Defense Mechanism Used to Deal with Trauma Caused by Social Elements in The Novel the Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead (2019)

This thesis is the analysis of a novel entitled The Nickel boys (2019). This analysis
finds the social elements such as racism, abuse, segregation. These social elements
are caused by trauma to the characters in this novel, because of this trauma, the
characters used defense mechanisms to deal with trauma caused by social elements.
This thesis uses psychoanalysis theory from the novel entitled The Nickel Boys by
Colson Whitehead (2019). This analysis uses the psychoanalysis literary theory by
Sigmund Freud, and uses defense mechanisms from Cloninger’s book the titled is
theory of personality. This research found four defense mechanisms that the
characters used to deal with trauma, such as identification, isolation, sublimation,
intellectualization. : The data used for this research in the form of quotations,
sentences, and phrases related to defense mechanisms and social elements , in the
research using elements of literary elements such as plots, characters, identify social
elements and defense mechanisms after that categorizing the data through
psychoanalysis criticism theory. After categorizing the data and continue to read
the novel several times and find related issues. After finding the data, the data uses
psychoanalysis literary to analyze the data. The data are examined from books,
journals, and articles. Answering research questions based on psychoanalysis
theory based on the data in the novel. There are two findings in this research. First,
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social elements that cause of trauma. Second, the defense mechanism that the
characters used to deal with trauma.