Document Type : Research Paper
Authors
1 Faculty member of Department of Persian Language and Literature, University of Kurdistan
2 Faculty member of Department of Consulting, University of Kurdistan
3 M. A. of Persian Language and Literature, University of Kurdistan
Abstract
Psychological studies of literature play a significant role in analyzing the deeper layers of fictional characters, and in this regard, Alfred Adler’s individual psychology, by explaining the process of personality development within the individual’s social life and self-awareness, provides a framework for analyzing literary characters. The present study, based on Adler’s individual psychology, offers a psychological analysis of the character “Ziba,” the adolescent protagonist of the novel Call Me Ziba (2015) by Farhad Hassanzadeh. This novel, while narrating the life of its adolescent subject, directly and indirectly reflects important issues concerning neglected children and child laborers. The findings of this study reveal that Ziba, due to environmental factors such as parental neglect and social rejection, develops an “inferiority complex,” and her lifestyle gradually tends toward an “avoidant” personality type. The narrative portrays Ziba’s mental, personal, and behavioral processes in her efforts to overcome the inferiority complex, compensate for deprivations, and reconstruct her individual identity. However, environmental and social conditions result in the formation of a fragile identity, which illustrates the influence of environmental determinism on the personality development of vulnerable and neglected adolescents. This, in turn, highlights the importance of emotional and social support in the process of their personality growth
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