NEUROTIC PERSONALITIES, UNCONSCIOUS CONFLICTS, AND REPRESSED EMOTIONS: A POSITIVE PSYCHOANALYTIC STUDY OF THE POST-APOCALYPTIC CONDITION IN CORMAC MCCARTHY’S THE ROAD
Submitted: June 14, 2024 , Revised: June 20, 2024 , Accepted: June 22, 2024, https://doi.org/10.56815/IJMRR.V3I3.2024/56-62
Keywords:
Positive Psychology, Psychoanalysis, Positive Psychoanalysis, Post-Apocalyptic conditionAbstract
Victims of various apocalypse can re-frame their catastrophic condition to a new phase of life. Positive Psychoanalysis diverges from the conventional psychoanalytic method of focusing on the negative aspects of the human psyche by emphasizing the optimism of the human Psyche, moving away from the pessimism of the traumatic events. The Paper explores the Neurotic Personalities, Unconscious Conflicts, and Repressed Emotions in the characters (Father and Son) of the American novel The Road, surviving in a barren and chaotic Post-apocalyptic world. Employing a Positive Psychoanalysis lens, the investigation is further expanded by probing into the two main characters gripped in fear of death and loss. The psychic experience is elucidated in the context of a post-apocalyptic world and this elucidation requires the Freudian, Pre-Freudian, and the positive psychoanalytic concepts for a better understanding. The Paper explores how the Son develops an optimistic psyche while the father dies unable to cope with the pessimistic state of the apocalypse.
