In The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter, Carson McCullers illustrates the concept of The Self-Discrepancy Theory (SDT) through John Singer and Doctor Benedict Mady Copeland. The author brings awareness to the readers of how these two characters perceive themselves and how they’re perceived by others in the community in order to set a direction to the events throughout the story. Understanding self-discrepancy helps the reader to gain a better understanding of why Singer commits suicide at the end, and why Dr. Copeland decides to leave his community and.
Edward Tory Higgins is a Professor of Psychology, and is known for developing The Self-Discrepancy Theory (S. M. Kassin, S. Fein and H. Markus). This theory defines the discrepancies between our self-concept and how we would ideally like to be (ideal self) or believe others think we should be (ought self). In result, Individuals with self-discrepancy often suffer depression and anxiety.
In The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter, McCullers introduces Singer’s character as a deaf-mute who is born deaf and mute by choice. Despite his ability to learn lips reading and imitate the lips movement of others, he was taught to speak. However, McCullers describes Singer Self-concept when he chose to become mute, because of people’s reaction. She states, “From the blank expression on people’s faces to whom he talked in this way he felt that his voice must be like the sound of some animal or that there was something disgusting in his speech”1. The cause of Singer’s silence resulted in letting the other characters throughout the story to project him in whatever they want. The projection of Singer is seen in when McCullers wrote, “The rich thought that he was rich and the poor considered him a poor man like themselves. And there was no way to disprove these rumors they grew marvelous and very real. Each man described the mute as he wished him to be”2.