LITERARY CRITICISM OF GRAHAM GREENES A LITTLE PLACE OFF THE EDGWARE ROAD

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: the author name is Graham Greene he was born on 2nd October 1904 He disliked sports and was often truant from school in order to read adventure stories by authors such as Rider Haggard and R. M. Ballantyne. These novels had a deep influence on him and helped shape his writing style. The important thing that we should take note about him was during his school time he was badly bullied and he had made several attempts to suicide. The recurring themes of treachery and betrayal in Greene's writing stem from his troubled school years where he was often tormented for being the headmaster's son. After several suicide attempts, Greene left school one day and wrote to his parents that he did not wish to return. This culminated in his being sent to a therapist in London at age fifteen. His analyst, Kenneth Richmond, encouraged him to write and introduced him to his circle of literary friends which included the poet Walter de la Mare. He used to write two novels but none of it were successful. He had many extra-marital affairs, and confessed he was "a bad husband and a fickle lover", although he never revealed his affairs in his two autobiographies. He separated from his wife in 1948 but they never divorced. Towards the end of his life, Greene lived in Vevey, Switzerland with his companion Yvonne Cloetta. He died there peacefully on April 3, 1991.

PSYCHOANALYTIC THEORY

This theory was developed by Sigmund Freud Freud's basic contention was that humans have desires, largely sexual in nature, that are denied either because the lifestyle of the person does not allow them to take place, society bans them or the individual himself feels crippling guilt at the possibility of their enactment. In the case of a patient harmed or crippled by neurosis these repressed desires exert an indirect but terrible pressure on the conscious mind, pressure which can change personality and stop a human from functioning effectively as a member of society. Freud believed that the literary artist, far from being mentally ill, was someone who possessed a power to take subliminal, unconscious fixations and communicate them with great strength. understanding what the author has done is at the same time a gateway back to reality, back to basic urges that govern our mentality

In this story, there are some situations that show the elements that suits with psychoanalytic theory:1. Sexual desire All the way up the Park, he was reminded of passion, but you needed money for love. All that a poor man could get was lust. Love needed a good suit, a car, a flat somewhere or a good hotel. It needed to be wrapped in cellophane Pompilia had already stabbed herself-or so Craven supposed- and lay still and buxom among her weeping slaves From the two excerpts above, we can see the element of sexual desire. As he is being alone, his desire toward women is not fulfilled since he is poor, and he is not having a good shape of body:He was aware that every one of them had a better body than himself: indigestion creased his stomach: he felt sure that his breath was foul He always wanders whether there is something wrong with him that makes it hard for him to approach women. The second excerpt shows his interest on the slaves in the show. He may just describe the situation as Pompilia lies on her slave. 2. Ego-Defence Mechanisms He said, it was a dream, a dream, and leaning forward he saw in the mirror above the telephone his own face sprinkled by tiny drops of blood like dew from a scent-spray. He began to scream, I wont go mad. I wont go mad. Im sane. I wont go mad. presently a little crowd began to collect, and soon a policeman came. He doesnt admit that he is mad and kept telling himself that he is not mad. In reality, how can a dead man wake up from grave and talk to us?

ARCHETYPAL
collective unconsciousness - a set of primal memories common to human race, existing below each person's conscious mind shadow - darker, sometimes hidden (deliberately or unconsciously), elements of a person's psyche

1. Collective Unconscious - There are certain basic and central images and experiences that are inherent in the human psyche He remembered a dream he had three time woken trembling from: he had been alone in the huge dark cavernous burying ground of all the world. Every grave was connected to another under the ground: the globe was honeycomb for the sake of the dead, and on each occasion of dreaming he had discovered anew the horrifying fact that the body doesnt decay

2. Shadow There were not twenty people in the place a few couples whispering with their head touching, and a number of lonely men like him wearing the same uniform of the cheap mackintosh. They lay about at interval like corpses and again Cravens obsession return: the tooth-ache of horror Somebody felt his way through the darkness, scrabbling past cravens knees - a small man: Craven experienced the unpleasant feeling of a large beard brushing his mouth. Then there was a long sigh as the newcomer found the next chair

BIOGRAPHICAL THEORY
It is said that during his lifetime, Greene was an alcoholic. Thus, in this story, the character of Craven is a heavy drunker. This can be seen in the excerpt provided below:He was aware that every one of them had a better body than himself: indigestion creased his stomach: he felt sure that his breath was foul but who could he ask? Next, he also believes that in order to achieve happiness in life, he needs to be wealthy. With his career as writer, he managed to get some money from his book and at the same time he also marriage with his wife, however he has many love affairs with other women to accompany him but never divorce his wife. It portrays in the below evidence:All the way up the Park he was reminded of passion, but you needed money for love. All that a poor man could get was lust. Love needed a good suit, a car, a flat somewhere, or a good hotel. It needed to be wrapped in cellophane According to his background, in 1926, the writer (Graham Greene) converted to Roman Catholicism, later stating that "I had to find a religion to measure my evil against." Based on this short story (A Little Place off the Edgware Road), he includes some bible verses and excerpt which picture him as pious person. The body shall rise again as tidings of great joy Sometimes he prayed at night (a hint of religious belief was lodged in his breast like a worm in a nut) that his body at any rate should never rise again.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
The meaning of Craven: (adj) lacking courage Mackintosh: (noun) a full length waterproof coat Toga: (noun) a loose outer piece of clothing worn by the citizens of ancient Rome Vindictiveness: (adj) trying to harm or upset somebody, or showing that you want to; because you think that they have harmed you Billowy: typically cloud