IDEALIZED IMAGE: A STUDY OF KAZUO ISHIGURO’S THE UNCONSOLED

Abstract

An individual can feel isolated and lonely while living within the society due to lack of intimate connection with others. Many sociologists, anthropologists and psychologists have explored the avenues of social identity of the individual and proposed the theories of personality. Society functions on the basis of human relationships and isolation can be defined as the lack of the connection between the individuals which can impact a person’s mental state. Karen Horney proposed that the family, society, culture and environment affect an individual. If the emotional needs of an individual are not fulfilled by the society, then the person may face psychological turmoil which she terms as “basic anxiety”. Karen Horney in her book Our Inner Conflicts describes that the child needs a positive reinforcement from his environment, and lack of it may negatively impact a child: