EGO DEFENSE MECHANISM OF GERARD CONLEY AS HOMOSEXUAL IN GERARD CONLEY’S BOY ERASED: A MEMOIR OF IDENTITY, FAITH AND FAMILY

Abstract

This study is concerned with identifying and reviling the internal and external conflicts, the role that the id, ego, and superego play in conflict development, and the kinds of ego defense mechanisms used by Gerard Conley in Boy Erased: A Memoir to resolve conflicts he experiences. It utilizes Kenney William's literary theory to convey internal and exterior conflict. This study also applies psychoanalytic theory to discuss the id, ego, superego, and ego defense mechanisms. The outcome suggests that Gerard experienced four types of man vs. the self-conflict. Man vs. Man and Man vs. Society is the external conflicts that Gerard encounters. This study also showed that each conflict has four wishes in Gerard's id: Admitting his sexuality, needing love and seeking love, expressing his sexual identity, and wishing to get freedom. The superego of Gerard causes him to feel guilty and ashamed of his sexuality. The ego works within himself by repressing or postponing the id and prefers to act following the superego. This study disclosed 6 (six) ego defense mechanisms that Gerard employed. It contains sublimation, regression, rationalization, displacement, reaction formation, and intellectualization.

Keyword: Psychoanalysis, Internal and External Conflict, Id, Ego and Superego, Ego Defense Mechanism, Boy Erased: A Memoir.