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Karly Gallis
AP Literature 4
th
hour
Mrs.Hallberg
25 November, 2013
My Oedipus Complex Analysis
In Frank OConnors short story, My Oedipus Complex, a five year old boy named
Larry tells the story of his fight for affection against his father and a new baby. With his father
away in the military, Larry is used to being the center of his mothers attention. He has a very
close relationship to her and she is his only real companion. Later, when his father returns and
his parents have a baby together, Larry is frustrated by how little his mother spends time with
him. In this story, OConnor highlights how after becoming an adult with a new mature
perspective on life, a child feeling neglected and lonely as major changes occur within the
family, can find humor in his past emotions.
Before his father returns and he starts to defend himself, Larry shows how comfortable he
is with his mother as his only companion. He seeks friendship in his feet, Mrs.Right and
Mrs.Left, with whom he talks and goes to for advice. Larry is not sad that he doesnt have many
friends. In fact, he doesnt even seem to notice. His mother treats him as if he is the Sun. He even
says that he always woke with the first light and, with all the responsibilities of the previous day
melted, feeling myself rather like the sun, ready to illuminate and rejoice (447). He feels
freedom and carelessness in a way that only a five year old can. He has his view out the window
and Mother to look after him, and he doesnt need anything else.
Due to his loneliness, Larry grows to be very independent. He wakes every morning on
his own and decides what he and his mother should do together. When he is no longer alone with
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Mother, after the addition of both his father and Sonny to the family, Larry finds himself going
through most of his daily routine by himself. When he wakes in the middle of the night as he
usually does, he got up and sat on the floor and playedThen I got my chair and looked out the
attic window (451) instead of going to sleep in his parents bed as he was used to. He takes
matters into his own hands when he feels his mothers attention on him fading.
Larry views himself as equal competition to his Father. When Father returns from the
war, he steals some of Mothers attention, and Larry feels he is able to fight for it. He was
prepared to compete with him any time for Mothers attention (449). At the young age of five,
he decides that Either Father or I would have to leave the house because he wanted to be
treated as an equal in his own home (450). Larry does not seem to understand that his
relationship to his mother is not the same as his mother and fathers relationship. Later, when the
baby arrives, he goes out of the way to cause it discomfort and make Mother like him less. Upon
arrival, Larry felt that Sonny demanded far too much attention (453).
In his five years of life, Larry witnessed many types of love around him and confused
which type he felt for his mother. He sees love between a mother and her child, friends, and
lovers. He understands that families that loved each other had babies together and asks his
mother for one, believing that it could be purchased to brighten the home (447). Later in the
story, he even tells her that he is going to marry her and have lots and lots of babies (453).
Both of his parents find this comment funny as his father outright laughs at the comment and his
mother continues to entertain the absurd idea. Larry concludes that It seemed to depend on
being grown-up and giving people rights, and I realized Id have to wait (453).
From an adults point of view, the neglect and loneliness Larry felt as major changes
occurred in the family can be seen as very humorous due to OConnors portrayal of Larrys
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emotions. Larry struggled with not being Mothers Sun anymore and despised those who
caused this change. He fought against both his Father and new baby brother, Sonny, to keep his
place as the most important figure in his mothers life. Larry wanted to be the husband figure in
his mothers life, taking care of her and adding another child to the family with her. When his
father, his mothers true husband, came into the picture, he saw himself as an equal opponent for
the title. It wasnt until after Sonny arrived and Father became more aware of how neglected
Larry was feeling that Larry seemed to understand his place in the family.