The Portrayal of Personality Disorders in Hanna Alkaf's 'The Weight of Our Sky

Abstract

The title of the study is "Personality Disorder Reflected in Hanna Alkaf's The Weight of Our Sky." It aims to depict personality disorder reflected in the main character. The study uses a qualitative descriptive approach. This study used Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalysis theory. Moreover, the obsessive-compulsive theory proposed by Oltmanns & Emery (2012) and  Foa & Wilson (2001) is also applied to analyze the symptoms and the causes of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The result of the study shows that the symptoms of OCD found in the main character are obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviors as the Id has the most powerful role than Ego and Superego. Meanwhile, the cause of the main character's obsessive-compulsive disorder is triggered by social factors consisting of childhood adversity and stressful life events. The adversity in which she lost her father, who died in an unexpected accident when she was very young, significantly affects the emergence of OCD's symptoms. In addition, the race riot event that happened in her hometown makes the main character separate from her mother and indirectly increases the emergence of her OCD symptoms.

Keywords: Hanna Alkaf, personality disorder, psychoanalysis, The Weight of Our Sky