DEVIANT BEHAVIOR OF CHARACTERS AS A DRIVING FORCE OF PLOT DEVELOPMENT IN THE NOVELS OF DANIEL KEYES

Abstract

The article deals with the analysis of deviant behavior in the novels of Daniel Keyes and its influence on the development of the plot. Deviant behavior, defined as a violation of social norms and roles, appears in the writer’s work not only as a psychological disorder but also as a key factor shaping the characters’ inner world, constructing conflict, and driving the plot forward. The relevance of this study lies in the scarcity of literary studies that analyze deviance as an artistic category, despite the substantial attention devoted to this topic in psychology, medicine, and sociology. The article examines the novels The Fifth Sally and The Minds of Billy Milligan by Daniel Keyes, in which the characters’ deviance is rooted in dissociative identity disorder. The plots of both novels are based on multiple personality disorder, which results in the deviant behavior of the main characters. Such behavior is not only perceived as unstable by the environment, but it also becomes the basis for further events in the narrative. The specifics of the artistic reproduction of mental deviations and their role in building the plot dynamics are traced: from the gradual disclosure of the internal conflict to attempts to integrate personalities and the struggle of the characters for the integrity of their own “I”. The study examines the nuances of artistic representation of psychological abnormalities and their impact on shaping plot dynamics – from the gradual development of inner conflict to attempts to integrate multiple personalities and the characters’ struggle for self-integrity. The analysis focuses on how various alter egos influence the characters’ actions, their relationships with others, social adaptation, and perception by society. Special attention has been paid to the depiction of the social reaction to deviance, which is one of the novel’s leading motifs in Billy Milligan, whereas in “The Fifth Sally” the theme of internal recovery and therapeutic interaction with the doctor dominates. Deviant behavior in these novels serves a dual function: it depicts a traumatized personality and, at the same time, drives the plot, shaping the nature of the conflict and the characters’ transformations.