Shubert-Mummy Boy

         The story by Tim Burton called “Mummy Boy” displays all of Tim Burton’s neuroses about abandonment, loss, and outsiderness. Firstly, it shows his neuroses about abandonment. The parents of Mummy Boy in the story call him a “reject from an archaeological expedition.” Not only do they not treat him as their son and abandon him, but they also do no even think of him as a good mummy. Instead, they think of him as a reject. This shows Tim Burton’s problems with parents in general and his issues with abandonment.

         Secondly, the story shows Tim Burton’s neuroses about loss. At the end of the story, Mummy Boy is mistaken for a piñata and killed by the children of the town. This shows Tim Burton’s feelings about death and loss. Mummy Boy isn’t killed because he is a bad person or because he did anything wrong but merely because the children of the town are greedy for “candy and toys.”

         Finally, “Mummy Boy” shows Tim Burton’s neuroses about outsiderness. Mummy Boy is an outsider to everyone he encounters. He is an outsider with his parents because he is not like them and they do not want a mummy child. He is an outsider with the children of the town. The only time he finds someone with whom he feels like he is not an outsider is when he finds the “little white mummy dog.” The dog is the only character in Mummy Boy’s sad story that does not treat him like an outsider because he is different. This shows how Tim Burton feels about society and outsiderness. He feels like society shuns anything and anyone that is different. This is also shown in Edward Scissorhands with the title character and in Batman Returns with Penguin as well as many other of Burton’s films.

        The story also relies on Jungian archetypes to relieve the pain of the neuroses presented by Burton. For example, Mummy Boy might represent the Monster archetype because even though he is not a bad person, society views him as a monster because of how he looks and because he is different. Jung also thought that death was a natural part of life so the story ending with Mummy Boy’s death also helps relieve the pain of Burton’s neuroses.

         Overall, “Mummy Boy” showcases Tim Burton’s neuroses about things that were found in his own biography such as abandonment, loss, and outsiderness and it relies on Jung’s archetypes to restore wholeness and relieve the pain of the neuroses.