The Redenption Of Body And Soul

The horrible world created by Stephen King in his fictions comes into mind, whenever his name is mentioned, A large number of his works, a wide range of his readers, and his high reputation all go far beyond others' reach. He is named as "modern horror fiction master" by The NewYork Times. The traditional recognitions coming from critics and commentators about Stephen King are usually confined to his horror fictions, neglecting his attempts and innovation of serious works.In RitaHayworth andShawshank Redemption^ King makes a new attempt on prison subject matter. Since its first publication in 1982, the novella has been the focus of literary critical cycle, and has received mixed criticism from different critics. King gives enormous publicity to the positive themes which has profound connotation, and deeply exposes unfair judicial system instead of following his normal horror fiction style. King does not capture horrible effects by applying to detailed image, but excites readers' hearts by creating atmosphere. Critics and commentators are intended to make comments on the movie version of Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption^ and there is just a little scholarly attention to be focused on the text itself, as its movie version receives more success and reputation than novella itself. The study at aboard and in China mostly focuses on the themes, Gothic conflicts, metaphorical symbol, narrative techniques, and so forth.The present thesis will apply Freudian tripartite personality theory to analyze the protagonist's personality in order to get a thorough way of understanding Andy's extreme behavior: prison-break. Andy's id is interpreted from the following angles, such as survival, security, sexual and criminal instinct. Andy's ego is analyzed from the perspective of Andy's roles, such as a stone-sculptor, a librarian, an instructor and a money launderer. Andy's superego is analyzed from the perspectives of his pursuit of hope, friendship and freedom.Structuring speaking, the thesis contains five chapters.The first chapter, the brief introductory part, introduces Stephen King's life, his Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption.The second chapter states literature reviews.The third chapter offers the theoretical frame (Freudian tripartite personality theory), and demonstrates the focus of the thesis.The fourth chapter is the body of the thesis. It respectively interprets Andy Dufresne's personality by applying Freudian tripartite personality theory from Andy's id, ego, and superego, which are relevant to the psychological conflicts in the depth of Andy's mind. The first part, Andy's id, is interpreted from four angles. The second part, Andy's ego, is analyzed by illustrating his four roles in prison. The third part, Andy's superego, is illustrated from the perspective of Andy'spursuit of hope, friendship and freedom.Chapter Five is the conclusion of the thesis. Andy is a combination of accomplice and innocence, of fugitive and redeemer. Andy excels himself by repressing the id and controlling his ego. The course of breaking the prison is a course of redeeming his body and soul.The mode of interpreting protagonist in Freudian tripartite personality theory, having a profound realistic meaning, reminds people to balance the personality under pressure.