PSYCHOLOGY OF THE CONFINED IN NICOLA YOON’S EVERYTHING, EVERYTHING

Abstract

ABSTRACT The present study examines the issue of personality development and self-discovery within confinement in the novel Nikola Yoon’s Everything, Everything. The study employs the psychoanalytic approach to analyse the developmental span of the protagonist Madeline Whittier. Hence, the study aims at identifying the different stages of personality development Madeline undergoes despite her isolation. Furthermore, it attempts to determine the impact of social connections and clarify long-held beliefs about whether individuals truly need others to grow or if the people around us merely serve to push us farther away from our true selves. The study is based on different psychoanalytical concepts and theories and how they could be used to approach the novel. Moreover, the study is supported with an interview with the writer, Nikola Yoon, to further explain the mentality and psyche of her protagonist. To conclude Madeline is a blend of several mental states. Her seclusion contributes to her perplexing inner voices and fantasies. Nonetheless, she undergoes a quest for the self in the midst of turmoil to gradually develop her personality. Thus, Madeline’s path towards herself is fraught with conflicting feelings, several loops that perplex her, and several mountains of suffering that grind her down.