Jack’s Indelible Trauma in Home,caused by his Instinctoid

Cai Huiying

【Abstract】In Home， regarded as one of the modern classics and written by Marilynne Robinson， one of the most famous female writers in contemporary American literature， the protagonist Jack is a very complicated figure. This paper mainly focuses on studying Jacks Trauma caused by his instinctoid from the perspective of Humanism， claiming that his instinctoid is the biggest internal reason to hinder his self-actualization. Jacks instinctoid primarily comes from two aspects. One is driven by his curiosity as a na?ve child; the other is motivated by his lack of the safety， the belongingness and love. His indelible trauma， imprinted in Jacks mind， is like the Red Letter on the heroine Hester Prynne in Hawthornes Scarlet Letter.

【Keywords】Protagonist Jack; Trauma; Instinctoid; Home

【作者簡介】Cai Huiying，Qujing Normal University 。

In Maslows view， motivation， mainly referring to the one both internally and externally， is the major cause which propels human beings to take part in various activities. The concept of the Instinctoid， based on the instinct theory in the traditional psychology， is put forward by Maslow. The instinctoid and the instinct are both influenced by the organisms biological nature， but they are totally different. Unlike the instinct traditionally， the instinctoid is not evil but neutral， according to Maslow. Jack possesses the characteristics of the instinctoid， becoming a big impediment in Jacks seeking self-actualization. His instinctoid mainly involves some misdemeanors or misbehaviors in his youthhood， including his childhood pranks， his theft， his drinking， his fathering a child with a local white girl named Annie Wheeler and so forth.

Jacks instinctoid primarily comes from two aspects. One is driven by his curiosity as a na?ve child; the other is motivated by his lack of the safety， the belongingness and love. According to Maslow， curiosity is a trait of all human beings. It seems that children have their natural curiosity. Maslow also says that a healthy child has a stronger curiosity. （Goble， 38） Without exception， youthful Jack has his own natural and innate curiosity. In Jacks adolescence， he has unintentionally done many unexplainable pranks. For instance， Jack “once blew up his [Amess] mailbox， like I [Jack] would have teased a cat or stirred an anthill.” （Home， 132） Additionally， he broke into houses to steal inconsequential sums of money or anything else， but he didnt need them at all. Jack ever helplessly says to Glory whom Jack trusts only，

I stole it once. Temporarily. I dont know why. … The old gent [Jacks father] used to ask me， ‘Why did you do that， Jack？ And I couldnt even tell him I did it because I felt like it. Even that wouldnt have been true. What did I want with an old baseball mitt？ Nothing. But there wasnt really much to steal in this town. It would have been hard to find anything to want， anything that might make it seem as though I had a motive. （Home， 211）

Consequently， the natural curiosity is one of the impulses Jack behaves so flippantly. As Robinson says， “their greatest transgression is the good-natured turbulence.” （47） They are “childish behaviors”. （41）Besides his curiosity， what is the biggest motive of Jacks stealing behavior？ Maslow declares that

... determines the relative frequency of the two types of behavior seems to be that the child who is insecure， basically thwarted， or threatened in his needs for safety， love， belongingness， and self-esteem is the child who will show more selfishness， hatred， aggression， and destructiveness. In children who are basically loved and respected by their parents， less destructiveness should be found， and in my opinion what evidence there is shows that less destructiveness actually is found. This implies a reactive， instrumental， or defensive interpretation of hostility rather than an instinctive one. （Motivation and Personality， 122）

Undoubtedly， for a growing child， according to Maslow， the central role of the parents and the normal family setup are indisputable. It is true that in some children this terror may represent a fear of loss of parental love， it can also occur in completely rejected children， who seem to cling to the hating parents more for sheer safety and protection than because of hope of love. Obviously， the lack of safety， belongingness and love is another drive of Jacks misbehaviors. Juvenile Jacks need for safety， belongingness and love chiefly depended on his father and his mother， Reverend Boughton and Mrs. Boughton， but Jack can not acquire the gratification for safety， belongingness and love from the parents. As a prestigious and dutiful preacher in Gilead， Mr. Boughton spent most of his time on his sermons. He had little time to accompany Jack to further have an insight into his sons inner world. As Jack sings when playing the piano， “I want a Sunday kind of love， a love that lasts past Saturday night. Im on a lonely road that leads to nowhere. I want a Sunday kind of love.” （Home， 198） In this sense， his fathers love for him is rather scanty， because his father always goes to church at Sundays. He indulges himself in his fanatic sacrament. Woefully， in his fathers eyes， Jacks instinctoid behaviors are the crowning disgrace in Boughtons family. Similarly， as a full-time housewife， his mother was always busy with considerable household affairs. His mother said to Glory once， “I believe that boy was born to break his fathers heart.” （58） Consequently， in Boughtons family， nobody pays more attention to Jack， a sensitive and lonely little boy. In order to draw others attention， especially his parents， Jack attempted to do some special things to achieve his goal. When his family members gathered together very cheerfully at home， Jack chose to intentionally leave this kind of hilarious occasion to strive to be conspicuous. As Jack explains later to his sister Glory，

I used to test it， stir up a little trouble to make sure the old fellow was still keeping an eye on me. Sometimes Id be out in the barn， in the loft， listening to the piano， you all singing ‘My Darling Clementine， and Id think， Maybe theyve forgotten all about me， and it felt like death， in a way. I was usually closer to home than he thought I was. Where he didnt look for me. （Home， 288）

Unfortunately， no one really discerned Jacks motive. All the family members only thought Jack was Jack， he did what he liked， he was a malicious child， and he just didnt care for his father， mother， sisters and brothers， even his home. Gradually， Jack becomes a stranger in Boughtons house. Even in the neighbors eyes， Jack was a miscreant boy. As the wife of Mr. Trotsky says to Jack， “I know who you are. The boy thief， the boy drunkard！” Because the need for the safety， belongingness and love from his parents is not satisfied， Jack continues his misdeeds. He got a local underage girl pregnant and then abandoned this white girl and their daughter. As Maslow claims， motivations are complicated; a persons desire for sex represents a wish of his or her wanting to attract others attention. “In this relatively well-fed and well-clothed society， lack of love is the major cause of peoples misbehaviors.” （Maslow， 2003： 2） The root of Jacks transgression is lack of safety， belongingness and love. As Jack thought， “the house was not quite his， nor the family.” （53）

Under a scandalous shadow and with a bad reputation as a thief and a scoundrel， Jack left his hometown Gilead. Jack carries a load of guilt for his troubled history which always runs upon Jack like a parasite or an apparition which becomes Jacks greatly spiritual burden in his vagrant life. After his absence for twenty years， Jack determines to come back to his hometown Gilead to seek for his inner peace， and simultaneously to build a received and approved home belonging to his lover Della， a black woman， their son little Robert and him. Because Gilead itself， in the Old Testament， is the source of the balm of Gilead， a healing salve. After publishing her second novel Gilead， Robinson （2004） stated in the Rothenberg interview that the town Gilead is “used as a symbol of what can be restored， what can be hoped for.” As a new spokesperson of Robinson， Jack in Robinsons latest novel Home also insists at the very start that Gilead will be hopeful and therapeutic for him both emotionally and psychologically. Unfortunately， homecoming is an excruciating nuisance. His notorious history， imprinted in Jacks mind， is like the Red Letter on the heroine Hester Prynne in Hawthornes Scarlet Letter. In Gilead， people regard Jack himself as a symbol of something disreputable. Ostensibly， it seems to him to forget his humiliated past. In fact， Jack cant forgive himself because of his troubled youth. As Susan Petit （2010） declared that

Unfortunately， while Boughton has always forgiven Jack unconditionally for his many misdeeds， Jack cannot forgive himself， though he forgives others. He sees himself as not merely a sinful man， but as the only sinner in the Ames and Boughton families， and despite his stated unbelief， he fears damnation…His sense of sin is exacerbated by his belief that those around him are righteous.

After he comes back to Gilead with his haunting past， whatever he does， wherever he goes， the disgusting past is a lancinating trauma that makes Jack appear to be a little self-abandoned， self-condemned， and self-degraded. Jack always calls himself as “my tarnished self” （129）， “a bad kid” （119）， “a foundling” （259） and “a nuisance and a brat， a scoundrel” （132）. He is not confident in himself， he shouts， “Exasperation， Im so tired of myself.” “I was the town thief… my troubled youth， it was embarrassing.” （210） Troubled by his annoying past， Jack seems to be overcautious and timid in doing everything. He is afraid of making some similar mistakes so that Jack looks a bit embarrassed， pessimistic， uneasy， restless and anxious， as Glory describes， “He was never at ease with them.” （29） In addition， Jack dislikes going out in the daytime at the beginning of his coming back to Gilead. It makes him an autistic and unsocial person. Just as Maslow insists， if the need for belongingness and love is not gratified， individuals will generate the feeling of intense loneliness， alienation， and estrangement which make them have some excruciating experiences which are not beneficial for individuals self-actualization.

References：

[1]Maslow， Abraham. Motivation and Personality [M] Beijing： China Social Science Publishing House， 1999.