Language & Culture II 2014 My Oedipus Complex

My Oedipus Complex a short story by Frank O’Connor

In this story we will look at

 Realism
 Literary analysis: subject matter, action, plot, character, setting
 Themes
 Style: humour
 Denotation and connotation

Before reading: What does the title of the story mean?

Comprehension Questions

a. How does Larry view his father’s brief visits home during the war?
b. What is Larry’s attitude towards the war?
c. Why does Larry play the imaginary game with his feet?
d. What time does Larry usually wake up? How do his parents respond to this?
e. What religion does the family practise? How do we know?
f. What prayers are referred to in line 76? Why is Larry disappointed in God’s
powers? (line 121)
g. Why do Larry’s two feet ‘talk’ about putting a parent in a Home?
h. For how long do you think Larry played alone when he says it seemed ‘for
hours’?
i. How hard does Larry’s father hit him? Explain your answer.
j. How does Larry feel about the long-awaited baby brother?
k. What causes Larry’s father to become more sympathetic toward him?

Your Retelling: A two-minute production

LITERARY ANALYSIS: Focus on these five areas.

a-SUBJECT MATTER: What is the story about?

b-ACTION: Sum up the story in 5-7 sentences. Remember to use the present simple.

c-PLOT : remember the different stages

d-CHARACTER: Who is the protagonist of the story? How much information can you
gather about him/her? Does he/she change through the story? Useful terms: Round
flat static developing

e-SETTING: where and when does the story take place? Find clues (cultural, historical
references?) useful terms: neutral spiritual

Active reading
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Language & Culture II 2014 My Oedipus Complex

1) Analysing Theme
The story uses humour to lessen the impact of Larry’s painful feelings of jealousy and
alienation. Explore:
a. How are the first and last paragraphs of the story related?
b. In what way does Larry mature and change in the story?
c. How does the jealousy that both Larry and his father feel for each other express
itself?
d. What is the turning point in the relation between Larry and his father? What
brings about the change?

2)Analysing the Author’s Style

Humorous Effects The humour in My Oedipus Complex arises from several sources.
The first one revolves around the oedipal behaviour that five year old Larry innocently
exhibits. The Austrian psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud developed the theory of the
Oedipus complex to explain the jealous sexual attachment of a young child for a parent
of the opposite sex. For example, when Larry declares to his mother his intention to
marry her, he is expressing his desire to take his father’s place in her affections and
causes the reader to smile at his innocent ignorance.
1) What other examples of oedipal behaviour can you find in the text? How do they
help to create the humour in the story?
The second source arises from the gap between the child’s point of view or perception
and the adult language he uses to express himself. For instance, Larry exhibits his
naivete about sex when he accepts his mother’s statement that babies may be bought for
seventeen and six, yet at the same time commenting that his mother was perhaps too
exclusive (line 35-38)
2) What other examples can you find of sophisticated language that conflicts with
the child’s eye view of the world that is being expressed?
A third area of humour lies in Larry’s desperate attempts to be the man of the house,
while, not surprisingly, he is incapable of filling that role. So, when he announces
firmly, I wanted to be treated as an equal in my own home (lines 178-179), he follows
this up by drinking all the tea his father had made for his mother.

Focus on language
a) Denotation and connotation
All words have a denotation or specific meaning, which is the dictionary definition of
the word. For example mother is a female parent. In addition to their denotation, many
words have a connotation, which is an association suggested by the word and is usually
separate from its meaning. Words can have positive or negative associations. For
example, some positive connotations of mother might be love, security, kisses, food,
etc. some negative connotations of mother might include nagging, overanxious,
overprotective, restrictive, etc.
Look at the following list of words, think of the denotation they have and write down
the connotation(s) that come to mind when you think of these words. Your connotations
may be positive or negative or both.
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Language & Culture II 2014 My Oedipus Complex

Father (line 1) mountain (lines 96, 274)

Candlelight (line 4) a bottle of champagne (line 123)
Slamming (line 4) dawn (line 128)
Santa Claus (line 6) hissed (line 153)
Shadow (line 43) feather bed (line 211)

b) Vocabulary: idioms
Look at the list of idioms from the text. Discuss with a partner the meaning of each
phrase taking into account the context of the story.
Come in handy (line 16) take to (line 281)
Size someone up (line 94) let someone have it (line 310)
Foul play (line 102) take someone in (line 314)
Cracked up to be (line 122) give in to (line 323)
Sit bolt upright (line 132) turn out (lines 325 and 373 two different meanings)
Rack one’s brains (line 133) show off (line 337)
As good as lost (line 240)
Let fly (line 267)

Working with a partner, create mini-dialogues with seven of the idioms in the list.

Making Connections – building up fluency. Topics for oral discussion

1) Is the Oedipus complex recognised in our culture? Do you think that it is a valid
description and explanation of a young child’s relationship with a parent of the
opposite sex? Are there other period in life when children feel closer to one
parent than the other?

2) What is the ideal number of children per family? Does religion, economics or
population control play a role in deciding the number?

3) Is there a particular order of hierarchy (order of importance) in the family in our

country? Who is traditionally the most important or influential member of the
family? You may personalize these questions talking about your family.

Writing activities

1) Rewrite a part of the story from the father’s point of view. You can resort to humour
or give the story a more tragic tone.

2)The Oedipal theme runs through many novels, plays and movies. The ancient Greek
playwright Sophocles dramatized the Oedipus legend in his famous tragedy Oedipus Rex. In
modern times Woody Allen takes up the subject in a humorous vein in his segment of the
movie New York Stories, entitled Oedipus Wrecks. Go to the links below and watch these two
segments and complete the table.

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Language & Culture II 2014 My Oedipus Complex

Larry’s conflict Larry’s mother’s attitude Humorous situations

www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wCCvw-eeUo

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZklxQ4PP7Y8