죽음 본능과 엔트로피, 그리고 브룩스 서사이론을 넘어서

Abstract

This essay attempts to demonstrate that Brooks' phallic view in his narrative theory is a result of his limited interpretations on Freud. The argument is based on the close similarities between Freud's Beyond the Pleasure Principle and The Second Law of Thermcdynamics(The Entropy Law). These theories all postulate "the equilibrium state" just before the ends of living activities and emphasize "the one-way flows" of life and energy. Brooks also lays particular stress on the equilibrium of story, but it is attained only after "the discharge" at the dramatic climax of the narrative. On the contrary, in Freud's theory, an organism can reach it's own equilibrium not in the upward movements such as discharging and developing but in the downward movements like subsiding and atrophies. The arguments of this essay are mainly divided into two sections. First, analyzing Hemingway's "Killers" and Comparing Brooks' theory to Freud's, the essay points out the limits of Brooks' narrative plot. Secondly, examining in detail the similarities between Beyond the Pleasure Principle and The Entropy Law, the essay explores an alternative to replace Brooks' narrative model. Instead of Brooks' "discharging," I rather focus on the concept of "subsiding." I confidently expect that the new masterplot based on this concept can explain more various narrative plots.