Analysis Of The Book The Killers - 1088 Words

Hemingway’s The Killers tells the story of two hitmen, Al and Max, who were on a mission to kill Ole Anderson at a diner that was run by George in a small town. Al and Max then tied up Nick and Sam, two workers at the diner, while threatening George. The two hitmen waited for Ole Anderson to appear and when he never did, they both left the diner. In order to understand the motives of the characters, we can use Sigmund Freud’s theory to unravel their behaviors. We can explain the characters’ behavior by using various concepts proposed by Freud, such as the personality structures (id, ego, and superego) and defense mechanisms. Al and Max looked almost the same. They were of the same size and dressed like twins. However, they had different†¦show more content†¦Max, however, rejected Al’s suggestion and decided that their lives should be spared. Even when Al insisted, Max still stood by his decision to not kill the three of them. This behavior shows that Max was motivated by his superego that suppressed the urge of the id to kill. He stood by his moral conscience and did what was morally right. We can also argue Max’s reluctance to kill the three workers was because of his ego at work. Ego is the rational part of the personality that deals pragmatically with reality. It is the seat of reason, rationality, and logic. Max used his logic to not kill George, Nick, and Sam by deducting that the three of them would not cause the two hit men any trouble. In the story, we also see Al and Max engaging in various defense mechanisms. According to Freud’s theory of motivational episode, when a person’s need is not satisfied, he or she will engage in defense mechanisms in order to reduce the tension (catharsis). Defense mechanism can be defined as a mental process that one initiates in, usually unconsciously, to resolve conflict or anxiety. Based on the theory, we could also provide an explanation for Al’s interest in killing the three men in the diner. His id’s need to kill Ole Anderson was not satisfied when Ole Anderson did not show up to the diner on that day. When he could not satisfy his id, Al started to feel anxious. His anxiety was even more obvious when Al toldShow MoreRelatedEssay about Case Analysis of Richard Ramirez1572 Words   |  7 PagesIntroduction This paper presents a case analysis of Richard Ramirez, the serial killer of the 1980s better known as â€Å"The Night Stalker†. Using the qualitative method and content analysis, the findings reveal that the law enforcement procedures were minimal because of the technology available during that time and the prosecution was sufficient because of the criminal justice system. 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