"them" A New Spirit Of Analysis Interpretation

them, published in 1969, is known as a notable advance in Oates'maturity as a writer. It chronicles the life and struggle of three generations of the Wendall family. In the novel, Oates portrays a violent and sordid life filled with murder, riot and disorder, and she depicts the nightmarish conditions and sufferings of the lower class people. Equipped with Karen Horney's psychoanalytical theories, I plan to make a journey into the inner world of the protagonists (mainly Maureen) in them.New psychoanalytical criticism, based on Karen Horney's psychoanalytical theories, pays great attention on the influence of social-culture and family interpersonal relationship upon people's psychology, and offers a new angle on the analysis of characters'mentality. This paper tries to show an unmistakable and despairing structure of neurosis in Maureen, Loretta and Jules through analyzing their abnormal psychology and behavior, as well as further the discussion of the origin of American people's inner conflicts—the social-cultural contradictions from 1930s to 1960s. The paper also attempts to confirm the specific social-cultural factors'influential role in the protagonists'neurotic structure, at the same time explains the characters'unusual behavior and the decisive factors of their tragic fates.