Compare and Contrast 'My Oedipus Complex' and 'A Chip In The Sugar'

In Greek mythology there once lived a King Laius of Thebes, and his wife, Queen Jocasta. The oracle of Delphi had told the king that when he had a son, it would grow up to kill him and marry his wife. Because of this, when King Laius and Queen Jocasta did have a son, the king ordered its execution for his well being. However, a shepherd found the child and it was taken to King Polybus of Corinth, who adopted him and named him Oedipus. As Oedipus grew up in Corinth, he learnt of the oracle saying that he would kill his father and marry his mother. Oedipus fled Corinth to avoid the prophecy, as he believed that King Polybus was his father. But on the road to Thebes, he had an argument with a man and killed him. Unbeknown to him, the man was King Laius, his father. Closer to Thebes, Oedipus came across a monster called the Sphinx, who set Oedipus a riddle. Oedipus solved the riddle, the monster killed herself, and as reward, Oedipus was made honoury king of Thebes. Therefore he marred the widowed Queen Jocasta: His mother. Years later a plague was raging through Thebes, and it was said that it would only stop when the murderer of King Laius had been driven from Thebes. On investigating the matter, King Oedipus inevitably discovered that he was in fact the murderer. He also discovered that he was King Laius' son and Queen Jocasta was his mother. After discovering this, Oedipus blinded himself, and Jocasta hanged herself.

This story is used to name the process a child goes through when it has the unconscious desire for its opposite sex parent's love - The Oedipus Complex. It relates to the stories 'My Oedipus Complex' and 'A Chip In The Sugar' by being the backbone to the storylines. In both stories, the action follows the main character as he works his way through his own personal oedipal phase. In the first short story, it is Larry who is actually going through this process, and in 'A Chip In The Sugar,' it is Graham who is in this stage of his life. However, their situations are quite different: Larry's oedipal complex is wholly natural, bar his precociousness, whereas Graham's situation is totally unnatural, because the Oedipal Phase is normally passed by the age of six, yet here is middle aged Graham still stuck in it, when his mother is drawing her pension. They are definitely on different borders of the same situation. An Oedipal relationship usually takes the form of a triangular relationship, with the central figure being normally infantile, in Larry's case, but possibly immature or mentally unstable, as with Graham.

The second character is the one that the developing character, character one, wants a relationship with, but is either morally bound as with marriage, or just more willing or suited, to a relationship with the third character. The third character is the one who currently has this relationship with the second, and therefore whose relationship with character one is one of hatred and jealousy, emanating originally from the first over the second's relationship with this, the third's, but with equal resentment being shown in return by the third character for the first's persistent attempts at interfering. The second is always the most central character, with all other relationships revolving around them, and it is this character who is most greatly responsible for the outcome of the situation in the end; by preventing prudishness and incest, and hopefully with this the complex will reach its natural end without hindrance.

The process people go through in the oedipal phase is very clear and similar in both stories. 'My Oedipus Complex' demonstrates the changing phases of the complex with Larry, as he shows first how he loves his Father's mysteriousness - like Santa Claus, but then begins to feel threatened by him and resents the relationship between him and his wife, and how it comes in between what Larry would like to have between him and his mother, and then later Larry makes his move to get between them - literally, in bed, and by asking his mother to marry him. This is before realising the reality of the situation and backing off. This is Larry's

oedipal phase. Graham, in 'A Chip In The Sugar,' as I said before, is in a similar position. He makes clear his present feelings for Vera, his mother, by his jealousy and anger towards Mr Turnbull, who is beginning to have a relationship with Vera. Graham does not dislike Mr Turnbull as a person, just as Larry does not hate his father, it is just that both characters - Larry and Graham, feel threatened by the other character's positions in the lives of the people that they currently dote after, and how it may be destructive to the relationship that Larry and Graham want with them. In both stories, the third character is absent for a while before making a guest appearance, which only serves to disrupt things. In 'My Oedipus Complex,' Larry's father returns from the war to mess up the relationship which was closeing between Larry and his mother in the father's absence, which causes Larry's previously good feelings towards him suddenly deteriorate when Larry begins to feel competition between the two of them within the family triangle.

Similarly, in 'A Chip In The Sugar,' Mr Turnbull's relationship with Vera develops as the story progresses, and we can see how Grahams reaction to the new face, the third corner to the triangle, is very similar to Larry's with the also unexpected arrival of his father. This theme of unexpectedness is also ripe in both short stories. Larry and his mother are uncertain when, if ever, the father will return from the front line, and there is no forewarning to his arrival, just as there are no pointers to Vera's relationship with Mr Turnbull before it actually begins. It is obvious that both stories deal with the Oedipus complex, and not with the Electra complex, which is similar but involves females rather than males.

In both these cases, the third party's arrival upsets the equilibrium which had been formed in the relationships between; Larry and his mum, shown when, for example, Larry always clambered in bed with her in the mornings; and between Graham and his mum, when Graham had been trapped blissfully in the oedipal phase since childhood, unchallenged previously by any third character in the household for literally decades, and this bliss had suddenly been upset by his mother having a new relationship, which he had not had to deal with before. Larry, in his immaturity, is certainly not entirely privy to what he is doing when he asks his mother for marriage, because a five year old simply does not understand the full implications of such a thing. Larry is however recognising this possibility as a feasible one. His attitude in this sense differs from that of Graham, who shuns from this possibility totally when the subject arises in the story (with Vera and Mr Turnbull), and seeks refuge from the situation by attending a local community meeting. The element of marriage is commonplace in both stories' storylines, and it could be the main characters' different ages which account for their different attitudes on the subject. Larry is young, and innocent of the 'ins' and 'outs' of marriage, but Graham is mature, and may turn away from marriage due to seeing some marriages break up among friends, for instance. Alternatively, the finger could be pointed at Graham's lack of mental stability, and therefore his lack of willing to commit himself into a position of responsibility, a common viewpoint among mental patients.

The style of the stories themselves and how they are written also show some similarities and differences. Both are in first person singular form, but 'A Chip In The Sugar' has a greater amount of dialogue, whilst Larry, in 'My Oedipus Complex,' spends a lot of time talking about his feelings. Neither stories have direct humour, but there is a hint of ironic humour in 'A Chip In The Sugar,' and Larry's precocious side to childish things, e.g.. playing with trains, always portrays a light hearted account of his changing feelings and attitude.

It would seem logical for Larry to give a more basic account of his life during this period due to his tender age. However, this is not so; Larry is precocious, speaking well above his years, and gives a much more vivid, more colourful account than Graham. With Graham, the style is very monotonous, and despite more dialogue, he hardly ever varies from "said," to introduce or end a spoken sentence. This contrasts Larry, who uses words such as: "mumbled," "screamed," "murmured," "vowed," for the same purpose which leaves, as I explained, a much more vivid account. The main characters are well set apart in the way that they deal with their oedipal phase. As Larry's feeling towards his dad worsen when he feels threatened by him, he reacts strongly. Dad's role loses its authority and Larry becomes rebellious. For example, when Larry's dad threatens to smack him, Larry is defiant: "Smack your own! Smack your own!" This demonstrates Larry's willingness to defend his inner instinct. Graham does not possess this willingness, and opts out of even spending time with Mr Turnbull, showing how Graham is hiding from a situation he does not know how to escape from or control. He is like a scared deserter, whereas Larry is a gallant officer, defending his lines until he falls.

Neither Graham nor Larry can cope with the idea of the second and third characters in their own complex having sexual intercourse, or being together: In the scene at the community centre, when it is mentioned that Vera and Mr Turnbull may be having sex, Graham clams up, tries to change the subject and eventually leaves. The others at the community centre try to explain Grahams reaction by arguing that the age of Vera and Mr Turnbull may be a playing factor in his mind. But it is Graham's Oedipus complex that leads him to this reaction. He is not actually against Vera and Mr Turnbull's relationship in principal, but it is the fact that his current uncontrollable feelings for Vera lead him to being defensive for and possessive with her. Larry had a period of bliss with his mother in his father's absence. He was able to be in bed with his mother a lot of the time, in the mornings and occasionally overnight. But with his father's return, the door closed on him and left Larry spiteful that his father was keeping him and his mother apart. He didn't know the full workings of the situation, but he knew that spending time in bed with someone was special. Now his father had full access to this speciality, and he didn't. So Larry began trying to get in between them, and grew very jealous because of the amount of time his mother was devoting to his father and not him. Larry did not like this, and he started to try and get in between them, and demanding attention. This was his way of coping with a situation which was changing so fast and interfering with his present feelings so much that it had overloaded him.

Contributed by Kevin Burley