Henderson's Rehabilitation Journey To Africa In Henderson The Rain King

Psychoanalysis theory, starting in Vienna in 1890s, develops very rapidly and grows into several theoretical orientations. It is now widely applied in the research of various fields, especially in psychotherapy and literature criticism. According to Jung, the psychoanalysis theories, especially the theory about the conscious and the unconscious, usually manifests itself in universal archaic images, for example, those images expressed in dreams, religious beliefs, myths, and fairytales, which further depend on the archetypal theory. Therefore, in this thesis, the psychoanalysis theory and the archetypal theory will be employed together to interpret Henderson the Rain King by Saul Bellow, an outstanding American writer.Henderson the Rain King, though describing a trip to Africa by Henderson on the surface, actually, demonstrates to us the process of psychotherapy of Henderson, a man with serious mental illness, through his "dreams". According to Jung, when the mental disturbances show up, the unconscious will function as a compensation of the conscious psychic content, to achieve the rebalance of the spirit, or the mental world. In Henderson the Rain King, the Henderson in the real world and the Henderson that went to Africa actually represent the extraversion personality and the introversion personality respectively. Henderson's mental conflicts usually symbolized the conflicts between the extraversion personality and the introversion personality. That explains why, in Henderson the Rain King, every phase of Henderson's psychological fragments twists a piece of real world. However, they assist each other to rebalance the spiritual world of Henderson. The main phases include the experience in Arnewi tribe, in the ceremony of praying for the rain and becoming the Rain King, in the later communication with King Dahfu, and in the interaction between the lions.Meanwhile, archetypal theory contributes significantly to the projection process of Henderson's journey to Africa, which is a projection of Henderson's mental healing process with various key indicators. Only if we can fully understand all the meanings of these indicators, can we grasp the real meaning and the theme of Henderson the Rain King well. Therefore the interpretation of Henderson's "dreams" cannot be carried out without employing the theory of archetype. For Jung (2009), if one does not treat his animal nature properly, or if he oppresses his animal nature too much, the animal nature will, in return hurt him. For modern human beings, it is helpful to accept the spirit of animals to identify themselves, and to gain the satisfaction of living. Henderson went home with a lion cub, a new-born lion. With the lion, he woke up from the dream, returned to his balanced life and to enjoy the peace and harmonious life. Psychoanalysis theory, starting in Vienna in 1890s, develops very rapidly and grows into several theoretical orientations. It is now widely applied in the research of various fields, especially in psychotherapy and literature criticism. According to Jung, the psychoanalysis theories, especially the theory about the conscious and the unconscious, usually manifests itself in universal archaic images, for example, those images expressed in dreams, religious beliefs, myths, and fairytales, which further depend on the archetypal theory. Therefore, in this thesis, the psychoanalysis theory and the archetypal theory will be employed together to interpret Henderson the Rain King by Saul Bellow, an outstanding American writer.Henderson the Rain King, though describing a trip to Africa by Henderson on the surface, actually, demonstrates to us the process of psychotherapy of Henderson, a man with serious mental illness, through his "dreams". According to Jung, when the mental disturbances show up, the unconscious will function as a compensation of the conscious psychic content, to achieve the rebalance of the spirit, or the mental world. In Henderson the Rain King, the Henderson in the real world and the Henderson that went to Africa actually represent the extraversion personality and the introversion personality respectively. Henderson's mental conflicts usually symbolized the conflicts between the extraversion personality and the introversion personality. That explains why, in Henderson the Rain King, every phase of Henderson's psychological fragments twists a piece of real world. However, they assist each other to rebalance the spiritual world of Henderson. The main phases include the experience in Arnewi tribe, in the ceremony of praying for the rain and becoming the Rain King, in the later communication with King Dahfu, and in the interaction between the lions.Meanwhile, archetypal theory contributes significantly to the projection process of Henderson's journey to Africa, which is a projection of Henderson's mental healing process with various key indicators. Only if we can fully understand all the meanings of these indicators, can we grasp the real meaning and the theme of Henderson the Rain King well. Therefore the interpretation of Henderson's "dreams" cannot be carried out without employing the theory of archetype. For Jung (2009), if one does not treat his animal nature properly, or if he oppresses his animal nature too much, the animal nature will, in return hurt him. For modern human beings, it is helpful to accept the spirit of animals to identify themselves, and to gain the satisfaction of living. Henderson went home with a lion cub, a new-born lion. With the lion, he woke up from the dream, returned to his balanced life and to enjoy the peace and harmonious life.