Quest For The Lost "peak-experience"

Rabbit Tetralogy( Rabbit, Run; Rabbit Redux; Rabbit Is Rich; Rabbit at Rest) are John Updike's representative works. Rabbit (Harry Angstrom) is a successfully created image by John Updike in his Rabbit series. Rabbit series are published almost every ten years. They describe the life of Rabbit, as well as the American society between 1960s and 1990s lively. Rabbit is neither the "hero" in realistic fictions, nor the "anti-hero" in modernistic fictions. He isn't the hero who is up and coming, longing for success and succeeding at last. He is characterized by a lack of traditional heroic qualities, such as idealism or courage. Sometimes he is an idol, but usually he is devoid of any merits. Rabbit longs for success. If everything is smooth, he would be. But if not, he would give up. The author of this thesis will make a psychoanalysis of the behaviors of Rabbit according to the humanistic philosophy of Maslow.This thesis consists of five parts:The first part is a brief view of the criticism on John Updike and Rabbit Tetralogy. It makes a brief review of theoretical framework and states the aim of this dissertation. This part also includes the analysis of Rabbit's motions at the different starting point.Chapter One analyzes the peak experience that Rabbit gets. He gets them for several times. However they are different. Before he is 26, the peak experiences are frequent, predicable and the fruit of self-actualizing. After he is 26, the peak experiences are occasional and unexpected. The aftereffects of peak experiences change Rabbit's life. Rabbit goes after them all his lifetime.Chapter Two analyzes the self-actualization of Rabbit and states the reason of his self-actualization. Firstly, the D-needs should be gratified-- the physiological needs, the safety needs, the love and belongingness needs and the esteem needs. Secondly, the B-needs, being oneself, also need be gratified. Rabbit is a self-actualizer when he is very young, which leads to the complexity of Rabbit. "After you're first-rate at something, no matter what, it kind of takes the kick out of being second rate." (Run 101)Chapter Three states the reason that Rabbit couldn't be self-actualizing again. One is that the D-needs couldn't be gratified. Jonah complex, Lack of Gemeinschaftsgefuhl, and the loss of self all impede the self-actualization.The last part concludes this dissertation. It is hard to reach a conclusion that Rabbit is a winner or loser. Once he is a self-actualizing person and gets peak experience, which only 1 -2% of human beings could reach. According to this we can say he is a winner. However, in his life he isn't better and better, instead, he hurts many people. According to this we should say he is a loser.