This work tries to study the phenomenon of disorientation of postmodern people in the new digital age, and the aspects and causes of this phenomenon in the Austrian writer Daniel Wisser 's novel "Ein weißer Elefant" (2013) using the psychoanalysis approach .
The analysis focuses on the fate of the 51 years old civil servant and former head of the information technology department who fell into the white elephant state according to his country's law. The social criticism of modern technology which requires replacing people's work and thereby, continually questioning their performance is included and explained in the novel.
The main character uses free association and direct speech to explain the reasons of his confusion and summarizes it in the context of chaotic human conditions- the lack of social equality, justice and the pathological, unfounded fear.
Feeling oppressed and suffering from these confusing conditions, the protagonist becomes mentally ill. In the course of the novel, symptoms of paranoia, contradictory personality and repression become recognizable. The use of psychoanalysis as a method of inquiry in this context contributes to the interpretation and justification of these diseases in the main character.
The author also deals with the new terms and requirements of work in the postmodern era. He discusses the issue of great power conflicts and provides a sharp social criticism not only of the work system in his own country but also of the existing political and economic world systems.