Juliette Ferrars’s Fragmented Mental State in Tahereh Mafi’s Shatter Me: A Study of First-Person Internal Focalization

Abstract

This study examines how first-person internal focalization constructs Juliette Ferrars’s fragmented mental state in Tahereh Mafi’s Shatter Me. The research focuses on how first-person internal focalization allows readers to experience Juliette’s thoughts, emotions, and psychological struggles through her subjective perspective. Using Genette’s concept of internal focalization, this study employs a descriptive qualitative method and close reading to analyze selected narrative passages from the novel. The findings show that first-person internal focalization Juliette’s fragmented mental state is represented through contradiction, repetition, self-censorship, limited perception, memory intrusion, and sudden emotional shifts. These narrative features reflect her fear, trauma, loneliness, insecurity, and emotional instability while living in a dystopian society. As both narrator and focalizer, Juliette provides readers with direct access to her consciousness, creating an intimate portrayal of her psychological condition. The study concludes that first-person internal focalization plays a significant role in constructing Juliette’s fragmented mental state and enhancing readers’ understanding of her emotional and psychological experiences. The study concludes that first-person internal focalization plays a significant role in constructing Juliette’s fragmented mental state and enhancing readers’ understanding of her emotional and psychological experiences. This study contributes to narratological studies of young adult dystopian fiction by demonstrating how narrative perspective can construct and represent psychological fragmentation through a character’s subjective consciousness.