q/ Frcud

the Enelishr-nanlBoy
and----

PatrickMcEvoy-Halston
9712576

English451M02
Dr.Fertile
June2311998
 -1-

The Englishman'sBoy, states

The characterof DamonIra Chance,in Guy Vanderhaeghe's

thatthe "principle of a book is persuasio4';a book "invites thougYwhile moviesconvertby

invokingfeelings(107)I gut in writing a bookto persuadeCanadians

Vanderhaeghe
like Americansis adolescentandself-destructive,
that their urgeto be more

usessomeof the manipulative

t#f""
rut'Le*
W
forceshe assignsto films. Vanderhaeghe usespowerful,emotiorrprovokingscenes,$ke the
^
wd*''
the charactertrait of anti-Semitism
rapeof a child afterthe shootout,andassociations,'like

assignedto Chance,to convertour opinionof the Wild West,andthe dreamerChance,asmuch

/) ..inthebowels,,ffi107).ButbeforecallingVanderhaegheahypocriteforinspiring
I

powerfulemotionswhilffwarning againstthem,we mustrememberChance'swarningto getthe

'1"-
AmericaosattractionloHarcyVincent,andto Canada,in the
psychologyright. If we understand

Freudiansenseof id impulseson the loose,andthis book asan attemp to help containthem,

useof both persuasionandmanipulationsimplymimicsthe tools usedby

thenVanderhaeghe's

the superegoto containthe id. Perhaps,then,we might imagineourselvesdisciplesof Freud,

andexcusethe manipulationsof the superego,aslong asthe authoris right that in our collective

Canadianpsyche,our id impulsesareescapingtheir constraints.

Whatthenis the Freudianframeworkof the psyche?Accordingto Freud,the psycheis

composedof id impulsesandego,andsuperegorestraintt/ Z

The id wasdefinedin termsof the mostprimitive urgesfor gratification

in the infant,urgesdominatedby the desirefor pleasurethroughthe
releaseof tensionandthe cathexisof energyf1.fhe ego,which follows
whatFreudcalledthe reality principlein contradistinction to the
pleasureprincipledominatingthe id. Herethe needto delay
is slowly learnedin an
gratificationin the serviceof self-presenration
effort to thwartthe anxietyproducedby unfulfilled desires.WhatFreud
 -2-
,..r
tn
termeddefensemechanismsare developedby the egoto dealwith such -,-Uf r,y'
conflicts. Repressionis the mostfundamental,but Freudalsoposited 3r u{t' ^
-
rV-
superego
an entirerepertoireof othersincluding.,.isolation...the .^^tA \n /
developsfrom the internalizationof society'smoral commandsthrough y' Mv1 .l V
superegogainssomeof its
the identificationwith parentaldictates...the w .r,y'.'-
punishingforce by bonowing certainaggressiveelementsin the id, (r,rur^*W;rrf
which areturnedinward...andproducefeelingsof guilt". ("Sigmund'leq) anlv -l/ -

fi'^v,/yr(
t

The fight of the id to escapeits jailors, andof thejailors to keepthe id lockedup, is the central

dramaof the psyche.

But shouldwe usea Freudianframeworkof id, egoand superegoto understand&g

Certainlythe topic of psychologyis broughtup often enough,andthe plot

EngliShrqan's-B-oy?

takesplacein Hollywood, wheredreamsaremade,but Freudianpsychologyis notoriousfor

knowingfew limits; everythought,every*Orftnterpreted asmotivatedby somesublimated

of theid, ego,andsuperrrofrou*hsoperfectlyforcesat
sexualdesire.ButFreud'sconceptions

play in the book that ttre readershouldassumethat the centralconflict in the book is the conflict
'w
t/
of the nsVch{andbestunraveledwith the help of Freudianterminology.
bt-t
Harry beginshis narrationsuggestingthe stateof mind that leld him to Hollywood, and ,.,,*

_t
helpedleadChanceto him. Harry had left Canadahopingto leavebehinda life spent
'huddled

on a riverbanknandcreateoneof actionin tunewith the "greatcrashingandroaringl'of the ice

J
\4tu)
moving down river 1t At ;. He decidedthat theseimpulseswereincompatiblewith one anotheg)
tw
onemustbe eitherEnglish,or American,
qu'dvntL ut*<! "nakoued
^
to the United Stateswith the intent of @
becomingAfnerican(181). He foundhimselfin Hollywood,but up until his meetingwith

t nspiringjob asa title writer, an outsiderin Hollywood,

1
of idealism
and,thusfar,findingcynicisminstead amongst peoplehe^et.
thecreative fu^)
)?
 ln,
N"d ,t -,
-3-
tMAf//
rI
In a Freudiansense,Harry wantsto indulgehis id impulses,his desireto be part of the action,

by movingawayfrom his hometo America. He endsup in Hollywood,an unrealplace,"half-

wild, half-artificial", whereid impulsesreignsupreme(12). In leavinghomehe leavesbehind

Y
the valuesof the Saskatchewan
someof the psychicrestraintsof the supereg(Jnotably
vJ
l^lvvilr
community, he now scorns.The parentaldictatesof the superegoarealsoweak,with his
W
mother,in a retirementhome,almostout of sightandmind. But the id is still constrained,

howeverfeebly,by the presenceof his mother,andby the fact that he finds himself,ashe felt in

school,"thrust on the outside"sothat "outsidebecamea stateof mind" (33). His isolationacts

Y
him from the realiratronof his dangerousdesires.
asan externalegodefens{J^isolating
v) 4

But thenhe meetsChance.Specifically,Chancebeckonshim. @inuites him to his home,

\-/
g geat. Chancetalksto
andsaysthingsto Harry which rekindlehis desireto be part of somethin

Harry in a way he finds appealing.Unlike everybodyelsewho talks dollars,Chancetalks art

(180).He tells Harrythat he plansto makea greatmovie,andinvitesHarry to help him makeit.

This moviewill attemptto evokeAmerica'sraw passionsht.

- sortthat helpedAmericaconquer
t)

her West,andhelp her be greatonceagain.Chancetalks aboutthe superiorityof intuition,

(t^-'*u-4
which putsa maninsidethe thingshe studies,overanalysis,which putsa manoutside."Factsin
A
picturemakingmustbe shapedby intuition" becausefactsrender"partial knowledgewhile

intuition rendersabsoluteknowledge"( 19-20).

,o
He
Chanceis helpingHarry overcomehis egodefensesof isolationandrepression. doeslhis
.},,n*'> ?
. .
by includingHarrywithinaninnercircle,*no")#J#l6ngings tp<, finallyhaveu *utttl H!

talk aboutintuition conffollingfact, inversingthe relationshipof the id to the ego,is an

for Harryto expresshis own innerfeelingswithout guilt. Harry required

encouragement
 -4-

withoutguil! his innerdesires.Chance's

like Chanceto allowhimselfto express,
someone
W
temptingsof theid hadto bepresented Forexample,if we
carefullyin orderto havesuooess.

a ba.rtarian,
imagineDenisFitzsimmons, attemptingto enticeIIarry
a manof camalpassions,

with theallureof hisinnermostintuitions,weknowthathewoul4 instead,haveremindedHarry

ofthe lesspleasant of primitivepassions.

possiblemanifestations tlarry, who,referringto
vl
is 'hot aboutto tell thismananything"wouldnothave,ashedemonstrates

h
Fitzsimmons, later,
lp
listenedto him either(8).
( 'clothes
Inslead,Harrylistensto Chancewhose" thinningharris neatlybrushed",whose

areelegantlycu! hisbrownbrogues...polished richness".Who" mightbea

to a chocolate \
\ lf{-1
| )
professorat an Ivy league school- a professorof goodfamily andsubstantialprivatemeans" J

(14). It is the perfectfacadeto attractl{arry, a man who is after power,but prefersto haveit

hidden"behind this polite, fastidiousEnglish faoade"(178). Chanceknowswell what he is

-14
doinq$ is implicit in the psychologicalprofile he otrersofthe averageAmerican:

the averageAmericanfeelsfoolishwhenhe enjoysa made-upstory,

feelssheepish, childish,a mooner,a dreamer.But entertainhim
with factsandyou give him permissionto enjoyhimselfwithout guilt.
He needn'tfeel swindled,or hoodrvinked,a hick solda bill of goods
by a carnivalbarker. He prefersto feel virtuousbecausehe's learned
somethinguseful,informedhimself,improvedhimself.(18-19)

llarry prefersto feelvirtuousabouthislongings.Chancerecopizesthis,andit informsthe

His success
deliveryof his spoech. ,vthichlfiarrt wy/dlater
is suchthatChance'sdream
, (3zs\
asbeing"greedyfor the
characterize about"energr,opimism,confidene''(80)
"poc"typt.';iJtit*
"/l
 v -5-
.ry
wThusHarrydecidestobe..partofsomethingois'\ratherthanbeabigpartof
somethingsmallandagreesto helpmakeChance'smovietr\Ol.

ChanceasksHarryto beginby trackingdownthe reclusivecowboyShortyMcAdoo andto

obtainhis story. In orderto find him, Harrywill needto deceivethe youngcowboyWylie, and

in orderto obtainShorty'sstory,he will needto lie to Shorty. Harry is willing to do this because

he wantsto help makeChance'sfilm. Moreover,Chancehasintroducedhim to a kind of logic

which canjusti$ the censorshipof actionsasmeaningless to

details. He hasalreadysuggested
7./S
ovelfacts. Chancewo2{alaterexpanduponthis conceptwhenhe
Harrythe priority of essence

saysto Harry,"detail w mostpeoplereadthe world, the simplelettersof their idiotic

alphabet...theyspellcrudeandliteralmeaningssuchas'clothesmakethe man'...mostpeople

don't havewhat you andI do, Harry...thegift to seebeyonda flat cap,or beyondsmallfacts"

(230- 231). Harryis alreadywilling to overlookthe smallfactsof his deceptionswhile keeping

his eyeon a largerdream. WhenHarry later asks{Xachel if "an admirationfor Griffith as

artistdoesn'tnecessarilymakesomeonea Klansman,doerit?" he is makingthe point to himself

that " a badmanmight be a goodartisf' (133). If true,thenin the nameof art, or a greatmovie,

badbehavioron his behalfmight be excusedaswell.

ChancehashelpedfreeHarry's id impulses,andwe beginto seetheir true nature,andsome

senseof why theyrequireconstraining.Harrybeginsto enjoypower. He feelsthe powerof

havingtalked,severaltimes,with a studiohead*hfi*ry few, andonly the likes of movie stars,

with Fitzsimmons
evermeet.Hegloriesin a confrontation whetherhe,or I U*oh
conceroing ^

ismoreimportant
Fitzsimmons, proj*. ,, * ufi*
toChance's urf..t,nu"rr.r,Ll
r"rrior,
womanllarry lovesbut whothinksof him asa mensch, friend" Sheis eagerto comerhim
as-.-a
 -6-

to find out his secret.

The encounterwith Fitzsimmonsstrikesthe readersaschildish,but the self-destructive

tendenciesof the id becomeobviouswhenwe observeHarry defendingFitzsimmonsto Rachel{

despiteRachel'schargethat sheknowshe is anti-Semiticby the way he looksat her. Harry says

that he really doesnot know why he doesthis, but we know thathe hasallowedhis senseof

grievancesomegrossfree play. As sheleavesto dancewith the up andcorningstarWilliam

he thinksto himself " the menschpaysthe bill...thegigolo'seveningisjust

DeShane,
/s
this grievancesuggesting
beginning"(139).FitzsimmonswoL/dlaterattemptio aggravate to
,/s
HarrythatRact,,ti,,,ffimoney'andChancewo;ildtempthimwithwhores.These
./ -A
a/'
attemptssuggestthe kind of manHarry might becomewithout the help of strong influences ,,/

capableof counteringthe badinfluenceof menlike ChanceandFitzsimmons.Fortunately,for

Harry,he spendsmuchof his time with ShortyMcAdoo,who turnsout to be/1ifferentlrindtf

,fi-^- l*u';
maglhan Chancehadspeculatedhe would be.

WhenHarry first meetsShortyhe learnsquickly that Shortywill resistHarry's demandsto

cutto thechase.Hedelayrffitory Harryi, rooffir@r manyda$andHarry

realizesthat "fonvard momentumdoesnot sit well with ShortyMcAdoo" (120). But this extra

time allows{grHarry to get a bettersenseof the man,a feel for the kind of manhe is, anda

strongdoseof the kind of lessonshe hasto tell.

The differencein the pacingof their narrativesis but the first of manyopposite

which Harry learnsdifferentiatesChancefrom Shorly. Theyhavedifferent ,,/

characteristics

ambitions.Chancewantsaboveall to makea greatfilm. Shortywantsto escapeto Canadaa

wherehe might get somepeaceandquiet. Theyhavea differentsenseof how to accomplish

 -7-

theirgoals.Chance,
withthehelpof Fitzsimmons, ,ypff
*rfibufffrnO usl others.Shorty
5 5,
abandonhisgoal,if it mearldoing harmto the memoryof the youngIndiangirl. Chancewill let
\,
no oneandnothingget in the way of his goal. Shortywill not let his goal get in the way of "/

helpingothers,anddoingwhat is right. In effect,if Chanceis a symbolof our psyche'sraw id

,r/
impulses,Shortyis a symbolof the psyche'sego,andsuperego.

The principlefunctionof the egois to groundthe flighty id impulseswith the hardfactsof

reality. So,while Chancetries to dissuadeHarry of the importanceof facts,Shorlyreacquaints,,/

him with their importance.ChancewantsIndianstories,so Shorlydescribesthe time he went

Indian. But first he describes:

Here'swhereyou go Indian...Upin your head. Indianis a way

of thinking. Lots of themEasternboysriding at the studiosplay
at cowboysandIndians. TheylearnedIndiansreadingthose
boys' books- maybesamekind of book you askingme to help
you write - bookstell you how to do signlanguage,showyou
how to chip an arrowheadwith a deerhorn, makea war bonnet
out of turkeyfeathers.Booksdon't makean Indian. It's country
makesanIndian.(l5l )

He therebyhelpsremindsHarrythat Easternboyswho run the studios,like Chance,with his

books,andmaps,havelittle senseof reality. Not surprisingly,Chance,afterbeingofferedthe

tale of goingIndian,repliesthat "a pictureabouta lunaticlost

storyof Shorty'sunglamourous

him aboutIndianwars"(157).
on the plainsis not whatI hadin mind...press "/

Chancerejectsthe storybecausehe will not allow his senseof the Americancowboyto be

tarnishedwith the imageof a cowboyrolling aroundin mud actinglike a pig. But Harry begins
 -8-
bb"f
to realizethat the detailsof Shorty'sstorytell a differentsenseof the AmericanWestthanW(

Chancehadpresentedhim with. Moreover,he beginsto realizethat, in general,detailscannot

becauseit is in the detailsttnt,

asChancesuggests,
be overlooked,or shapedby their essence,

that Chanceconsidersthe
mustbe found, Later,whenHarry understands
anykind of an essence

gruesomerape,andburningalive of an Indiangirl, which followedthe battlebetweencowboys

andIndians,asa detailwhich mustbe amended,this point finally strikeshome.

Shorlyalsoservesasan externalsuperegofor Harry. The superegodisciplinesthe id with

societalandparentaldictates.ShortyremindsHarry of the importanceof beinghonestby

emphasizingthedamagelies cancreate.Hollywoodhasrecreatedthe Wild Westdishonestly

9|"rt\l-l
maskingreal horrorsof conquestP thereforeremindsHarry that gunsarefor killing, and

adviseshim, forcefully,to payhomageto the dead,Wylie's brother,who died becauseof some

idiot's foolish desireto createa g[eatwestern.en{(Snody's willingnessto kill Chance,rather

U
thanallow himselfto have"sold out the girl, too" is an attemptto cleanup his own messor "put

the milk backin the bottle" (278).

for
Finally, ShortythroughWylie, tries to makeHarry feel guil$,?tactic of the superego,

lying to him aboutthe purposeof the solicitationof his story. Wylie tells Harrythat "Shorly says

you soldhim downthe river...Shortysaysthempitcherpeoplegoingto makehim a laughing

I

stock"(277). Harry repliesthat he has,in effect learrrlftuslesson.We know this to be true,ashe

4
le at'-2 S
frGftthe movieproject,ty*reje"@nunce andFitzsimmons, to Canada
andydmouesback

workingasa manager
wherehe'll be contentto limit his part of big eventsto that of a spectatorf
-l

of a movietheater.

havecometo the same

hopesby the endof the booh that we, asCanadians,
Vanderhaeghe

s1.
tTnCIuss*rlrh
 -9-

that any inclinationwe haveto be morelike

conclusion.He hasargued,with persuasion,

Americansshouldbe rejected.As an answerto Harry's questionafter he had"found that

Americans,by andlarge,recognizeno distinctionbetweenus...whyshouldI?", Vanderhaeghe

showsus the dark,elementalsideof America,andasksus whetherwe really wantto be like

them( 1I I ). Americanenergiesarewild anddestructive.Americais a nationof id; ajuvenile

nationwhich lashesout at anywho would castdoubtson their claim to be bold, andbeautiful. It

is a nationwith an overpoweringimpulse,tosimpliff, evidentin its recountingof its past,andin

itsirritationwithapolyglotsocietyMCanada,atleastcomparedwithits

southernneighbour,rightly pridesitself on its multi-culturalismanddoesnot insiston a

Canad{is lessproneto ignorethe

tightningconversionof immigrants,or of our predecessors.
V
damageswe causedin makingour nationandwe spendmoreof our resourceshelpingthe

"weak" andlesstime trumpetingthe "sffong".

But we areounfortunately,lesssureof ourselvesasa nationthanareour southern

neighbours.We complainthat we arenot patrioticenough.We try to convinceourselvesthat

we too, havehadimportanteventstakeplacehere;witnessthe popularsuccessof booksof

Canadianexplorationsby PieneBerton. Moreover,this senseof uncertainlyhaspickedup

of the FreeTradeAgreement
momentumasof late. Mulroneymanagedto makethe passage

with the United Statesa successfulenticementfor votersto vote him backinto offrce. This deal

wassoldasa chancefor Canadato showthat it could competeheadto headwith America,and

gatheredfavour,despitewarningsthat we wereputting manyof the programswe areproudof,

provincialpremiersnow go to the
by this success,
evensocialsecurity,at risk. Encouraged

United Statesto convinceheadof corporationsthat they will ensurethat the costsof doing
 -10-

arekeptaslow aspossible.Thereis renewed

in Canada
business talk thatCanada's
west/east

orientationmakeslifile sense,andthat we oughtproperlyto orientourselvessouthwardsllW d

I

our nationalsport,hockey,hasdonerecently,permittingmanyof its teamsto relocateto the

United States.

We arecomplainingthat Canada'spolitical correctness

is unsatisfuing.We long to be like

'
t ,a1... Americansand celebrateour countrywithout reservationlwithout doubts. But Vanderhaeghe
^lnvv
v-
,y
, . ,f arguesthat we cannotp€rmit ourselvesto do so. We oannotdistinguishByron, the maq from
\nP'
/ r" I5 2
u_t/ . Byron^lrtisticcreations,
because ofthe first informsouropinionofthe second.
ow knowledge o
1' \r"
his accomplishments,
Knowledgeof Byron'slife servesagainsttoo wholeheartedlycelebrating
"dP,Jt"
qf just asourknowledge shouldinformourjudgnentofhis
of Chance,andhisanti-Semitism,
0
shouldinsteadspendits effortscleaningupthespilt
impliesVanderhaeghe"
movie. Canada,
' 4*4u-il/
milk fromtheprwioustimesweactedlike Americansr*itewhen,in thedressing
of

march
wefonnedthe"NorthWestMountedPolioe,sentit ona long red-jacketed
Englishmen,

(326).
claimto it...amythicactof possession"
intoa vastterritory,establishing

, . ,rL b feelsstronglyenoughaboutourneedfor restraint,thatheis willing to

Vanderhaeghe

Y' I us,to servethis end. In a novelwhichwamsagainstsfiongemotions,Vanderhaeghe

manipulate

providesa detailedaccountof therapeofthe Indiangirl whichinevitablyevokesa powerful

senseof hatredtowardsthe*"n *ho *.ritted sucha heinousact. HealsomakesChancean

anti-Semite, flaw whichloomseverlargerasweprogress

a character throughhis story.

thetaleof theWestwith theraping andbumingaliveof thelndiangirl, is notthe

Associating

kindof association
to encourage
usto think for ourselves,
asRachelencouraged
Ftrarry
to do,and

formourownopinionofthe West.Insteadit is thekindofassociation

whichencourages
an
 -ll'
/
of America'sadventurein the Westas,simply, abarbarianexploit. Similarly,
understanding

Chance's
anti-Semitism usto thinkof him asa manlike Hitley'wfrJHarV*rff
encourages

comparehim to just beforehe finishesthe accountingof his past. And it is possible,we will

rememberrutmesChancehasmentioned including his n"r{lbngson/and GeorgeSorel,as '7

evil mendespiteneverhavingreadtheir worksi*r.tu.r.'rn

dangerous, short,just asfilms were W

dangerousfor their potentialto underminementaldefensesthroughthe powerof revelation,

hasusedthe powerof emotionprovokingassociationsto affect oujudgment of

Vanderhaeghe

the ideas,events,andpeoplewe encounterin the book.

He hasalsoprovokedin us feelingsof guilt. WhenHarry tells Shortyto stopobsessingabout

the girl, saying*Christ,the girl's dead...dead,ShortV"4$horty

refusesto stopbecausehe

understands'oIain't no different...Iain't no differenf'12?fOO). The rapeof the girl excited

L_/
him just asit did the others,andhe will not allow himself to forget it. We are unlikely to have

beenexcitedby the rop€,but we probablywereexcitedwith the ideaof a greatIndian battle, and

by Chance'sdreamsto makea greatmovie. If we arehones! we will acknowledgethat we, too,

are gurlty, like Shortywff, for becomingexcitedby eventsandpeople,worthy, in retrospect,

nrtY"e
only of oru scorn.
Ah*\7'*
right to manipulateus in this way? He is, if we acknowledgethe
Is Vanderhaeghe rilla J
ap)mr*
importanceof the superegoto control the dangerousimpulsesof the i4 andagreethat Canadians Vl*r)\
needthe strengtheningof suchconstraints.Manipulationby emotion,then, shouldbe viewed as
t'/
simply the normal operationof the superegoto usethe powersof the id againstitself.
'\standers huddled
Perhaps,instead,what oughtto cautionus beforeacceptingour fate as

arguesalmostentirely
on a riverbank,cheeringasthe world sweepsby'' is that Vanderhaeghe
 -t2-

throughthe useof negation. Life as a spectatoris good,becausethe alternativeis so bad. Harry

white with
tells us that he enjoyshis life by the river "learningsomethingaboutchange...paved

snowand ice in winter, slackandbrown in summer,the river is neverthe same"(325). But after
?
offering us a realiststhick accountof Harry's encounterswith Chance,andof the ClpressHills
7
Massacre,4 doesnot amountto very much. The truth may still be that a life spentwatching

the world go by, while not self destructive,is still a prettyboringlife. And, evenif we

understan{ both in our mindsand in our hearts,that the alternativesarethat muchworse,we

still might, 6 o nation,be inclinedto experimentin hopeof generatingsomeexcitement.

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