A Study Of Fatima Bhutto’s The Runaways In The Light Of Defense Mechanism

Abstract

This study explores how the Defense Mechanisms affect, alter and transform the lives of  the people. The modern generation yearns for independence and transformation. This study focuses on the initial understanding of the Defense Mechanisms which is the sub theory of psychoanalysis used by the main characters in the selected literature The Runaways. It also includes background of the study, significance of the study, research objectives, research questions, delimitations and limitation of the dissertation. The study starts with Sigmund Freud’s notion of Defense Mechanisms with the lens of psychoanalytical theory. Defense Mechanisms have a long and illustrious history, beginning with Sigmund Freud's early works, in which he defined Defense Mechanisms as the mental operations that kept undesirable thoughts, feelings and ideas out of consciousness. Defense Mechanisms were described as methods for removing anxiety, unpleasant thoughts, and guilt feelings by S. Freud (1936) and Fenichel (1945). Other theorists like Alfred Adler, Anna Freud, and Melanie Klein expand the notion of Defense Mechanisms as a counterforce to the expression of desires and impulses. The individual's defenses keep him or her from becoming overwhelmed by anxiety. This concept also expands the application of defenses from external to internal causes of stress.