Rabbit Struggling In The Net

John Updike is a versatile and prolific contemporary writer. In his long-stretching literary career, he has published dozens of literary works, among which the Rabbit tetralogy is the most well-known. Because of his great achievements in literature, he has won all major American prizes including two Pulitzer Prizes, two National Book Awards, the Howells Medal and the National Medal of Arts. His novel Rabbit, Run, tells a story about how Harry Angstrom, nicknamed Rabbit, feels unsatisfied with the dull, mediocre social life and tries to escape from the restrictions of social conformity.Since its publication, Rabbit, Run has attracted the attention of serious reviews in American literary field, and critics have expounded it from different perspectives. Inspired by these critical references, the present thesis attempts to approach Rabbit, Run from the perspective of Freudian Psychoanalysis so as to study Rabbit's behaviors and find reasons for his actions.According to Freud, the human psyche can be divided into three agencies: the id, the ego and the superego. The id is the reservoir of the instinctive impulses seeking satisfaction in accordance with the pleasure principle, regardless of time, morality, and outside forces, etc.The ego is the cooperation between oneself and the environment, between the id and the superego; it endeavors to substitute the reality principle for the pleasure principle. And the superego severely exercises moral censorship in the form of conscience or perhaps of an unconscious sense of guilt in accordance with the morality-principle.This thesis consists of four chapters apart from the introduction and the conclusion.In the introduction, Updike's literary achievements and the main plot of the novel are briefly introduced. Then the author of this thesis summarizes the previous studies on the novel and justifies the application of using Freudian psychoanalysis as the theoretical approach to this study. At last, the author makes a brief introduction to the basic theories of Freudian Psychoanalysis which are related to Rabbit, Run: the theory of personality structure, libido, sublimation and displacement.Chapter One mainly analyzes how John Updike's life experiences affect his writings and the purpose of creating Rabbit, Run by using Freud's libido, sublimation and displacement theories.In Chapter Two, the author of this thesis analyzes Rabbit's strong id, which is reflected in Rabbit's constant flights and great harm that he causes to people around him. Though Harry is twenty-six years old at that time, he is not mature in any case because he always follows his sense and animal intuition when facing difficult situations. Without prescribed values, Rabbit not only lacks guidelines for action, but also reverts to animalistic responses both in crises and in normal situations.Chapter Three analyzes the regulations of Rabbit's ego and superego, and explores reasons for the failure of their effects. Under the regulations of his ego, Harry tries his best to let himself live in the reality and does something practical now and then. But because of the restrictions of external circumstances, the limitations of Harry's education both at home and school, the great gap between reality and ideal and Rabbit's sense of loneliness in the deep heart, the role that his ego plays is very limited. Meanwhile, under the influences of his superego, Harry can't help acting as a dutiful person in the society when the emergency happens. And his returning home twice is the evidence that he is influenced by the morality-principle occasionally. But because of the loss of traditional values in 1950s, ineffectual authority figures in the society and secularization of religion, Harry's superego only plays its role transiently and could not control his behavior completely.Chapter Four analyzes ways that Rabbit discharges his depressed libido and finds transient ease in his deep heart. In sports, sex and ideal work, Rabbit can satisfy his inner needs and find selfhood and self-greatness for a while, and at last successfully shifts his attention and achieves his inner peace for the moment.Based on the above analysis, the thesis finally draws a conclusion that Rabbit possesses more id than ego, and possesses only wisps of superego. But as a social man, Harry is more or less influenced by his ego and superego. Therefore, whatever he does, he can still not escape from the responsibilities he bears in the society, and finally what he can only do is struggling in the net.