Racial Trauma In Chester Himes’ If He Hollers Let Him Go

Abstract

Racial trauma is a prevailing issue in Chester Himes’ If He Hollers Let Him Go. The study examines how trauma operates negatively on Jones’ psyche in the forms recurring haunting dreams. The complexity of the obnoxious consequences of race prejudice (or PTSD) on Jones requires to probe the psychological motives through trauma and memory theory along with psychoanalysis perspective. Himes’ magnum opus emphasizes on the social and psychological degradation of Black individuals whose subconscious eventually succumb to American supremacist polices. Jones’ shattered psyche, disturbed ego and turbulent social status reflect the social and psychological degradation inflicted upon Black individuals being personae non gratae in America.