SELVES WITHOUT IDENTITIES: PSYCHOANALYTICAL ANALYSIS OF EARTHLINGS

Abstract

In contemporary literature, Sayaka Murata’s Earthlings emerges as a force of defiance against orthodoxy and sociocultural dictates. This dissertation performs a dissection of Earthlings, exploring the negation of identity in the face of trauma. The theoretical framework of this thesis is built upon Lacanian psychoanalysis. The primary method of research, being textual analysis, draws on Trauma of the Real’s interpretation of the narrative. The primary focus is on the manner in which the characters grapple with the perpetual process of becoming. By analyzing the experiences of the characters, and their constant search for a harmonic self, this research expounds on the transcendence from the confines of normalcy. Furthermore, the eventual disintegration of self, when one goes on a search for it, due to the inherent unattainability of Lacan’s Real, is also explored. The core objective of this paper involves the deconstruction of identity, illustrating an existence devoid of a coherent selfhood. This subsequent lack of individuality aims to provide insights into the understanding of orthodoxy and conformity, as well as associated psychological implications. Illustrating the paradoxical nature of being a human, and its alignment within a sociocultural ecosystem. In summation, this dissertation urges one to question, evolve, and rebel against the strictures imposed by society, coming to terms with the intrinsic intangibility of a self, offering a profound contribution to the broader discourse surrounding the curation of an identity, an integral aspect of the human condition.