Abstract
The article aims to examine the portrayal of mental illness in three character-narrators of the selected Ian McEwan short stories from his collection ‘First Love, Last Rites’. By taking the psychiatric diagnostic criteria as the methodical basis for the analysis, this article traces how and to what extent do characters’ actions, words and behavior correspond to the symptoms ascribed to one of the mental illnesses in question. Thus, the article explores how through the ways of direct and indirect characterization Ian McEwan creates complex images of the characters that suffer from mental illness and closely examines how such a complicated topic is reflected in the three short stories that were chosen for the analysis. Furthermore, through close reading the article attempts to show the intricate design of the characters and the stories in general, that in complex create a powerful and detailed image, and provide an angle for viewing the influence of mental illness on one’s life.
Highlights
Many of Ian McEwan’s stories are filled with difficult, often strange events, frequently involving perspectives on human psyche in the face of adverse circumstances
The article explores how through the ways of direct and indirect characterization Ian McEwan creates complex images of the characters that suffer from mental illness and closely examines how such a complicated topic is reflected in the three short stories that were chosen for the analysis
Out of the short stories that are included in Ian McEwan’s ‘First Love, Last Rites’, three have been chosen for the analysis: ‘Homemade’, ‘Butterflies’ and ‘Solid Geometry’. They are, undoubtedly, very different, but there is a feature that unites the three main characters of these stories—all of them partake in immoral, normally unacceptable activities ranging from pedophilia to murder, and in one way or another the stories suggest that these characters might be suffering from mental illness
Summary
Many of Ian McEwan’s stories are filled with difficult, often strange events, frequently involving perspectives on human psyche in the face of adverse circumstances. A collection of author’s earliest works ‘First Love, Last Rites’ contains a number of stories that are interesting in regard of their portrayal of human mind In some of these short stories, characters’ thoughts and actions raise a question whether or not those characters are psychologically stable, which contributes to the general effect that the narratives create. Out of the short stories that are included in Ian McEwan’s ‘First Love, Last Rites’, three have been chosen for the analysis: ‘Homemade’, ‘Butterflies’ and ‘Solid Geometry’ They are, undoubtedly, very different, but there is a feature that unites the three main characters of these stories—all of them partake in immoral, normally unacceptable activities ranging from pedophilia to murder, and in one way or another the stories suggest that these characters might be suffering from mental illness. This method is used to uncover ways in which Ian McEwan creates such complex characters, as well as to explore the correlations between the three narrators and the mental illness
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