Transactional Analysis: A viable approach for discussing human autonomy in fictional texts

The purpose of this study was to validate a discussion of human autonomy through literature. This was accomplished by using aspects of three major concepts from Transactional Analysis: games, OK Corral, and scripts. These concepts were used on protagonists of four novels written by different authors.;Chapter one of this study focused on the background of Transactional Analysis. Chapter two of this study focused on The Tenants by Bernard Malamud and discussed the text using aspects of the game theory. Chapter three addressed two novels: Eat a Bowl of Tea by Louis Chu and Trini by Estella Portillo Trambley. Chapter two discussed these texts using elements of the OK Corral. Chapter four addressed The Blacker the Berry ... by Wallace Thurman using elements of script theory. Like real-life characters, the protagonist in each text revealed the struggles involved in achieving and maintaining autonomy.;This study revealed that there was more to a text than the surface struggles among characters. Logical conclusions were drawn about the personality of the protagonists and their world by applying Transactional Analysis. The fact that fictional works from different ethnic groups were used suggests that TA is applicable for any fictional text. Because of the methodology's applicability, it should be used as a means to discuss literary texts.