Ransom Drysdale’s Motives in Harlan Thrombey’s Death in Knives Out (2019): A Maslowian Perspective
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31294/wanastra.v18i2.13022Keywords:
character analysis, Maslow's hierarchy of needs, film narrative, contextual approach, Knives OutAbstract
Knives Out (2019) presents Ransom Drysdale as a complex character whose motives are shaped by family conflict and inheritance. This study aims to analyze Ransom Drysdale's motives in Harlan Thrombey's death using Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs through a context-oriented approach. This study employed a qualitative descriptive design. The primary data consisted of selected scenes, dialogues, and character interactions involving Ransom Drysdale, which were collected through repeated viewing and note-taking. The data were analyzed by classifying them based on Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and interpreting them using a context-oriented approach. The findings indicate that Ransom's physiological and safety needs were generally fulfilled, while the inheritance decision challenged his sense of security, belonging, and especially his esteem. Rather than explaining his actions as the direct result of unmet psychological needs, this study suggests that Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs provides an interpretive framework for understanding Ransom's motives within the familial context of the film.
References
Alkurani, H. N. (2026). Psychological Analysis of Arthur Miller ’ s All My Sons Through Maslow ’ s Hierarchy of Needs. 22(2), 1460–1468. https://doi.org/10.31185/wjfh.Vol22.Iss2.1682
Amalia, D. F., & Imawan, K. (2025). When the Movie Screen Becomes An “ Emotional ” Narrative Within the Family ( Film Analysis of NKCTHI ). 3(1), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.47134/jbkd.v3i1.5607
Artamevia, A. (2024). A Psychoanalysis of The Main Characters Aladdin and Jasmine in The Aladdin Movie ( 2019 ) A Psychoanalysis Of The Main Characters Aladdin And Jasmine In The Aladdin Movie ( 2019 ). 2019, 435–444. https://doi.org/10.30605/25409190.743
Hutapea, K., Ashar, E., & Siahaan, S. (2025). Hierarchy of Needs Analysis: Love and Belonging Needs of the Main Character in “Five Feet Apart” Movie. 1–12. http://repository.unrika.ac.id/handle/123456789/771
Jefri, M. (2026). An Analysis of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs in the Main Character Gary Johnson in Hit Man (2023) Movie by Richard Linklater’s. 2023. https://ejurnal.bunghatta.ac.id/index.php/JFIB/article/view/29419
Ning, Y. (2022). Maslow ’ s Hierarchy of Needs : A Framework for Analyzing Female Characters in the Theater Bailu Plain. 0, 70–75. https://doi.org/10.54254/2753-7064/38/20240182
Putri, M. S., Halim, N. M., & Makassar, U. I. (2021). An Analysis Of The Main Character In The Film “ The Nightingale ”: 3(3), 47–62. https://doi.org/10.52208/klasikal.v3i3.107
Rahmajati, V. E., & Widyaningrum, A. (2024). Maslow ’ s and Beauvoir ’ s Theories Portrayed on Sarah ’ s Character. 11(1), 11–22. https://doi.org/10.30812/humanitatis.v11i1.4087
Rahmani, E. F., Empawi, A. A., & Sada, C. (2024). Analyzing the Intrinsic Motivation of the Main Character in the Movie Joy. 11(1), 61–72. https://doi.org/10.30812/humanitatis.v11i1.3663
Rahmawati, W., Tri, L., Beru, A., & Rullyanti, M. (2026). A Representation of Female Identity In Greta Gerwig ’ s Barbie Movie ( 2023 ). 2(8), 1469–1481. https://doi.org/10.59837/jpnmb.v2i8.745
Saeed, A., & Mocbil, A. (2024). Satire and Social Criticism in Jane Austen ’ s Pride and Prejudice Satire and Social Criticism in Jane Austen ’ s Pride and. 30(3), 132–144. https://doi.org/10.20428/jss.v30i3.2581
Singh, S., Roy, P., Sahoo, N., Mallela, N., & Gupta, H. (2022). Hollywood Identity Bias Dataset : A Context Oriented Bias Analysis of Movie Dialogues. June, 5274–5285. https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2205.15951
Stubbs-richardson, M., Sinclair, H. C., Porter, B., Utley, J. W., Stubbs-richardson, M., & Sinclair, H. C. (2021). When Does Rejection Trigger Aggression ? A Test of the Multimotive Model The Multimotive Model and the. 12(June), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.660973
Tampubolon, N. J., & Arianto, T. (2022). The Fulfillment of Main Character’s Desire Through Distruction Action in Joker Movie: Psychological Approach. 139–146. https://doi.org/10.33884/basisupb.v9i1.5472
Tan, C. (2022). Film Philology : The Value and Significance of Adaptation / Film Studies in Literature. 0–3.
Will E, H., & Saif M, M. (2021). Emotion dynamics in movie dialogues. 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0256153
Xu, H. (2025). An Analysis of Chinese Mother-Daughter Relationships in Two Films Based on Female Subjectivity (Issue Iclahd). Atlantis Press SARL. https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-511-9
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Dharayya Mutiara Rohali, Agnes Widyaningrum (Author)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
All articles published in Wanastra: Jurnal Bahasa dan Sastra are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
Under this license, authors retain copyright of their work and grant others the right to:
-
Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format
-
Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially
Terms of Use:
Users are free to use the material under the following conditions:
-
Attribution — Proper credit must be given to the original author(s) and the source, a link to the license must be provided, and any changes made must be indicated.
-
No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.
The full license details can be accessed at: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
By submitting to Wanastra: Jurnal Bahasa dan Sastra, authors agree to these licensing terms.
