 2771-2834)
and society contribute to it, can be answered
affirmatively.
It is also worth noting that Gloria’s name means
“victory, glory, triumph” —
and, like her name, she
overcomes and transcends her past. Despite the
burden of postmemory, trauma, and discrimination,
she achieves academic success: “Still, I graduated with
honors. I was one of the first colored women at
Syracuse to do so.” [McCann, 156] This achievement
speaks not only to her high level of education but also
to her courage, determination, and inner strength. It is
especially important to emphasize that Gloria was one
of the first African American women to graduate from
Syracuse University with honors. Thus, her story
conveys a sense of triumph not only over racial
discrimination but also over gender stereotypes.
Through this episode, the image of a strong, resilient
woman is revealed, and feminist undertones are
perceptible in the subtext
—
namely, the pursuit of
equality, independence, and recognition.
However, despite Gloria’s awareness of her ancestors’
trauma and the society she lives in having already
acknowledged and supported the memory of that
trauma, she still faces prejudice because of her skin
color. Even her friend Claire displays unconscious
arrogance in certain moments. In one episode, Gloria
catches her look and thinks: “She almost thought for a
second that Gloria wanted to be the help.
Presumptuous. Two seventy-five an hour, Gloria. Clean
the dishes. Mop the floor. Weep for our boys. A chore
indeed.” [McCann, 102] These words, as Claire’s
internal voice, reveal her bias, even if she herself does
not realize it. This cautious and underlying
condescension only deepens Gloria’s perception of
discrimination.
This underscores the fact that even with higher
education, a conscious postmemory, and strength of
character, Gloria cannot fully overcome the trauma,
which, as Caruth reminds us, remains inside as an
indelible trace. Trauma lives within a person, even
when they manage to cope with it. A particularly
significant role in the transmission of memory is played
by so-called triggers. One such trigger is the receipt
confirming the sale of Gloria’s grandmother: “She had
been given, as a memento, the exchange slip from
when my grandmother had been so
ld.” [1, 286] This
item functions as an artifact, analogous to the
photograph in Marianne Hirsch’s theory. It does not
explain the trauma, but rather symbolizes it. It evokes
an emotional response, serving as tangible evidence of
historical violence.
In American history, another important type of
document existed: “freedom papers,” or certificates of
emancipation. These played a crucial role for formerly
enslaved people, especially after gaining their freedom.
Such papers confirmed that an individual was no longer
property. In a context where even a freed African
American risked being re-enslaved without written
proof of emancipation, possession of these documents
became a matter of survival. The category of freedom
papers included various forms: official certificates of
freedom, so-called manumission papers, documents
recording a slave owner’s voluntary relinquishment of
ownership, and other government-issued records
confirming the change in legal status. Some of these
papers contained information such as a physical
description of the freed person, their name, age, and
the date of emancipation. The absence of such
documentation could lead to arrest, imprisonment, or
re-enslavement. Authentic historical examples of these
documents are preserved today in archives such as the
Briscoe Center for American History at the University of
Texas and in the digital collections of the National
Museum of African American History and Culture.
The significance of the receipt for Gloria’s family is
supported by historical fact. Although the document
itself
symbolizes
liberation
—granting
Gloria’s
ancestors the legal right to freedom and
independence
—
its perception remains ambivalent.
Objectively, the receipt can be viewed as a sign of
positive change in the family’s fate, as a
step toward
freedom. However, subjectively, for Gloria, it remains a
link to a traumatic past. It is a piece of paper that, on
the one hand, symbolizes the end of slavery, and on the
other, serves as a reminder that freedom itself once
required formal validation. Thus, the receipt does not
emotionally liberate Gloria; on the contrary, it confines
her once again by connecting her to the experience of
dehumanization. This is precisely where its function as
a trigger emerges: while legally certifying freedom, it
simultaneously serves as a psychological reminder of
unfreedom.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, Gloria's experience exemplifies how
postmemory operates not only as an inherited
emotional and cultural imprint but also as a dynamic
process shaped by historical awareness and personal
resilience. While trauma is transmitted subtly
—
through family behavior, language, and silences, it is
also reinterpreted within the framework of evolving
social narratives. Gloria's success, both academic and
personal, demonstrates an active engagement with this
inherited trauma: she does not merely carry it but
transforms it. However, as Caruth emphasizes, trauma
leaves a lasting trace; thus, despite social progress and
individual strength, its residue remains. Gloria's story
reveals the complexity of postmemory, how it is lived,
International Journal Of Literature And Languages
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International Journal Of Literature And Languages (ISSN: 2771-2834)
understood, and resisted across time and identity.
REFERENCES
McCann, Colum. Let the Great World Spin. Random
House Trade paperback edition, 2009
Caruth, C. Unclaimed Experience: Trauma, Narrative,
and History. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press,
1996. Notes,
Hirsch, Marianne. “The Generation of Postmemory.”
Poetics Today, vol. 29, no. 1, 2008, pp. 103
–
128,
https://doi.org/10.1215/03335372-2007-019
С. 125
Singer S. The Slow Demise of Modernism, Aleatory
Keepsakes,’70s Trauma and Looking through the Glass
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–
2012.
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Briscoe Center for American History. Freedom Papers:
Evidence
of
Emancipation.
URL:
https://briscoecenter.org/exhibitions/freedom-
papers-evidence-of-emancipation.
National Museum of African American History and
Culture. Slavery and Freedom Documents Collection.
URL:
https://nmaahc.si.edu/slavery-and-freedom-
