The intersection between quantum physics and trauma in Yusef Komunyakaa’s “You and I Are Disappearing”

Document Type : مقالات بحوث مبتکرة

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Department of English, Faculty of Al-Alsun (Languages), Minia University, Egypt.

Abstract

This paper discusses the intersection of quantum physics and war trauma in Yusef Komunyakaa’s (1988) “You and I Are Disappearing,” investigating the experience of war trauma through the fragmented temporal perspective as presented in quantum mechanics. Quantum physics hypothesizes that time is inconstant and nonlinear. Likewise, Trauma theory postulates that trauma disrupts and blurs the temporal lines between events. Key concepts in quantum physics—superposition, entanglement, observer effect, and uncertainty—are applied to the fragmented experience of trauma. Applying these terms to trauma theory and examining how the poem’s traditional narrative and temporal order are disrupted reveals the quantum instability of the traumatized psyche. The paper attempts to find answers to the following questions: How do trauma and quantum physics stand at a crossroads in terms of nonlinearity? What is the outcome of this intersection? Where are the terms of quantum physics, superposition, entanglement, observer effect, and uncertainty shown in the poem? How does this intersection prove the effect of war on individuals? Furthermore, the paper examines the poetic techniques in “You and I Are Disappearing” and investigates how they are used to emphasize the poet’s sense of trauma.

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