Repression in Literature Repression is the process of forcing thoughts into the unconscious and preventing painful or dangerous thoughts from entering consciousness. It develops when an individual accepts influence because he hopes to achieve a favorable reaction from another person or group. He adopts the induced behavior because he expects to gain specific rewards or approval and avoid specific punishment or disapproval. Through the play Hamlet, and two short stories The Boat, and The Ones Who Walks Away From Omelas, readers are able to explore the devastating consequences lead by the characters' failure to act against the influence of the others, and ultimately repressing their own thoughts and emotions rather than holding fast to what …show more content…
Being the victim of repression, Ophelia reveals …show more content…
The Boat shows the audience the burdensome process of the protagonist choosing whether defers to carry on the family's tradition of fishery or follows his own heart and get an education. The plot of the story develops through the internal conflict of the protagonist with his own maturity. In the protagonist's youth, he views life in a state of innocence without consideration of his duty as the only son. As he grows up, he gets to know that his father’s desire to attend university was thwarted out of his responsibilities to support the whole family as the protagonist says:''...I thought it was very much braver to spend a life doing what you really do not want rather than selfishly following forever your own dreams and inclinations.'' (Macleod) The protagonist is trapped between two forces which control his life: his desire to strive for an education, and his duties to carry on the family tradition. Even though he chooses to sacrifice his education in order to stay with his father, his repression of desire becomes the ultimate trigger of his father's death. His father wants to free the protagonist from being a filial son and a responsible successor of the tradition, therefore, he decides to save his son from being repressed by trading his