Crow Lake Psychoanalytic Theory

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The psychoanalytic theory is a literary criticism that focuses on the desires and influences of a person. Crow Lake is the first novel written by Mary Lawson that has won The Books in Canada First Novel Award in 2003. (This novel is a family novel that revolves around the life of the Morrison’s after their parents die in a car accident. Crow Lake shows how the main conflict of the story causes conflicts between the characters. This essay will illustrate how the bonds between Luke, Kate, and Matt Morrison were formed and broken through the psychoanalytic perspective.
Luke Morrison is known for being the oldest of three siblings and is the “father figure” of his family in the novel. Before the death of his parents, Luke was at teachers college …show more content…

Matt is the second oldest brother who is in his last year of high school. He is known for having a strong bond with his younger sister Kate after the death of their parents. Their relationship has become so strong that his basic desire was to take care of her and to finish high school. In Crow Lake, Matt says, “When I finish university, if I’ve done really well I’ll be able to get a job and earn money and then I’ll pay for you to go to university.” (230). Also in the novel, Matt and Kate’s relationship is described using the imagery of a pond. “Through the woods with their luxuriant growth of poison ivy, along the track, past the dusty boxcars lines up receive their loads of sugar beets, down the steep sandy path to the ponds themselves.(4). The imagery is used to describe their relationship because they would hang out at Crow Lake even before their parents died. Furthermore, after their death, Matt does struggle a bit in school. It was challenging for Matt to look after his siblings, go to school, and get a job to help them leave their poverty state. Also, finding a job was very hard for Matt because it was not farming season. Throughout the novel, Matt’s superego is to finish high school and go to post-secondary. His superego was also developed through his parents because education was obligated upon the Morrison family. His ego was to face the reality that his parents have died and

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