A Study Of Personality Structures Of Anti-heroes In Brighton Rock

Graham Greene is a famous contemporary British writer.He once divided his literary career into three stages,and Brighton Rock belongs to the “Catholic stage” novel.There are three major different anti-heroes who have committed many kinds of crimes in this complicated society in Brighton Rock.Previous studies on it were limited to religious themes and detective themes,ignoring the study of characters.Actually,three anti-heroes in Brighton Rock are very important to the whole text,which not only promotes the development of the plots,but also reflects Greene's high humanistic concern.By using Freud's personality structure theory,this thesis analyzes the relationship between the personality structures and their behaviors of three different types of anti-heroes,and interprets Greene's intention behind the three anti-hero characters.This thesis starts with brief introduction to Brighton Rock and raises the questions which would be solved in this thesis;and then,this thesis reviews those researches on Brighton Rock both at home and abroad since it came out and some imperfections are pointed out.Next,the purpose and significance of this thesis are stated.Lastly,this thesis introduces Freud's personality structure theory.Chapter II,III,and IV are the main body of the thesis which depict three different anti-heroes respectively.Chapter II mainly analyses conscientious Pinkie forced to kill people ruthlessly by social environment.As a killer,he is often in a dilemma.His id isn't bound by superego,so it destroys others and himself eventually.Chapter III analyses that Ida's justice is completely based on her hedonism.She uses the superiority and so-called“right or wrong” standard of the middle class to save Rose,but she ignores the true “good”,so she actually does harm to Rose.Chapter IV revolves around Rose who is in the bottom of society.She loves Pinkie and stands for the other side of “evil”.She doesn't use “right or wrong” standard to judge Pinkie.Rose's superego adheres to her highest moral standard,insists on her harsh “good and evil”,and stands above the weak and boring middle class.In the novel,Greene uses superb writing skills to create three complex anti-heroes who live in a certain period,fully demonstrating their mental states.In Brighton Rock,the personality of the protagonists are not very sound.Therefore,it is very important to apply Freud's personality structure theory to the analysis of the protagonists' behaviors and their personality structures.For one thing,from the perspective of personality structure,the analysis of Brighton Rock can provide a new perspective for the analysis of the text,so readers can have a new understanding of the protagonists' behaviors,and have a deeperunderstanding about Greene's humanistic cares;for another thing,this thesis explores how to maintain a balanced personality and a healthy rational,which gives modern people enlightenment and has significant guidance for the form of healthy personality in today's society.