Brian Westby: A Critical And Psychological Analysis Literature Reviews Examples

Brian Westby is a tale written by Forrest Reid, and the story entails a person who had lost all interest in life because he had to go through multiple terrifying experiences during his life. He intended to live in the past, and therefore, present did not hold anything valuable for him. Additionally, he did not dare to marry throughout his life because he had an overwhelming level of fear that encompassed him from all aspects. He was afraid of loss, and therefore, he did not gain anything whatsoever in the life. However, he had an active power of imagination (Reid, 202) that he often used in order to create lovely and beautiful companions who could not leave him.
Brian lost his dearest friend during his educational career (Reid, 133), and the incident hit him so hard that he did not develop the urge to live again. His life was becoming more and more miserable with the passage of time, and his fear was growing by leaps and bounds as well. The character lost faith in the prevalence of good in the world, and he was facing disturbing thoughts those impressed him to believe that everything in this world is of temporary nature, and therefore, there is no point in making an effort in order to earn any materialistic gain of worldly stature. Marriage appeared to him as a burdensome responsibility, and he did not have the courage to earn a companion in his lifetime.
The psychological analysis of the story led this paper to believe that the major character of the story was frightened beyond imagination because he was not willing to risk living because of his fears. The life is a process of making choices, and the featured individual made the most painful one in order to elude himself into thinking that he was safe from every possible pain of the world. However, he did not have anyone who can shoulder him in the times of sorrow, and he did not have any friend to share his pleasures with. Indeed, he was leading the most hopeless and despaired life possible on the face of the Earth. The death is a message of life that reminds us every day that our time is limited in this world, and therefore, we have to live our lives to a fuller extent.
The personality of Westby took the fundamental motivational factor of life, and turned it against himself. The element and presence of death can be taken and treated as a bird that rides on our left shoulders, and makes us remember our mortality. The life in mental terms is defined as a set of moments those made us happy, and therefore, happiness is the real spirit of life. According to Declaration of Independence, each American has the right and freedom to seek out pleasure for him or herself, and therefore, one should have the energy to seek what he or she loves.
Happiest people in the world make the choice to live in the present, and they lead happier lives because they cherish what they have in present rather than worrying about the past or future. The thesis message of the tale demonstrated the worst case scenario in order to rekindle hope amongst the readers.

Works Cited

Reid, Forrest. Brian Westby . London: Valancourt Books , 2013 online.