FREUDIAN PSYCHOANALYSIS OF CONNOR, RISA, AND LEV IN NEAL SHUSTERMAN’S UNWIND
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.35842/jolali.v3i2.56Keywords:
character analysis, psychoanalysis, UnwindAbstract
This article examines the psychological issues of the significant characters in Neal Shusterman's dystopian novel Unwind (2007) through the lens of Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic framework, focusing on the id, ego, superego, and defensive mechanisms. The research looks at Connor Lassiter, Risa Ward, and Lev Calder to see how they cope with the trauma of "unwinding," a procedure in which kids' organs are extracted in the name of conserving their parts for others. To deal with anxiety and keep their identity in a dehumanizing society, each character adopts distinct defensive mechanisms such as displacement, rationalization, sublimation, denial, and response construction. The results highlight the characters' psychological endurance and the applicability of Freud's theory to contemporary literature, offering light on subjects such as identity, morality, and survival. This research highlights the significance of psychoanalytic literary criticism in comprehending dystopian young adult novels and their reflections on contemporary social issues.
References
Freud, S. (1923). The ego and the id. Standard Edition, 19, 1-66.
Scholes, M., & Ostenson, J. (2013). Understanding the appeal of dystopian young adult fiction. ALAN Review, 40(2). Retrieved from https://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/ALAN/v40n2/scholes.html
Shusterman, N. (2007). Unwind. Simon & Schuster.
Surprenant, C. (2002). Psychoanalytic literary criticism. In Encyclopedia of Literature and Criticism (pp. 1-10). Routledge.
Vizzini, N. (2008, March 16). Unwind by Neal Shusterman. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/16/books/review/Vizzini-t.html
Unwind. (2007). Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved from https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/neal-shusterman/unwind/
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 JOLALI: Journal of Language and Literature
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
- Authors retain copyright and grant the JOLALI: Journal of Language and Literature right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a CCreative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License that allows others to share (copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format) and adapt (remix, transform, and build upon the material) the work for any purpose, even commercially with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in JOLALI: Journal of Language and Literature.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in JOLALI: Journal of Language and Literature.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
