Double Wings Of Anxiety In The Corrections

The Corrections is the most prominent work of contemporary American novelist Jonathan Franzen,which portrays the absurd situation of the Lambert family of five at the end of the last century.In this thesis,the author analyzed the various anxieties in The Corrections based on American psychologist Rollo May's theory of anxiety analysis.The first part is concentrated on the resistance of the characters against the innovation of science and technology,expansion of consumer society,breakdown of interpersonal relationship and the overall deterioration of social and natural environment in the objective world;The second part studies the state and trait anxieties as well as a lack of subjectivity in every member of the Lambert family from the perspective of inner world;The third part is dedicated to reveal the shameful feeling of the characters on sexuality,drug addiction,alcoholism and dishonesty under the rule of moral code of that society.Finally,the last part focuses on the indispensable positive effect of anxiety on characters' self-cognition,pursuit in happiness and creativity.Through a comprehensive analysis,the authors found that all the seemingly healthy family members are suffering from the torments caused by excessive anxiety,and the source of their anxiety differed from each other;although the levels of the anxieties that are coming from reality,inner world and moral code are varied,there is a common fact that every character carries with him or her an anxiety mode,which can be observed through analysis of the relation between characters' Id,Ego and superego.Meanwhile,according to Rollo May's explanation of the double-edged nature of anxiety,the author also made further interpretations of the text from two perspectives of destructive and constructive sides of the anxiety.And in the end some suggestions on recognizing anxiety,coping with excessive anxiety and making good use of proper anxiety are given.