Department of English

Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn University

Frank O'Connor, "My Oedipus Complex" (1950)

Notes

Study Guide for Frank O'Connor's "My Oedipus Complex"

• Compare Freud's Oedipus Complex theory with O'Connor's comic portrayal of it.  Compare, for example, their shared vocabulary.  What do key words like "sleep" mean for Freud and what do they mean in O'Connor's story?

• How does the narrator's rite of passage in this story compare to the birthday boy's in Sharon Olds' "Rite of Passage"?  How does he grow up?  In what ways does his perception change throughout the story?  What development do you see in his relationship with his parents and with his brother?

Review Sheet

Characters

Mick, Father

Larry – narrator

Mother

Sonny – Larry's younger, newborn brother

Setting

Plot

Sample Student Reading Responses to Frank O'Connor's "My Oedipus Complex"

Under construction.

Response 1:

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Last updated January 14, 2010