Confronting the Shadow of a Different Reading of Adolescent Individuation in Mehdi Rajabi's Novel The Canned Giant

The individual unconsciousness and the dominance of that shadow is one of the subjects that has always occupied the minds of writers and has caused the formation of a quantity of creative work. These concepts have got a special place in the works written for teenagers, considering the nature of the teenage period and the teenager's effort to know himself and reach a unique identity. Therefore, this research aims at analyzing the addressed novel (The Canned Giant) via integrating Jungian's analytical psychology approach, emphasizing the shadow, in terms of the hero's process of confrontation, recognition and acceptance with his shadow. This research has been conucted via using the content analysis method and the author has tried to analyze the archetype of the shadow and the components of its presence by analyzing the content of the story on the two levels of fictional characters and atmosphere creation. The findings of the research have indicated that Toka (the main character of the story) managed to face and accept a part of the shadow during the process of his individuality in facing the issues and problems that he is bound to face with the help of the canned giant that is a product of his imagination. The result of this successful confrontation at the end of the story is shown in the form of increasing Toka's self-confidence, his understanding of the real characteristics of himself and relative recognition of his shadow.
Introduction:
Psychoanalytic criticism is one of the important and influential branches of literary criticism that has its own specific supporters. A Jungian critic seeks to analyze a work based on the psyche of humans, self-awareness, and especially the unconscious, which are among the most significant components of Jungian thought.
Young adult novels, due to their focus on a sensitive period in an individual's life that lays the foundation for personality growth and development, can effectively reflect the issues that adolescents face on their journey of growth and self-discovery. During adolescence, an individual's attention is more directed inward and towards the recovery of their identity rather than their surroundings, as they strive to understand themselves.
This research aims to analyze the young adult novel The Canned Giant by Mehdi Rajabi through the lens of Jungian analytical psychology, focusing on the personal unconscious and the archetype of the shadow. It will explore the stages of confrontation, recognition, and acceptance of the shadow in the main character of the story (Toka) and present the results of this confrontation to the audience. The main question of this research is to examine how these three stages (confrontation, recognition, and acceptance) are articulated in the narrative level of this story.
Methodology:
This research is qualitative in nature and has been conducted with a psychological content analysis approach. It employs components of narratology as a tool for examining the techniques used to introduce dimensions of unconsciousness and self-awareness in this novel. In this method, data collection is followed by interpretation to extract and explain the hidden meanings within the text. One of the strategies for analysis or data mining in qualitative research is referred to as inductive content analysis. This study descriptively examines and analyzes inductive data related to confronting the shadow within the text. The data-gathering method for this research is documentary, and Jung's theories on individuation and the archetype of the shadow have been utilized for data analysis. This research seeks to answer questions such as: Can Touka confront his dark side? In how many stages and in what dimensions does this confrontation occur? How does the narrative level of this story articulate the stages of confrontation, recognition, and acceptance?
Results and Discussion:
This story illustrates the process of the main character's (Toka's) confrontation with his shadow. Therefore, it does not delve into how the shadow is formed but rather seeks to explain how to confront and accept it. The canned giant represents Toka's shadow, encompassing both its positive and negative traits, emerging from his imaginary world into reality. Thus, the process of accepting the giant in the story parallels the acceptance of the shadow through three stages: fear accompanied by denial, recognition, and acceptance of the shadow, which is reflected in the overall form of the story.
The first stage involves fear of recognizing and accepting oneself, leading to denial and projection of one’s traits and abilities onto others and the surrounding environment. The second stage is characterized by confronting and becoming aware of Toka's capabilities, which is emphasized by the presence of the giant and its assistance in his journey toward individuation. The third stage offers a very brief account of the outcome of this confrontation; a confrontation that leads to an understanding of part of the shadow rather than all of it.
Conclusion:
According to Carl Gustav Jung, the unconscious refers to that dark, hidden, illusory, and mysterious part of the human mind that contains pleasant and unpleasant memories, desires, thoughts, and repressed urges that were once in the realm of consciousness but have been forgotten over time due to neglect or lack of attention and have been transferred from consciousness to the unconscious. This content and its influence, which Jung calls “the shadow,” can pose serious challenges to an individual's life due to its power. The shadow is one of the unknown and significant dimensions of the human unconscious that, if not brought into consciousness, can take control of an individual's life and lead them into regression if it remains unrecognized and repressed. Therefore, achieving individuation requires balancing consciousness and unconsciousness through confrontation, recognition, and acceptance of the shadow. The shadow has both positive and negative aspects; first and foremost, it is not necessarily a repository for all evils and ugliness of repressed personality traits but also contains some admirable qualities such as creativity. Confronting the shadow is one of the most challenging stages of identity formation and achieving individuation. This difficulty arises from the fact that the shadow negates our sense of self because that other within us is so fundamentally alien to our conscious "self" that it can be said to lead to a denial of "self," especially when an individual doubts which one should be. At this stage, an individual must acknowledge their incompleteness and accept their flaws. Awareness of the shadow allows us to correct aspects of our psyche that are less known instead of repressing them.
Individuation is a process related to personality development. It means that in pursuit of achieving personality perfection, an individual must recognize different and sometimes conflicting parts of their being and utilize them for growth. During the individuation process, a person becomes acquainted with aspects of their unknown and unconscious desires, which constitute their shadow, bringing them into consciousness and using them for psychological elevation and discovering their true self. However, what plays a central role in this process and helps us achieve a comprehensive definition of individuation is recognizing the "self" or "identity." The individuation process requires establishing a connection between two aspects of selfhood: consciousness and unconsciousness.
The novel "The Canned Giant" tells the story of the main character (Toka) confronting his own shadow. This narrative is divided into three parts:
Part one: Understanding Toka and his mental world through his relationships with others; this section describes Toka's state and how she interacts with the people and phenomena around his before confronting his shadow. In this part, we become acquainted with Toka and his surroundings from his perspective, and the author skillfully uses atmospheric settings to effectively depict the phenomena surrounding Toka through his viewpoint and projections.
Part Two: Toka's confrontation with his shadow; this section is the main part of the story and describes Touka's encounter with his shadow, how she interacts with it, and with other people in his life. This part of the narrative showcases Touka's actions in his interactions with others; interactions that, although still carrying traces of fear and weakness from the first part, strive to overcome his fears and replace weakness and incapacity with strength.
Part Three: Understanding the shadow and achieving individuality; this section is shorter than the others and deals with the time after the process of recognizing the shadow. This brief section is a result of the second part and marks the beginning of life with an understanding of the shadow. The author narrates the transition from understanding the shadow in two pages. This transition culminates in the realization that the canned giant, which Toka now knows to be nothing more than an illusion, has played a role in this process. What reveals the process of understanding the shadow in this story is Toka's perspective on his thoughts.