The Use of Emotion and Defense Mechanisms in Understanding Lead Characters in Selected Short Stories

In this study, the researcher discussed the ego defense mechanisms used by the characters in the eight (8) selected Filipino shot stories. In the analysis of these works, the researcher tries to answer the following questions: (1) what defense mechanisms were used by the lead characters in the selected short stories?, (2) how did the lead characters show the use of defense mechanism?, and (3) why did the characters apply the ego defense mechanisms? This study uses the descriptive research. Since there has been no consensus on the exact number of emotions and ego defenses the researcher used Robert Plutchick's Psychoevolutionary Theory of Emotion which basically describes the eight basic emotions and ego defenses that will help in analyzing the lead characters in the story. In selecting the eight (8) selected short stories, the researcher goes through a list of stories with defense mechanism as themes. The process of data analysis involved three phases. Phase I involved surveying of literary works, short stories in particular, written by Filipino writers. Phase II involved the preparation of the list of short stories with the following criteria: (1) the literary texts must be written by reputable writers in Philippine 5 Literature, (2) the literary texts must be works of Filipino short stories in English, (3) the literary texts must lend themselves to the use of psychoanalytic principles, (4) two works for each author will be included in the study, and (5) the literary texts must be cited in anthologies and/or self-published. Finally, Phase III involved an in-depth analysis by describing the defense mechanisms used by the characters and explaining how and why the characters used such defense mechanisms.