Nissim Ezekiel's "Night of the Scorpion”: In the Light of Humanistic Psychology

Abstract

The humanistic approach and humanistic psychology is an emerging trend in literature and English Language Teaching. Humanism emphasizes the value of human beings and concerns with the needs, interests, and welfare of individuals. It is also known as the study of humanities which focuses mainly on the moral values of humans. On the other hand, the man who possesses humanism always be a complete human. He/she will modify the society and through which they will create an innovative world. Besides, psychology means the study of mind and behavior. Humanistic psychology is the recent trend in the 20th century. This term is introduced in order to shrink the theory of Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic theory and B.F. Skinner's Behaviorism. Since ages, literature reflects the life of different people and it effectively teaches the people how to survive. The present study pays attention to the poem "Night of the Scorpion” in the perception of humanistic psychology. It focuses a set of people who voluntarily assist a needy mother and in the course of time, showing how they prove that humanism is alive. Psychologically the villagers' attitude towards the suffering mother works positively. Though the villagers have different psyche their innocence shows the Indian ethos.