Psychological Criticism of the Book a Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K Le Guin - Essay Example

? Psychological Criticism Of The Book “A Wizard Of Earthsea”, By Ursula K. Le Guin Psychological criticism is one of the well known forms of criticism in the English literature arena. This paper will be a psychological criticism and analyzes the fact as to why the author of the book A Wizard Of Earthsea, Ursula K. Le Guin wrote the book. The book, A Wizard Of Earthsea is a complete fantasy package that was published in the year 2004. The story revolves around a wizard who is young and vibrant and brings forth the adventures that are carried out by him. Central and main character of the book is Ged who is a great wizard around the archipelago of earthsea. This book went on to become quiet famous all over the world and has bagged several literary awards. It is one book that was proclaimed to have captivated both children as well as the adult readers to a great extent. Ursula K. Le Guin is a well known American author who has dealt with a wide range of subject but she is well known for her attributions with regard to the scientific subjects. The author has some special penchant for the scientific and psychological themes. There are totally 6 series of books in the same subject matter. She published the first three books in 70s and later made some new additions one by one. Critics have come to term it as a trilogy that stand complete as a single book or as a group. The idea of writing the book series came to Le Guin when she was asked by the publishers to write a science and fantasy mixed fiction that would cater to the needs of the adults. Usually, fantasy is looked upon as a section that is restricted only to the children. Le Guin, through the book, has broken the idea that fantasy is not just for kids by mixing the scientific aspects and also some sort of great elements such as perceptions with regard to power overall. Psychological criticism is one of the well known forms of criticism in the English literature arena. This particular form of criticism aims at bringing out the hidden realities and the beliefs that made an author to write a book on a specific subject. Predictions and assumptions are made as to what made the author choose the particular topic and what was the platform for this effort. It is one form of analyzing that base the research on scientific reasons to a great extent and the analysis has a large portion of scientific color to it. To get in more deeply, these are the areas that touch upon the unconscious or hidden levels in an author that inspired them to choose over to write and deliver some of the most famous books. Psychological criticism is one of the latest forms of theory which aims to provide you with a more clear ground for analysis on the basis of science (Lynn, 2004). Let us critically analyze the book A Wizard Of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin by making use of the best process. Le Guin was brought up in US and had great parents. Her father, Alfred L. Kobler was an anthropologist who seems to have inculcated the likeliness for humanities and the sphere of natural and social science. She has taken a lot of learning in the early phase of her life. This is clearly reflected in her books and the book in question A Wizard Of Earthsea also addresses human life, behavior and traits on the whole. The book in general gives importance to individual actions and that it can bring in a great lot of change in the society as well. Fantasy was slowly starting to catch up at that point. If observed closely, the book would have dealt with issues such as power, ego, self centeredness and also self examination. All the more, this particular book emphasizes the power of words and how influential they can get. It brings out the realty that nobody is without any sort of faults and thus the power to come out of it and realize it is what matters on the whole. Thus the author purports to include some of the more serious universal topics into the book in the form of scientific fiction. The main motive that seems to be behind the writing of this book is to bring out a form of a self examination of the self and bring out the truth in the front to win over any sort of hurdle or evil. Like any other stories the good will wins over the evil but only when the central character realizes the worth of self in a beautiful manner. The author takes the readers to the world of science as well as fantasy which is one of the rarest forms at that period. Imagination and innovativeness is used allover the book to provide a clear picture as to what is going on in the story. In case of fantasy related stories, the author need to narrate something that actually does not exists thus cautious efforts are needed in the form of minute details put together in a more logical manner. The book does this part well by providing the readers with a clear cut idea as to what is going by giving some imagery visual appeal to it. The central theme of the whole book seems to be that of the unleashing the power within oneself, the ability to tap that and achieve your goal. Motives and intention of this book series seems to be aimed at both the adult readers as well as the kids who are getting used to the knack of reading. When you are introduced to the character, you can easily get to know the thoughts of the author while writing the fantasy book. She has exercised her imaginative and innovative capability to a great extent and brings forth the importance of reassessing one. The intention of the writer is clear in most of the areas throughout the book. According to A Wizard Of Earthsea (Le Guin, 2004) Ged, the wizard has a different perception for power and there is a lot of things surrounding him that prevents him from looking into the true aspect of life. Here, the author seems to address the area in a right manner by providing the self examination part as to what are the obstacles the character is facing and how it prevents him from looking beyond it. The book contains opposing views which is an outcome of thought process of the lead character and ultimately the better part will win over the other. The book quotes, “For a word to be spoken,” Ged answered slowly, “there must be silence. Before, and after.” Then all at once he got up, saying, “I have no right to speak of these things. The word that was mine to say I said wrong. It is better that I keep still; I will not speak again. Maybe there is no true power but the dark.” Period at which she wrote the book also had a greater influence on her. That was the time fantasy was one of the budding areas and people would always put that aside to the scientific ones. Thus there seemed to be no validation for the books that comes with fantasy as the main base. Publishers requested the author to go ahead and write some stories for adults and children who like science put together with fantasy. Thus, from the above analysis it is very much clear from psychological criticism aspect the author of the book A Wizard Of Earthsea, Ursula K. Le Guin has her intentions clear and purports to bring in the reality of human life in the form of the book. Psychological criticism which is a main branch of the English literature theories provides with a greater scientific analysis on the contents and thus provides for a complete understanding about the inner beliefs of the author which lead to the creation of this art form that gained a great amount of appreciation. Reference: Lynn S J. Texts and Contexts (4th Edition) ISBN NO: 0-321-20942, (2004), pp. 48-110 Le Guin U K. A Wizard Of Earthsea, Chapter 9, 1968 Read More