My Oedipus Complex

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Name: Michal Raziel My Oedipus Complex/ Frank O’Connor My Oedipus complex is a short story written by the Irish author Frank O’Connor. The story is told from the point of view of Larry, the five years old boy that stays with his mom, while his dad, the solider, is a way from home fighting in the war. Larry is very attached to his mom and the problems begin when the father comes back home, a man whom Larry hardly knows, takes all of the mom’s attentions. Right then Larry is off for a war for gaining back his mother undivided love and attention. Things are taking a different turn when a new competitor joins the battle, a baby boy. Both Larry and the dad find it comforting to stick to each other rather than fighting. Telling the story from Larry’s point of view contributes to the story in different ways. First, it serves as a mirror for the problems of youth and growing up as can be seen from what went on in Larry’s heart. In addition, this point of view builds the conflict of the story. Furthermore experiencing the story through the eyes of five years old makes it innocent, humors and spiced with irony. The Oedipus Complex is a term that was coined by Freud, but is named after the Greek mythical character, Oedipus, who unknowingly kills his father, Laius, and marries his mother, Jocasta. (Al Aziz, 2011). According to Freud, between the ages of three and five, the child feels sexual desire for the parent of the opposite sex and desires the death of the parent of the same sex. “At the time of puberty the human individual has to “devote” himself to the great task of detaching himself from his parents, for the male child this means detaching his libidinal wishes from his mother and choosing another love-object. This is somewhat difficult process because the child must both accept his father as amore powerful rival for the mother and reconcile himself to his

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