Hyperreality and emotional intelligence in The sympathizer (2015) by Viet Thanh Nguyen

Abstract

Emotions tend to blind the human mind, confuse and distract it from reality, disturb its thoughts and influence its actions, or make it believe in simulated things and leave it in a delusional state. This dissertation identifies the Emotional Intelligence and Hyperreality in The Sympathizer (2015) by Viet Thanh Nguyen, a novel with a great psychological potential about the untold story of the Vietnam War. The author wanted to show an uncorrupted version of the war, and clarify the image created by the American movies and books that influenced the public opinion. Through the narrator, Nguyen was able to exteriorize the rage and trauma he kept inside of him since childhood. The novel is a confession from the unnamed narrator, who struggles with himself because of the duality of his mind making him unable to understand his own identity. As a sympathizer and a "man of two minds", the narrator goes through different contradicting emotions leading him into a delusional state. This dissertation is examined on a psychoanalytic perspective and Postmodern theory