Individuation in J.D. Salinger’s Shoeless Joe and Shakespeare’s Hamlet

ace could speculate that the human condition is that of fragmentation, a dichotomy of the many aspects of personality that make us who we are. C.G. Jung, the founder of analytical psychology formulated a school of thought called junginism to explain this state of disunity. One theory from the Jungianism school of thought is the plow of individuation. The process of individuation refers to the course in which an individual unifies and integrates all aspects of his/her personality. Individuation is clear in both the character Ray Kinsella from J.D. Salingers Shoeless Joe and the character Hamlet, from Shakespeares The Tragedy of Hamlet the Prince of Denmark. Unlike Ray Kinsella, Hamlet was not able to reach individuation because of his melancholic mental picture and the dichotomy of his archetypes. Firstly, Hamlets process of individuation is weedy because of his melancholic depression. Throughout the play there are several moments where the reader becomes aware of the harmful na ture of Hamlets melancholic depression has on his process of individuation. One of the most famous soliloquies in history too be or not too be perfectly illustrates how Hamlets melancholic depression is to the detriment of his process of individuation. The first portion of the speech is Hamlet contemplating suicide, only to be dissuaded by the fact that it is a sin to end ones own life To be, or not to be? That is the questionWhether tis nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, Or to take arms against a ocean of troubles, And, by opposing, end them? To dieay, theres the rub, For in that sleep of death what dreams may come Hamlet is essentially contemplating the morality of suicide, but is hard-pressed that h... ...s hinder him for most of the play. Fortinbra like Hamlet is intent on avenging his father, but he is able to integrate all of his archetypes as part of his psyche, and does not drop his voice of reason in the pursuit of violence.Works C itedMaslow, A. H. A Theory of Human Motivation. 1943. http//psychclassics.yorku.ca/Maslow/motivation.htm.Steel, Piers Ph.D. The Science Of Procrastination. n.d. .1916, English, Book Edition Collected Papers on uninflected Psychology / by C. G. Jung Authorised Translation Ed. by Dr. Constance E. Long. Jung, C. G. (Carl Gustav), 1875-1961. Collected Papers on Analytical Psychology / by C. G. Jung Authorised Translation Ed. by Dr. Constance E. Long. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Dec. 2013.