Fight-or-Flight Response: A Study of Bahaa Taher’s Sunset Oasis with Reference to Trauma Theory

Man’s eternal quest from innocence to experience is marked by his ability to face different challenges. Some experiences teach a lesson while others cause severe injury. People’s reactions are not the same when it comes to traumatic events. In moments of danger, some people manage to ‘fight’ for survival while others escape when they face life-threatening incidents. People who fail to ‘fight’ are helpless in repeated moments of danger. Lenore Terr declares that “psychic trauma occurs when a sudden, unexpected, overwhelming intense emotional blow or a series of blows assaults the person from outside. Traumatic events are external, but they quickly become incorporated into the mind”(8). The aim of this paper is to apply trauma theory to Bahaa Taher’s Sunset Oasis which was awarded the International Prize for Arabic Fiction in 2008. Taking place in the remote area of Siwa Oasis, the novel deals with Mahmoud Abd el Zahir, who is sent by the British authorities to Siwa Oasis as District Commissioner as a punishment for his participation in the outbreak with Urabi at the end of the 19th century. Mahmoud suffers serious blows as a result of the British bombing of Alexandria, Urabi’s defeat, the king’s betrayal and his friend Tal’at’s testimony. Nevertheless, Mahmoud’s real trauma results from his own testimony during the second investigation in which he fails to‘fight’ for his country. Focusing on the impact of the journey through the desert and life in Siwa Oasis, this study investigates the narrative techniques employed by the author to recall devastating moments of helplessness which drag Mahmoud into severe injuries until his final dramatic end.