Shadows of War and the Nightmare of Memory: Analysing Trauma in William Golding’s Pincher Martin

Abstract

The main aim of this article is to analyse the impact of the Second World War on the eponymous protagonist of William Golding’s third novel, Pincher Martin. Concentrating on Christopher “Pincher” Martin’s disconnected and often chaotic recollections, as well as his attempts to organise them into a coherent narrative, this article argues that his experience of war can be considered in terms of trauma. The article begins with a short overview of critical perspectives on Pincher Martin, and then goes on to analyse in detail chosen passages from this novel, which are discussed in the context of trauma theory, as formulated by Robert Jay Lifton, Cathy Caruth and Susan Brison. While the main focus of the article is memory and its role in the shaping of the protagonist’s identity, the discussion also accounts for the complex symbolism of Golding’s novel.