Legacies of Warfare and Resistance: A Postcolonial Study of Kevin Powers’s Selected Novels

Abstract

Warfare and resistance have left indelible marks on societies, shaping collective memories, identities, and power structures. In postcolonial contexts, these memories intertwine with systemic violence and the politics of life and death, offering fertile ground for literary exploration. However, these narratives often overlook the nuanced experiences of subjugated individuals and their acts of resistance within these death worlds. Previous studies on Kevin Powers‘s The Yellow Birds (2012) have primarily focused on themes of trauma and survival, examining the emotional toll of war on soldiers. Conversely, Powers‘s second novel, A Shout in the Ruins (2018), has yet to receive similar critical attention, with limited reviews addressing its exploration of historical violence and systemic dehumanization. Thus, the current study investigates the necropolitical dynamics in Powers‘s novels by applying Achille Mbembe‘s theory of Necropolitics (2019) as a conceptual framework. The analysis focuses on the mechanisms of control and sovereignty that render human lives expendable, examining how characters like Private Bartle in The Yellow Birds and the enslaved communities in A Shout in the Ruins navigate these death worlds. By examining the portrayal of dehumanization and disposability in these texts, this study investigates how oppressive power structures shape the lived experiences of subjugated individuals. It further analyzes the various forms of resistance depicted in the novels, demonstrating how those subjected to necropolitical forces assert agency in the face of oppression. The study ultimately argues that Powers‘s novels construct a dual narrative of warfare and resistance. The Yellow Birds scrutinizes the psychological scars of war and the lasting impact of necropolitical violence on both soldiers and Iraqi civilians, while A Shout in the Ruins extends this examination to systemic dehumanization across generations. Through these narratives, the novels interrogate the interplay between power, resistance, and the enduring struggle for humanity within spaces defined by necropolitical control.