Prosper's Demon by K.J. Parker was published in January 2020.

This novella is a dark fantasy that delves

into the realms of philosophy, identity, and the nature of truth. Set in a world where demons and magic
coexist. This novella starts with a young, unnamed narrator who happens to be an exorcist. He’s out for
revenge after waking up and realizing he’s been possessed by a demon (a demon who he happened to
know ever since he was an unborn child) to kill an innocent. Since our main character has already spent
a lot of time extracting this particular demon from numerous bodies, he knows him already. This novella
is not only showing about exorcism but also shows that the main character does not exactly have a
perfect moral compass. The setting of the novella is a representation of the main character's experience
as seen through an interaction between the main character and the demon that he knows very well.
This makes his behavior tend to deviate due to his first encounter with the devil which became the
starting point of his character development.

The main character was born into a normal family with two parents and one sister. His parents loved
him and were good people, but he grew up to be a miserable child, malicious and liked to pick fights
with kids his age who were stronger than him. Not only that, he became an exorcist only because of the
money, he does not really care about the people that are being possessed, he only cares about his work.
He still does a fantastic job in his profession, but he lacks empathy for other people. “My motivations
are my own business, my privilege and my intolerable burden.” What makes the main character behave
like this is his constant interaction with the demon.

The Demon’s presence in the novella represents more than just a supernatural otherworldly antagonist.
A demon that has lived for hundreds of years and this demon likes to possess the body of every human
being with the aim of protecting it from exorcists. In this novella story, every time the devil wants to
possess the human body, the devil always meets the main character, which makes the devil hold a
grudge against the main character because of this and always happens, which gradually makes the devil
hold a grudge and hate the main character. In this novella, the last person possessed by the devil is the
prince, who thinks that by possessing the prince's body he can avenge him on the main character but in
fact, he does not.

Growing up realizing the demon's existence and his connection to it have a profound impact on the main
character's behavior development. The devil's presence, even before his birth, has exposed him to a
different perspective on morals as well as determined the concept of good and bad. Before that
encounter, the main character would have likely followed the norms of a relatively normal society
because he probably has a sense of right and wrong that was instilled in him by his family. Instead of
adhering to societal norms and a moral compass, the main character's worldview is colored by the
influence of the demon. This lead to a deviant behavior that deviates from what is considered "normal"
or morally acceptable in society. “In some instances, deviants may believe that their behavior
constitutes an act of justified deviance. This is deviance that, from the standpoint of the individual acting
is justified even though others may not think it is justified” (Marshall, 2011). Throughout the story, the
main character's behavior can be seen as a form of justified deviance. He believes that his actions, even
if they are not morally questionable, serve a higher purpose or are in line with his personal beliefs. This
perception enables him to justify his behavior and continue his deviation regardless of the
consequences.

The demon's interactions with the main character throughout the story have a big impact on how he
behaves. As the main character spends more time interacting with the demon, his behavior and moral
compass become increasingly influenced. This was proven when he met with the chaplain to discuss
doing an exorcism. While the chaplain possesses extensive understanding and experience, the main
character considers his own understanding of exorcism to be superior. “People often easily condemn
the values of others because they lack experience of priorities different from their own. They too
frequently observers evaluate others only from the perspective of their own worlds” (Matza,1969). The
main character's belief in his own skills conveys a sense of arrogance. He perceives his experiences and
interactions with the demon as giving him a deep understanding of exorcism that surpasses the
chaplain's traditional religious teachings and knowledge. The main character's use of offensive language
when interacting with chaplains increasingly illustrates deviant behavior due to a lack of respect for a
religious leader. The deviant behavior of the main character became the symbol of the relation with the
demon. This article will further explore how his behavior and shaping throughout the story.

According to Sigmund Freud, psychoanalysts attribute activities of deviants to unconscious attempts to

satisfy unresolved infantile desires. Freud suggests that early childhood experiences and unfulfilled
desires can influence an individual's behavior later in life, particularly if they remain unconscious. The
main character's engagement in fights with stronger children could be seen as an unconscious
expression of a desire for power, dominance, or control. His miserable and malicious nature might
reflect unresolved feelings of anger, frustration, or inadequacy that he seeks to address through deviant
actions. “Psychoanalysts also assert that normal personality develops away from social violence” (Rado,
1963). The beginning of the main character's deviant behavior in social society can be understood
through the lens of Freud's theory.

“People who commit murder in the course of personal issues do not conceive of themselves as
criminals. Their careers usually terminate with their apprehension of murder” (Marshall, 2011). Until the
end of the story, the main character commits more murders, directing his actions toward the demon he
met at the beginning of the story. He didn't consider himself a criminal. The main character's lack of
guilt, even after killing many innocent people, reflects the idea that he feels no remorse or regret.
Despite the scale of his crime, the main character shows no remorse, showing a lack of acknowledgment
or acceptance of his actions.

This research uses qualitative method, since it deals with non-numerical data and the understanding of
why and how a certain phenomenon may occur in social life is retrieved from these (Berg & Lune,
2012)., Qualitative research is used to understand a phenomenon experienced by research subjects such
as behavior, motivation, perception, action, and by means of descriptions in the form of words and
discuss, in a special context by utilizing natural methods (Moleong, 2018). Which means, this research
aims to describe factually, and accurately of the main character and the demon. This method is a type of
research that depends on the researcher insights, impressions, and knowledge. According to Kothari
(Kothari, 2004, p. 5), a subjective attitudes of assessment, opinions, and behavior is the main concerned
of qualitative approach to research. Since this research is conducted to understand development of
behavior the main character from every main character interaction with the demon,
it is necessary to learn the relation between literature and psychology. In On the Interaction Between
Literature and Psychology
Daniel Mengistie Yimer (2019) states that A literary work benefits from psychology in terms of
successfully presenting characters, expressing their moods, and bringing the reader into the
psychological dimension of human reality. Psychology and study of literature meet in their focus on
phantasies, emotions and human soul. If a
research is conducted in order to discuss about the development of behavior from the main character
has, then psychological criticism is used to analyze the character and the interaction with the demon.
Qualitative methodology is focused on capturing rich, detailed descriptions and interpretations of the
experiences, perspectives, and social contexts of individuals or groups In qualitative research, this
research focused on the main character and the demon, research data gathered through document
analysis, in this case prosper’s demon by K. J. Parker novella.

This research uses qualitative method, since it deals with non-numerical data and the understanding of
why and how a certain phenomenon may occur in social life is retrieved from these (Berg & Lune, 2012).
Qualitative research is used to understand a phenomenon experienced by research subjects such as
behavior, motivation, perception, action, and by means of descriptions in the form of words and discuss,
in a special context by utilizing natural methods (Moleong, 2018). Which means, this research aims to
describe factually, and accurately of the main character and the demon. This method is a type of
research that depends on the researcher's insights, impressions, and knowledge. According to Kothari
(Kothari, 2004, p. 5), a subjective attitudes of assessment, opinions, and behavior is the main concerned
of qualitative approach to research. Since this research is conducted to understand the development of
behavior of the main character from every main character interaction with the demon, it is necessary to
learn the relation between literature and psychology. In On the Interaction Between Literature and
Psychology Daniel Mengistie Yimer (2019) states that A literary work benefits from psychology in terms
of successfully presenting characters, expressing their moods, and bringing the reader into the
psychological dimension of human reality. Psychology and study of literature meet in their focus on
phantasies, emotions and human soul. If a research is conducted in order to discuss the development of
behavior from the main character, then psychological criticism is used to analyze the character and the
interaction with the demon.

Qualitative methodology is focused on capturing rich, detailed descriptions and interpretations of the
experiences, perspectives, and social contexts of individuals or groups In qualitative research, this
research focused on the main character and the demon, research data gathered through document
analysis, in this case prosper’s demon by K. J. Parker novella.