The Personality sturcture of the main character in MR. Brooks' Film

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THE PERSONALITY STRUCTURE OF THE MAIN CHARACTER IN MR. BROOKS’ FILM

LINDA HANDAYATI

105026000981

ENGLISH LETTERS DEPARTMENT

LETTERS AND HUMANITIES FACULTY

STATE ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY SYARIF HIDAYTULLAH

JAKARTA

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THE PERSONALITY STRUCTURE OF THE MAIN CHARACTER IN MR. BROOKS’ FILM

A Thesis

Submitted to Letters and Humanities Faculty

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements

For the Degree of Strata One

LINDA HANDAYATI

105026000981

ENGLISH LETTERS DEPARTMENT

LETTERS AND HUMANITIES FACULTY

STATE ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY SYARIF HIDAYTULLAH

JAKARTA

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ABSTRACT

Linda Handayati, The Personality Structure of the Main Character in Mr. Brooks’ Film. A thesis: English Letters Department, Letters and Humanities faculty, State Islamic University Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta, September 2009.

This research is aimed to give understanding of what the structure of personality is and how is the work mechanism of the personality structure of the main character in Mr. Brooks’ film. The writer utilizes qualitative-descriptive analysis as the method to analyze the relationship between character and the personality structure in which the data is collected from the dialogues, acts and figures in Mr. Brooks’ film.

Based on the data analysis, the writer found that there is one main character, Mr. Earl Brooks. Mr. Brooks is depicted as a successful businessman and has a harmonious family, but he is also a serial killer. According to Freud’s Structure of Personality, there are three major elements of personality; Id, Ego and Superego. In the film, the Id of Mr. Brooks, which works based on the pleasure principle, has encouraged him to do some murders.

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APPROVEMENT

THE PERSONALITY STRUCTURE OF THE MAIN CHARACTER IN MR. BROOKS’ FILM

A Thesis

Submitted to Letters and Humanities Faculty In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements

For the Degree of Strata One

LINDA HANDAYATI

105026000981

Approved by:

DR. H. Muhammad Farkhan, M.Pd Supervisor

ENGLISH LETTERS DEPARTMENT

LETTERS AND HUMANITIES FACULTY

STATE ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY “SYARIF HIDAYATULLAH”

JAKARTA

2009

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LEGALIZATION

The thesis entitled “The Personality Structure of the Main Character in Mr.

Brooks’ Film” has been defended before the Letters and Humanities Faculty’s

Examination Committee on November 3, 2009. The thesis has already been accepted as a

partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Strata One.

Jakarta, November 2009

Examination Committee

Chair Person, Secretary,

Dr. H. Muhammad Farkhan, M.Pd Drs. Asep Saefuddin, M.Hum

NIP: 150 299 480 NIP: 150 261 902

Members:

Examiner I Examiner II

Elve Octaviani, M. Hum Innayatul Chusna, M. Hum

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DECLARATION

I hereby declare that this submission is my own work and that, to the best of my

knowledge and belief, it contains no material previously published or written by another

person nor material which to a substantial extent has been accepted for the award of any

other degree or diploma of the university or other institute of higher learning, except

where due acknowledgment has been made in the text.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

All praises and gratitude belong to Allah, the most gracious, the most merciful

and the Lord of universe and hereafter. Peace and blessing be upon to the Prophet

Muhammad SAW, his families, fellows and followers.

The writer would like to express her gratitude to her parents, H. Namat Suardy,

S.Pd and Ibu Kartinah for their love, their support and for all of their contribution in the

writer’s life especially in finishing the thesis. The writer will always love and pray for

them forever. May Allah loves and bless them.

The writer also would like to thank to her family, her brothers and sister for

always supporting and giving advice to the writer in finishing the thesis. For the writer’s

three nephews especially Ahmad Irfan, the funniest and naughtiest one, who can give the

writer spirit in any condition.

Next, the writer would like to thank to her supervisor Dr. H. Muhammad Farkhan,

M.Pd for the guidance, advices, affection and for sharing his knowledge to the writer so

that the writer can finish the thesis. May Allah loves and blesses him.

The writer’s special thanks is also dedicated to Mrs. Elve Octafiyani, M. Hum and

Mrs. Inayatul Chusna, M. Hum as the examiners who is also the supervisors who have

given so many knowledge, guidance and patience to the writer so that she can finish the

thesis.

The gratitude is also dedicated to Dr. H. Abul Chair, M.A, the Dean of English

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Department; Drs. Asep Saefudin, M.Pd, the secretary of English letters department; and

all of the lectures of English Letters Department who has taught her during her study at

UIN Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta.

Special thanks also given to the writer’s beloved friends “Nero Muslimah”; Fetri

Datiani, Nuraeni, Sukma Pertiwi and Rodiyah, for their love, laugh, support, care, and

share in any condition. The writer also would like to thank to her best friend Abang, for

teaching her how to be strong and survive (Thank you very much Abang, may Allah

gives us the best) and Nina for their supports and advices.

Finally, the writer would like to thank to all of her family, friends and many

persons who has helped her in finishing the thesis. May Allah loves and blesses us.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT ... i

APPROVEMENT ... ii

LEGALIZATION ... iii

DECLARATION ... iv

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ... v

TABLE OF CONTENTS ... vii

CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION ... 1

A. Background of the Study... 1

B. Focus of the Study ... 4

C. Research Question ... 4

D. Objectives of the Study ... 5

E. Significances of the Study ... 5

F. Research Methodology ... 5

CHAPTER II. THEORITICAL FRAMEWORK ... 7

A. Character ... 7

1. Character ... 7

2. Characterization ... 10

B. Sigmund Freud’s Psychoanalysis about Personality Structure ... 11

1. Id ... 12

2. Ego ... 14

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CHAPTER III. RESEARCH FINDINGS ... 18

A. Data Description ... 18

1. List of the Main Character ... 18

B. Analysis ... 20

1. Character Analysis ... 20

2. Mr. Brooks’ Structure of Personality ... 27

CHAPTER IV. CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION ... 35

A. Conclusion ... 35

B. Suggestion ... 37

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CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

A. Background of the Study

Film, is usually depicting the phenomenon of human life. Therefore, many aspects

of human life can be showed as the central theme of a film or other kind of fictions. The

theme of a film or other kind of fictions controls its central insight. It unifies

generalization about life, stated or implied on the story. In many stories, the theme might

be equivalent to the revelation of human characters. It means that the theme can be

determined from the development of the characters.

Psychoanalytic theme is one of the themes which can be easy determined from the

development of the character. It is because “Psychoanalysis applied the concept about

personality which is used to mean the configuration of individual characteristic and ways

of behaving that determines an individual unique adjustment to her or his environment.”1

Personality includes any characteristic that are important in the individual’s personality

adjustment, in his maintained of self respect. Any description of the individual

personality must take into the account of appearance, abilities, motives, emotional

reactivity, and the residues from experience that have shaped the person as people find

him or her. Therefore, a psychoanalytic research of a film or other kind of fictions must

be related to the development of the character’s personality.

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Film with psychoanalytic theme still becomes an interesting theme to be aroused

such as Number 23 (2003) and Monalisa Smile (2003). A film with psychoanalytic theme

is not only good to be watched but also good to add someone’s knowledge about

psychoanalysis theory, and further it can be a source to be analyzed as a research.

Psychoanalysis is generally the study of human personality. Sigmund Freud was

credited as the first person who has brought out the theory of Psychoanalysis. One of

many aspects of psychoanalysis which is very important in analyzing someone’s

personality is the existence of unconsciousness in his or her mind. Freud even stated that

the most important aspect in human life is determined by the unconsciousness. Therefore,

Freud proposed the theory of personality structure.

According to Freud, personality is made up of three major systems. Those three

major systems of personality are known as id, ego and superego.2 The id is the original

system of the personality. The id works based on the pleasure principle. It related to the

biological aspect of a personality. The ego is the personality system which conducted the

id encouragement. Ego has a contact with the reality world of the personality. The ego is

said to obey the reality principle. The superego is the morality aspect of personality. It is

the internal representative of the traditional values and ideals of society as a system of

rewards and punishments of someone’s activities.

Based on the explanation above, there is a close connection between

Psychoanalysis and film. The psychoanalysis is a theory about unconsciousness of

someone’s personality, while film is rather the product of imagination, the

unconsciousness of the writer. Both of them have an aspect about unconsciousness.

Mr. Brooks’ film is one of the films that has psychoanalytic theme. The film

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depicts Mr. Earl Brooks, the main character of the film played by Kevin Costner, who is

suffering from personality problem Mr. Brooks is a 2007 thriller film directed by Bruce

A. Evan who is also the script writer of the film together with Raynold Gideon.

This film tells about Mr. Earl Brooks, a loving family man and a local business

icon, but Mr. Brooks is deeply flawed and very aware of it. He is addicted to kill.

Struggling with his pathology, he tries to quit, but his id, which is visualized as

“Marshall”, has an altogether different idea. “Marshall” enjoys his “existence” and his

“work”. “Marshall” whom only Brooks can see or hear is actually not the other person.

He is the other side of Brooks. With the dogged Detective Atwood on his trial, Mr.

Brooks are forced to play out an increasingly elaborate game. Mr. Brooks is a successful

businessman but in the other side, he is also a killer. In this case, Mr. Brooks was

identified as a person who can not repress his id. Therefore, he conducted the activities

which only reflect on his own pleasure principle, that is killing.

Generally, in a mature human’s personality structure, the ego is able to repress the

negative encouragement of the id because they have known the morality values of

society. Interestingly, in Mr. Brooks’ film, Mr. Brooks’ as a mature and intellectual

person is depicted as a character who is not able to repress his id which always encourage

him to do negative things. The id is having dominant place in Mr. Brook’s personality

structure. Therefore, the writer interests to analyze the work mechanism of the

personality structure of the main character in Mr. Brooks’ film, through Sigmund Freud’s

personality structure.

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B. Focus of the Study

Based on the background of the study above, the writer will focus the analysis on

the characteristic of the main character and the personality structure of the main character

in Mr. Brooks’ film.

C. Research Question

Based on the focus of the study, the writer would like to formulate the research

question as follows:

1. What are the characteristics of Mr. Brooks?

2. How is the work mechanism of personality structure on Mr. Brooks’ character

in Mr. Brooks’ film?

D. Objectives of the Research

Based on the research question above, the objectives of this research are:

1. To know the characteristics of Mr. Brooks.

2. To know the work mechanism of personality structure on Mr. Brooks’ character in Mr. Brooks’ film.

E. Significances of the Research

The writer hopes this research can help the readers in understanding the term of

Sigmund Freud’s personality structure in Mr. Brooks’ film. Furthermore, the result of this

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F. Research Methodology 1. Method of the Research

The writer uses the descriptive qualitative method in this research. By using this

method, the writer will do the research by explaining, describing and analyzing

the characteristic of the main character and the personality structure on Mr.

Brooks’ character in the film.

2. Data Analysis

The collected data will be analyzed by using Sigmund Freud’s personality

structure. Therefore, the study begins by analyzing the script and the pictures of

Mr. Brooks’ film, and then focuses on the main character to find his

characteristics and the personality structure of his character.

3. Instrument of the Research

The research employs the writer herself as the main instrument by watching the

film several times, analyzing the script of the film Mr. Brooks, identifying,

classifying and giving some notes of the collected data.

4. Unit of Analysis

The unit analysis in this research is the script of Mr. Brooks’ film written by

Bruce A. Evans and Raynold Gideon and directed by Bruce A. Evans which

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CHAPTER II

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

Since the story in Mr. Brooks is rich of personality issues, so the theory that the

writer applies in observing the story is Sigmund Freud’s Psychoanalysis about

personality structure. However, to apply the theory of Sigmund Freud’s personality

structure, there should be an analysis about the intrinsic element of the story. The most

important element that must be observed in the film is character. Character is not only

playing a major role in the story but character is also creating a conflict that can develop

and build the idea of the story. Therefore, there will be two theories which can be applied

in the research; Character and Sigmund Freud’s Psychoanalysis about personality

structure.

A. Character 1. Character

Character is a vital and necessary element in the story. Without character there

would not be plot and, hence, no story. Character is rather easily discernible, and it

engages a natural interest in personalities. By understanding the characters in one story,

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According to Judith A. Stanford in his book, Responding to Literature: Stories,

Poems, Plays and Essays, “character is the fictional people who are part of the action of a

story or literary work”.3 The term character also denotes the essential qualities and

personality traits of a fictional or real individual. The ability to create compelling and

believable characters is one of the hallmarks of the literary artist.

In most cases, we do not only see what characters look like, but also see what they

do and hear what they say; we sometime learn what they think, and what other people

think or say about them; we often know what kind of clothes they wear, what and how

much they own, treasure or covert; we may be told about their childhood, parents or some

parts of their past.4

Based on the explanations above, the writer concludes that character is someone or

something in a work of fiction that has some sort of identity. The identity is made up by

the appearance, speech, action, thought and behavior.

A character in a work of fiction may be realized in a number ways as follows:

a. Major and Minor Character

Major character is character that has a big part in the story. It is always developed in the story and mostly appears on the next. Meanwhile, minor character is not developed nearly as fully as the major character; it does not have demand or

sympathy. Minor characters only complete the story and seldom appear on the next

and have small part in the story.

b. Protagonist and Antagonist Character

3

Judith A. Stanford, Responding to Literature: Stories, Poems, Plays and Essays 4th ed (New York: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2003) p. 38

4

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The chief character or hero of a piece of fiction is usually three-dimensional and is

known as the protagonist. His adversary, if any, is known as the antagonist.5 The protagonist is usually easy enough to identify: he or she is the essential character

without whom there would be no plot in the first place. The antagonist can be

somewhat more difficult to identify, especially if he is not a human being.6 In fact,

the antagonist character need not be a person; it can be an animal, a superstition, a

misconception, fate or any abstraction.

c. Flat and Round Character

Flat characters are those who embody or represent a single characteristic, trait, or idea, or at most a very limited number of such qualities. Flat characters are also

referred to as type characters, a one-dimensional character. Round characters are just the opposite. They embody a number of qualities and traits and are complex

multidimensional characters of considerable intellectual and emotional depth who

have capacity to grow and change. Flat characters tend to stay the same throughout

the story, but round characters often change-learn or become enlightened, grow or

deteriorate.7 From those explanations, it can be said that the main characters in

fiction are usually round characters and the auxiliary characters are usually flat.

d. Static and Dynamic Character

Characters in fiction can also be distinguished on the basis of whether they

demonstrate the capacity to develop or change as the result of their experiences.

Dynamic characters exhibit this capacity; static characters do not. A character may

5

The Encyclopedia Americana 6 (USA: Grolier Incorporated, 1985) p. 290 6

James H. Pickering and Jeffrey D. Hoeper, Concise Companion to Literature ( New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc., 1981) pp. 24-25

7

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also be either static, showing little change or dynamic, that is significantly affected

by the events of the narrative.8 From the statement above, the writer concludes that

the static character tends to have no change until the end of the story. On the other

hand, the dynamic one must have changed in some aspects like personality or

outlook. The changes can be both the small and the large one.

2. Characterization

Characterization is the presentation of the attitudes and behavior of imaginary

persons in order to make them credible to the author’s audience.9 In presenting and

establishing character, an author has two basic methods or techniques at his disposal. One

method is telling, which relies on exposition and direct commentary by the author. He

may directly describe a character’s personality as do omniscient novelists. The other

method is the indirect, dramatic method of showing, which involves the author’s stepping

aside, as it were, to allow the characters to reveal themselves directly through their

dialogue and their actions.

So many other choices that the writer of fiction is called on to make, the choice of

a method of characterization depends on a number of different circumstances, including

the author’s temperament, the particular literary conventions of the period in which he or

she is writing, the size and scope of the work, and many other reasons.10 It means that the

method of characterization that the writer chooses is totally their own right with their

consideration.

8_{The Encyclopedia Americana}

, op.cit, p. 291 9_Ibid

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B. Sigmund Freud’s Psychoanalysis about Personality Structure

The most influential single individual, in terms of influence upon society’s

conception of the nature of man, was Sigmund Freud. Freud’s major contributions came

during the last decade of the nineteenth century, and certain elaborations upon his earlier

ideas were made into the 1920s and the 1930s.11 Freud is the first to suggest the now

widely concept that human mind and personality are like an iceberg, with only a small

part visible and the great bulk submerged and concealed.12 One of Freud’s most

influential ideas concerned so central to the study of psychology is his concept of the

unconscious mind, composed in part of repressed motives and thought.

Dealing with the unconsciousness of mind, Freud brought out the theory of

Psychoanalysis. It was a reasonably deterministic approach to explaining personality and

behavior of an individual.13 In this theory, Sigmund Freud saw personality as developing

out of conflicts between the three basic structures of personality: id, ego and superego.

Each of them serves a different function and develops at a different time. Although each

of them has different function, feature, principle, mechanism and dynamism, but they

interact one to another. So, it is difficult to separate their influences and their contribution

in human behavior. Behaviors or actions of an individual are produced by the interaction

of these three systems.

1. Id

11

Walter M. Vernon, Introductory Psychology (Chicago: Rand Mcnally College Publishing Company, 1974) p. 403

12

Jerome Kagan, Ernest Havement, Psychology: An Introduction 2nd edition (USA: Harcourt brace Javanovich, Inc, 1968) p. 405

13

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Id is the most primitive part of the personality, present in the newborn infant,

from which the ego and superego later develop. Id consists of the basic biological

impulses; the needs to eat, drink, eliminate wastes, avoid pain and gain many pleasures.

The id operates on the pleasure principle; it endeavors to avoid pain and obtain pleasure

regardless of the external circumstances.14

The id is the core of consciousness in human’s mind. It includes the instinctual

drives, sex and aggression. The id seeks to gratify its desires immediately and to reduce

uncomfortable physical tensions. In attempting to satisfy these needs, the id acts without

considering external circumstances, whether these needs can or should be satisfied at the

moment.

To accomplish its aim of avoiding pain and obtaining pleasure, the id has its

command two processes. These are reflex actions and the primary process.15 Reflex

actions are inborn and automatic reactions like sneezing and blinking: they usually reduce

tension immediately. The organism is equipped with a number of such reflexes for

dealing with relatively simple forms of excitation. The primary process involves a

somewhat more complicated psychological reaction. It attempts to discharge tension by

forming an image of an object that will remove the tension. For example, the primary

process provides the hungry person with a mental picture of food. This hallucinatory

experience in which the desired object is present in the form of a memory image is called

wish-fulfillment. The best example of primary process in normal people is the nocturnal

dream, which Freud believed always represents the fulfillment or attempted of a wish.

The hallucinations and visions of psychotic patients are also examples of the primary

14

Rita L. Atkinson, et. al, Introduction to Psychology (New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Publisher, 1981) p. 395

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process. Wishful thinking is highly colored by the action of the primary process. These

wish-fulfilling mental images are the only reality that id knows.

Obviously, the primary process by itself is not capable of reducing tension. The

hungry person cannot eat mental images of food. Consequently, a new or the secondary

psychological processes develops. When this occurs, the structure of the second system

of the personality, the ego, begins to take form.

According to Freud, there are two broad types of drives or instinct in the id. The

first type is Eros, the constructive life instinct responsible for survival, self-propagation,

and creativity.16 In Eros are included the need for food, warmth and sex. Freud used the

term sex broadly to cover a wide range of life-giving and life-sustaining activities from

genital intercourse to artistic creation. The energy of Eros is generated by what Freud

called as the libido.

The second type of instinct is Thanatos, or the death instinct, is opposed to Eros.17

This instinctive attraction to death gives rise in each individual to aggressive tendencies

directed at the self. However, since self-destruction is opposed by the life-preserving

energy of libido, aggression against the self usually is redirected outward against the

world, motivating human being to compete, to conquer, and to kill. Aggression can take

many forms; angry attacks, verbal insults and even self punishment. However,

punishment comes about, some children and some adults develop strong tendencies to

injure themselves or others. The extreme forms have been given name sadism for the

extreme motives to pain others. In the id, those instincts operate irrationally; impulses

16

Darley, et. al, Psychology 3rd edition (New Jersey: Prentice Hall inc, 1986) p. 491 17_Ibid

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push for expression and gratification “no matter what”, without considering whether what

is desired is realistically possible.18

2. Ego

The ego represents the individual’s picture of physical and social reality, of what

will lead to what and which things are possible in the world as it is actually perceived.19

It develops soon after birth when the infant realizes that all of she or he wants will not

automatically come to her or him, that she or he will have to figure out a way to get what

she or he wants. The ego is conscious control system that is formed in the child as

someone becomes aware of social demands. A person with the strong ego has ability to

plan ahead, to tolerate frustration, to work for delayed gratification, and to adapt with

social norms.

The ego is the realistic personality process, therefore ego is said to obey the

reality principle: the gratification of impulses must be delayed until the appropriate

environmental conditions are found. It is essentially the “executive” of the personality, in

that it decides what actions are appropriate and which id impulses will be satisfied in

what manner. The ego mediates among the demands of the id, the relatives of the external

circumstances, and the demand of the superego.

External circumstances, however, can not be ignored. A thirsty person can not

satisfy his need simply by imaging a glass of water. Consequently, the ego develops out

18

Philip G. Zimbardo and Floyd L. Ruch, Psychology and Life, 9th edition (USA: Scott, Foresman and Company, 1975) p. 414

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the id as a means of dealing with reality. The ego attempts to control the id, delaying

gratification until conditions are appropriate.20

Freud saw the ego as part of person that must resolve conflict between id and

superego. The ego must find the realistic way to satisfy the demands of the id without

offending the superego.21 Ego as a part of personality is responsible for controlling

behavior in socially life. The very important aim of ego is to maintain individual’s life

proliferation. It conducts and controlled the action, also choose the environment which

will be responded, then decides what instinct that will be satisfied and how the way are.

3. Superego

The third system of personality is superego. Superego is the internalized

representation of the values and morals of society as taught to the child by the parents and

others.22 It is essentially the individual’s conscience. The superego judge whether an

action is right or wrong.

The superego develops in response to parental rewards and punishments. It

incorporates all the actions for which the child is punished or reprimanded as well as the

actions for which the child is rewarded. Through the incorporation of parental standards

into superego, behavior is brought under self-control. Children no longer need anyone to

tell them it is wrong to steal; their superego tells them.

The inferred superego is most nearly synonymous with conscience. It keeps

someone working according to an ideal of the self arising in early childhood, an ideal

20

Stanley Berent, Introductory Psychology (New York: McGraw-Hill, Inc, 1977) p. 104 21

Floyd L. Ruch, Psychology and Life 7th Edition (USA: Scott Foresman & Company, 1995) p. 194 22

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formed especially as a consequence of parental prohibition. It operates on what called as

perfection principle.23

From the point of view of a dynamic interpretation of personality, the key concept

is that the three parts of the personality are often at odds: the ego postpones the

gratifications that the id wants right away, and the superego wars with both the id and the

ego because they often fall short of the moral value that it represents.

The bearing of these concepts on personality theory is that the balance of id, ego

and superego processes differs from one individual to another. How one approaches a

problematic situation may be a way not only of coping with the environmental problem

but perhaps of trying to solve a personal problem at that time.

According to the three parts of personality, it is ego that controls most of

everyday behavior and it is crucial that it be adequately well developed so as to constitute

social and emotional maturity. 24 The task of ego is to reconcile the instinctual urges from

id and internalized controls from within superego and the demands of the outside world.

A weakly developed ego can contribute major problems of someone’s personality.

23

Ernest R. Hilgard, et. al, Introduction to psychology 5th edition (USA: Harcourt brace Jovanovich, Inc, 1971) p. 409

24

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CHAPTER III

RESEARCH FINDINGS A. Data Description

In analyzing the personality structure in this film, the writer focuses to analyze the

dialogues and actions of the characters which can be used to identify the characteristic of

the main character, and to find the work mechanism of the personality structure of the

character in the film. The dialogues are identified as the corpus of the research. They are

presented in the following tables.

1. The list of the main character

No. Character Corpus Remark

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wonderful gift for your mother and

Mr. Earl Brooks is the main character of the film. His appearances mostly appear

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from “Marshall”, the visualization of his id. From his physical appearance, everybody

can easily notice that Brooks comes from a high social status in the society. Brooks is a

businessman, a leader of a big box factory. Everybody in business world has known his

great reputation in business.

Man : I could go on and on about what a great guy earl is, how he cuts his toe nails, how he gives freely of his time and money, but let’s get Earl up here to speak for himself. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you a businessman, a philanthropist, a great friend and the Evanston Chamber of Commerce Man of the Year… Mr. Earl Brooks. (Mr. Brooks 2007, scene: 2)

What was the man said indicated that Brooks is really a successful businessman

because of the award as “Man of the Year” in great business license, Portland Chamber.

Brooks seems perfect because of both his success and his philanthropy. His success was

also confessed by his daughter, Jane.

Jane : You didn’t go to college, Dad, and you’re successful. (Mr. Brooks 2007, scene: 21)

[…]

Jane : No, dad, you’re a very wealthy man, you can afford to keep me. (Mr. Brooks 2007, scene: 24)

Mr. Brooks’ success is also depicted by his luxurious Toyota which always

accompanied him wherever he goes. Besides a big and successful company, he also has a

private ceramics studio and has an awesome home. All that Brooks had is the result of his

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As a businessman, Brook has a good instinct in taking the opportunity to expand

his business and invest his wealth for the future. When he arrived in a cemetery with Mr.

Smith, the photographer, he said that he is the owner of the cemetery. It means that

Brooks always wants to be seen professional in his work. He is very friendly to

his secretary and treat his business partner as kind as possible. There is a scene where

One thing that should be noticed from the dialogue above is that the key to be a

successful businessman according to Brooks was the importance of product’s quality.

Someone should maintain the product’s quality to be the best instead of to be the

cheapest.

Brooks has a beautiful wife, Emma. Brooks is a devoted husband. As a successful

businessman, Brooks has everything. He has a proportional body shape, good looking,

and of course he has a lot of money. For some men, this condition can be useful to make

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depicting as a loyal husband. There is no act where Brooks had an affair with other

women. He just admired Detective Atwood because of her bravery and he wants Jane, his

daughter to be like Atwood.

Mr. Brooks : I like her because she found something that’s hers. It’s not the family business. And she’s good at it. I’d like Jane to find something that’s hers and that she could be good at. (Mr. Brooks 2007, scene: 58)

The dialogue above, clearly described that Brooks never think of having an affair with

other woman, even with a woman whom he admires.

Another way for Brooks to show his love is spending the time together with his

wife. One night, after receiving the award as Man of the Year, Brooks asked Emma to

enjoy the night.

Mr. Brooks : The food tonight was very good, but I wasn’t crazy about the dessert. Would you like to stop somewhere and get something sweet? (Mr. Brooks 2007, scene: 5)

In both, Brooks and Emma are sharing a sundae. They seemed that they are really

enjoying the night. Mr. Brooks knew how to make an intimate relationship with his wife.

Generally, every woman is happy to get the flattery from men, especially from her

husband. As a romantic husband, Brooks knew how to treat his wife as well. When

Emma put on her sleep-wear, Brooks steps into the doorway close to Emma.

Mr. Brooks : I’m going to stay up a while, maybe go to the studio and play with some glazes.

Emma : Okay, I’m going to read. If I’m not awake, wake me when you come back.

(Brooks comes forward, puts his arms around Emma and hugs her, then easing back, kisses her)

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The dialogue above describes that Brooks always wanted to treat his wife softly.

He wants to make Emma feels happy and being respected by him.

The Brooks only daughter is Jane. She is a college student and lives far away

from their parents. Jane was coming home by bringing a lot of problems. For some

parents, those problems can take their emotion out of control. For Brooks, his love is too

big for Jane so that the condition did not reduce his love at all. Before going to bed,

Brooks enters Jane’s room leans over and kisses his daughter on the cheek.

At one moment, Jane goes on to visit Brooks at work and mentions that she was

having dropped out of college. Hearing Jane’s condition, Brooks felt a little bit surprised

but he tried to calm down and control his emotion. He did not say anything that can hurt

Jane, he just listened to Jane’s explanation carefully.

Mr. Brooks : What are you doing here, gorgeous?

Jane : I’m sorry, Daddy, please don’t be angry with me.

(Brooks kisses Jane on the forehead and goes to sit at his desk)

Mr. Brooks : I can guess what you’ve done, but why don’t you tell me and then I’ll decide.

Jane : I dropped out of school.

Mr. Brooks : Okay. Have you told your mother this? Jane : No, I wanted to speak to you first.

Mr. Brooks : You’ll have to tell her, I’m not going to do that for you, and then together the three of us will decide where to go from here. (Mr. Brooks 2007, scene: 21)

For some parents, knowing that their children have dropped out of college can

make them really angry with them. Brooks did not do that. He gives Jane an opportunity

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Jane actually has another bigger problem, she was pregnant. At Brooks house’ in

front of her parents, Jane said that she has dropped out of college because of her

pregnancy. She decided to have an abortion. Once more, Brooks tried to be calm down

and be a wise father. He forbids Jane to have an abortion with a very wise reason.

Jane : I’m going to have an abortion anyway, so there is nothing to get upset about. I wasn’t even going to tell you guys.

Mr. Brook : There will be no abortion.

Jane : Daddy, you are not going to tell me what to do. It’s my body and I will do what I want to do with.

Mr. Brooks : You’re right. I’m sorry. I said it wrong. I’m not trying to tell you what to do. I’m trying to say that a grandchild would be a wonderful gift for your mother and me.

Emma : Please, honey, don’t have an abortion.

Jane : Would you really want to have a grandchild, even though I’m not married?

Mr. Brooks : Yes. The child is what’s important. We would love it and cherish it completely and help you raise it. (Mr. Brooks 2007, scenes: 34-35)

The dialogue above shows that Brooks and Emma are very wise parents. Instead

of blaming her daughter, they want Jane to maintain her pregnancy so they can get a

grandchild. He was a too wise father and a high sense of morality father who can forgive

his daughter’s great mistake and can accept the existence of a grandchild although it

comes from a wrong way.

Besides wise, Mr. Brooks is also depicted as a caring person. It can be showed

from the dialogue below between Mr. Brooks and Jane.

Mr. Brooks : Oh, yeah. How’s the morning sickness? Do you want to ride in with me today?

Jane : I feel fine, but I don’t know how long that will last. (Mr. Brooks 2007, scene: 98)

The dialogue above occurred in the morning when Jane was having breakfast. Mr.

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was really caring about his daughter pregnancy, although the pregnancy occurred before

marriage.

Meanwhile, Mr. Brooks is also having bad behavior. Mr. Brooks is depicted as a

man who can control his emotion well, he is also a temperament man. He can not accept

the thing that contradict to his own idea and can disturb him. He even says to Mr. Smith,

the photographer who captured Mr. Brooks when he conducted the first murder, that he

enjoyed killing.

Mr. Smith : So, what do we do now? What’s the plan for evening?

Mr. Brooks : We drive around until we see someone we think we might enjoy killing.

Mr. Smith : Really? That’s it? I thought you might already have someone in mind. (Mr. Brooks 2007, scene: 46)

Mr. Brooks is easily to decide of killing someone. It really contradicts with his other

characteristic as a person with a high tendency of loving each other.

By the detectives, Mr. Brooks was known as a “Thumbprint Killer” for the

evidence in the murders location. After doing a murder, Mr. Brooks leaves each of the

victim’s bloody thumbprints on the lampshade. He makes fastidious preparation and

cleaning up the crime scene before departing. That was the reason why the detectives can

not reveal their murder cases.

Detective Atwood : It has never been revealed to the public that the “Thumbprint Killer” retrieves the slugs.

[…]

Detective Atwood : Leaving them like this, he must have been angry at them for some reason. (Mr. Brooks 2007, scene: 16)

Mr. Brooks is also depicted as a cruel person. He killed all of his victims with a

sadistic way. The first and the second victims were killed by the shut gun. And the most

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the shovel. The force of the blow breaks Smith’s left arm. He howls but Brooks did not

care about it. The next blow comes almost immediately. It smashes into the left side of

Smith’s head. Brooks takes a step to the side, cocks his wrists and swings again. The

flesh that was once Smith falls to the ground. The blade of the shovel strikes Mr. Smith in

the throat very nearly taking off his head. From his way of killing his victims, Mr. Brooks

can be identified as a cruel and mean person.

2. Mr. Brooks’ Structure of Personality

Mr. Brooks is identified as the major character because of his highest intensity of

involvement in each event that happened in the film. In the age of 40’s years old, Mr.

Brooks seems that he has a perfect life. He has a harmonious family with a beloved wife

and the only daughter Jane. He also has a big box factory and becoming a successful

businessman, but nobody knows, even his own family, that Mr. Brooks actually has a

serious problem in his personality.

According to Sigmund Freud, human personality consists of three main structures.

They are id, ego and superego. These structures have their own functions which relate

each other, and their function has a great role in producing human behavior. In this part

of analysis, the writer would like to analyze the work mechanism of those three structures

in Mr. Brooks’ personality.

In the film, there are some events of Mr. Brooks’ life which depicts how is the

work mechanism of the three main structures of personality of Mr. Brooks and how they

are interacted each other in producing Mr. Brooks’ behavior. Those work mechanism will

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One night, after Mr. Brooks receiving the award as “Man of the Year”, he and his

wife, Emma were having a chat in their car. Among the chat, a man leans out from

behind Mr. Brooks’ head in the back seat. He is “Marshall”, the visualization of Mr.

Brooks’ id. Emma can neither see nor hear “Marshall”, because he exists only in Mr.

Brooks’ mind.

At the very beginning of the film, there was a sentence written “The hunger has

returned to Mr. Brooks’ brain, it never really left”. The sentence explained that actually

Mr. Brooks has becoming a killer since a long time ago, and at that night, when

“Marshall” appeared in his brain, his killer instinct returned. In “Marshall” first

appearance in the film, it is clearly depicted that Mr. Brooks is inconvenient with his

existence. It can be seen from Mr. Brooks’ face which looked panic. At that time, his id,

“Marshall”, talked to him.

“Marshall” : Come on Earl, give yourself a break, you know you want to do this.

Mr. Brooks : No.

“Marshall” : You’re the fucking ‘man of the year’, you deserve it. It’s not like it’s not set up. You already know how to by-pass the alarm, you know how to pick the locks. Tonight’s the perfect night.

Mr. Brooks : (over his shoulder) No, Marshall, I said ‘no’!

“Marshall” : I heard you, Earl, but you don’t mean ‘no’. (Mr. Brooks 2007, scene: 4)

According to the dialogue above, “Marshall” as the visualization of Mr. Brooks’ id,

encouraged Mr. Brooks to do murder. “Marshall” tried to remind Mr. Brooks that he was

a professional killer which has known the step how to kill, and killing can give a self

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The id, works based on the pleasure principle. In Mr. Brooks’ personality, killing

has become something fun and can give pleasure for him. Therefore, his id encouraged

him to do murder. At that time, Mr. Brooks answered ‘No’ to the force of his id. The

superego in his personality, which can judge whether an action is right or wrong,

produced the word ‘no’ as the way to reject the id’s negative encouragement. Several

times Mr. Brooks were fighting so hard to his id encouragement to do murder, but his id

were also still working to encourage Mr. Brooks.

“Marshall” : (from the back seat) They have their dance class tonight. What if we go by and just look at them. There’s no harm in just having a look.

Mr. Brooks : No means ‘no’, Marshall. “Marshall” : Please… pretty please.

Mr. Brooks : (to Emma) the food tonight was very good, but I wasn’t crazy about the dessert. Would you like to stop somewhere and get something sweet? (Mr. Brooks2007, scene: 5)

“Marshall” the id, tried to flatter Mr. Brooks to just have a look at the dance class and

found someone who might be interest to be killed. When his id still force him, he turn his

attention to his wife and made a conversation with her then finally they came back home.

In this ‘conflict’ between his id which encouraged him to do murder and his superego

which refused it, the ego, the executive of the personality decided not to do the murder

and let the id lost of his mind.

At the same night, when Mr. Brooks arrived at his home, “Marshall” returned to

Mr. Brooks mind. “Marshall” still encouraged Mr. Brooks to do murder.

“Marshall” : I bet your dick’s getting hard, isn’t it, just imagining what they would like dead?.

Mr. Brooks : I don’t want to start again, you promised Earl, you promised. Please, please, don’t do this, don’t do this, please.

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The superego is dealing with the morality values in society. Based on the dialogue above,

the superego of Mr. Brooks was actually occurring so hard in his mind. Mr. Brooks

thought that he did not want to kill anymore because he realized that killing is something

wrong. In this time, it is clearly described that there was a conflict between the id and the

superego. The id wanted to do murder to fulfill the hunger for it and to get pleasure. At

the other side, the superego fought against that encouragement. It tries to defend its

function as the control system of the mind. The superego considered that killing is

something wrong and Mr. Brooks did not need to do that again. In this second conflict

between the id and the superego, the ego, which deals with the reality world, have to

choose which one should be done in resulting the behavior. Mr. Brooks finally killed the

dance couple. It describes about the ego, which conducted the id encouragement. It

occurred because the existence of the id was so strong in Mr. Brooks mind so that the

superego can not repress it. Then it made the ego followed the id encouragement that is

killing.

After killing the dance couple, Mr. Brooks came back to his ceramic studio. He

was kneeling naked in front of the kiln where his murder clothes are being reduced to

ash.

Mr. Brooks : Oh, God, forgive me. Please forgive me… Please forgive me… (Mr. Brooks 2007, scene: 11)

That was the representation of Mr. Brooks’ guilty feeling. The guilty feeling is produced

by the superego in his mind because the ego has conducted something wrong. At this

scene, there was an appearance of “Marshall” as the visualization of Mr. Brooks’ id, but

he was showed just standing behind Mr. Brooks neither doing nor saying something to

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Mr. Brooks is actually a kind person who really care either to his family or other

person. He even received an award for his successful business and his kindness who is

described that he is able to cut his toe nails and gives freely of his time and money to

other people. All of his bad habit that is killing is actually the representation of his id, the

unconsciousness of mind. In reality, he knows that he is a businessman, a husband to his

wife and a father to his daughter. Therefore, he always feels guilty of all of his bad habit.

One night he confessed to his family that he has a serious illness by a piece of letter.

Mr. Brooks’ letter to his family:

Dear Emma and Jane, my loves. I have a terminal illness and instead of subjecting you to my deterioration, I have decided to disappear. Don’t try to find me, I don’t want to be found. Please believe that the time I spent with you brought me the greatest joy of my life.

As an educated person, Mr. Brooks did not decide to do a stupid thing like suicide as an

instant way to cure his illness. He decided to disappear and leave his family because he

did not want to involve them in his problem, but it does not work when “Marshall” takes

over his mind. “Marshall” always succeeded in forcing Mr. Brooks to do murder.

One night, Mr. Brooks asked Mr. Smith, the photographer who captured Mr.

Brooks when he killed a dance couple, to kill him because he wants to disappear from his

family and his bad life. In the middle of the road, “Marshall” appeared and have a chat

with Mr. Brooks.

“Marshall” : How do you feel? Mr. Brooks : Dirty.

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Mr. Brooks : I don’t think so. It’s the whole thing, Marshall. If I could find a two, there is no reason, if you’re careful, and to believe you will ever get caught.

Mr. Brooks : I know I will have to plan it for Mr. Smith, but I think that’s what I want to do.

“Marshall” : I’m not particularly fond of that plan, Earl. Remember if you die, I go with you and I like being alive. I like eating, I like fucking, I like killing.

Mr. Brooks : I have to end it, Marshall. One way or the other. And I think this is the best way.

“Marshall” : Well, fuck you then. (Mr. Brooks 2007, scene: 94)

The dialogue above showed how the id and the superego in Mr. Brooks mind

were in conflict. The id wants to keep alive, but the superego wants to end life as the way

to end all of the bad habit. It indicated that actually, in the unconsciousness Mr. Brooks is

actually still want to do murder because he enjoy it, and the feeling is represented by

“Marshall” his id. Between the conflict, the ego must find the realistic way to satisfy the

demands of the id without offending the superego. And finally Mr. Brooks killed Mr.

Smith.

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Mr. Brooks : Unfortunately for you, my daughter is pregnant and just before you pulled the trigger, I realized how much I want to see the end of that story.

Mr. Smith : If you do anything to me, if you touch one hair on my head, the Police will find the pictures of you killing that couple.

Mr. Brooks : The contents of your safety deposit box Mr. Smith, have vanished. (Mr. Brooks 2007, scenes: 121-122)

Mr. Brooks killed Mr. Smith in a very sadistic way. Without warning, he swings the

shovel. The force of the blow breaks Mr. Smith’s left arm. The blades of the shovel strike

Mr. Smith in the throat very nearly taking off his head. According to this event, again,

Mr. Brooks’ ego satisfied the id’s demand that is killing and killing. The id still becomes

the winner among the conflict with the superego.

The last scene of the film depicted Mr. Brooks who had a bad dream at night. In

his dream, Mr. Brooks was killed by his own daughter Jane. The bad dream was the

representation of his fearfulness that Jane will become a killer like him. It can be

identified from his own words at a moment Jane was accused that she did murder in her

college.

(Mr. Brooks puts his hands over his eyes and sobs, then wiping away the tears. He talks to himself)

Mr. Brooks : I’ve been afraid of this since the day she was born. She has what I have. (Mr. Brooks 2007, scene: 78)

Further, Mr. Brooks’ bad dream can also be indicated that actually, deep in his heart and

his own thinking, Mr. Brooks wanted to end his life because he has tired of his bad habit.

When he awakened from his bad dream, he talked to himself:

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to peace, taking as He did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it. Trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His will. That I may be reasonably happy in this life, and supremely happy with Him forever in the next. Amen.

(Mr. Brooks 2007, scene: 128)

In fact, Mr. Brooks is always in conflict between his id and superego. His id, which only

refers to the pleasure principle, forced him to conduct murders. Meanwhile, the superego,

made him feels guilty of all of his bad habit.

Based on the explanation about the work mechanism of Mr. Brooks’ structure of

personality above, it can be concluded that the id has a dominant place in Mr. Brooks’

personality structure and becoming the winner between the conflicts with the superego. It

can be identified from his bad habit that is killing. Although he knows and realizes that

killing is wrong and can embarrass his family, he still can not stop it because of his strong

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CHAPTER IV

CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION

A. Conclusion

In this research, the writer has analyzed the main character of the film and its

traits. There is one major character in Mr. Brooks’ film, he is Mr. Earl Brooks who is

called as Mr. Brooks. Mr. Brooks is identified as the major character because he is the

most dominant character that involves in the film. Mr. Brooks’ life seems perfect with his

successful business and harmonious family. No body knows that he has a big problem

with his personality, even his own family.

Dealing with the personality problem of the main character, Sigmund Freud’s

structure of personality is the most appropriate theory that should be applied on the

research. Freud proposed an integrated model of how the mind is organized, which

consists of three major elements of personality that vary across the level of

consciousness. At the most basic level, and completely submerged in the unconscious is

the id, which operates according to the pleasure principle. Acting as a brake of the id, is

the superego, which is the internalization of societal and morality values of conduct.

Mediating between superego and the id is the ego, which tries to satisfy the wishes of the

id while being responsive to the dictates of the superego. The ego operates according to

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Mr. Brooks as a successful businessman can not repress his desire in killing.

According to Freud’s theory, the desire of killing of Mr. Brooks is called as the id. In this

film, the representation of Mr. Brooks’ id is being visualized as “Marshall”. It was

“Marshall” who always encouraged Mr. Brooks to do murder. Although he realized that

killing is something wrong to be conducted, but he still did it. There are some events of

Mr. Brooks’ life on the film which describing how the three major elements of

personality is working. The id and the superego is always in conflict whenever the desire

of killing arose in Mr. Brooks mind. Dominantly, the id was becoming the “winner”

among the conflict. Therefore, Mr. Brooks did murder several times although he knew

that it was wrong. It can be said that Mr. Brooks has a strong id, therefore the ego was

always trying to satisfy its demand. The id is the most dominant element of Mr. Brooks’

structure of personality that is worked in Mr. Brooks mind which resulting his bad

behavior, that is killing.

B. Suggestion

In this thesis, the writer uses Sigmund Freud’s Psychoanalysis about Structure of

Personality to analyze the film. Besides, the writer also analyzes the main character that

can help the readers in understanding the film. However, the writer suggests the other

researchers to watch the film repeatedly and carefully in order to comprehend the whole

story of the film. The concept of Sigmund Freud’s Structure of Personality is suitable to

be applied in the film analysis; it can explore the characteristics of the main character and

his problems. During the analysis, the writer discovers that there are a lot of literatures

that can be read or film that can be watched as references. The writer also suggests to

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kinds of literature about psychoanalysis especially about Structure of Personality that can

help the researchers in understanding Sigmund Freud Psychoanalysis about Structure of

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Atkinson, Rita L. et.al. Introduction to Psychology. New York: Harcourt Brace Javanovich Publisher, 1981

Beaty, Jerome, Alison Booth, J. Paul Hunter, and Kelly J. Mays. Introduction to Literature8th Ed .New York: W.W. Norton & Comp, 2002

Berent, Stanley. Introductory Psychology. New York: McGraw-Hill, Inc, 1977

Darley, et.al. Psychology 3rd Edition. New Jersey: Prentice Hall Inc, 1986

Hall, Calvin S., et. al. Theories of Personality. New York: John Willey & Sons, 1997

Hilgard, Ernest, Richard C. Atkinson. Introduction to Psychology. USA: Harcout, Brace World Inc, 1967

Hilgard, Ernest, Richard C. Atkinson. Introduction to Psychology, 5th Edition. USA: Harcout Brace Javanovich, Inc, 1971

Kagan, Jerome, Ernest Havement. Psychology: An Introduction 2nd Ed. USA: Harcourt Brace Javanovich, Inc, 1968

Kennedy, X. J. Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry and Drama. Boston Toronto: Little Brown and Company, 1979

Pickering, James H. and Jeffrey D. Hoeper. Concise Companion to Literature. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co. Inc, 1981

Ruch, Floyd L. Psychology and Life 7th Ed. USA: Scott Foresman & Comp, 1995

Stanford, Judith A. Responding to Literature: Stories, Poems, Plays and Essays 4th ed

New York: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2003

The Encyclopedia Americana 6. USA: Grolier Incorporated, 1985

Vernon, Walter M. Introductory Psychology. Chicago: Rand Mcnally Publishing Company, 1974

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The Synopsis of the Thesis Entitled “The Personality Structure of the Main Character

In Mr. Brooks’ Film

G. Background of the Study

Film, is usually depicting the phenomenon of human life. Therefore, many aspects

of human life can be showed as the central theme of a film or other kind of fictions. The

theme of a film or other kind of fictions controls its central insight. It unifies

generalization about life, stated or implied on the story. In many stories, the theme might

be equivalent to the revelation of human characters. It means that the theme can be

determined from the development of the characters.

Psychoanalytic theme is one of the themes which can be easy determined from the

development of the character. It is because “Psychoanalysis applied the concept about

personality which is used to mean the configuration of individual characteristic and ways

of behaving that determines an individual unique adjustment to her or his environment.”25