Psychoanalytic theory free essay sample

The conscious vs the unconscious. b- The id, ego, and superego. c- Oedipus complex. 2- Psychological Analysis of Young Goodman Brown. III- Conclusion. Prepared by: Manal Abdul Lateef. What is psychoanalysis Psychoanalysis is a name applied to a specific method of investigating unconscious mental processes and to a form of psychotherapy. The term refers, as well, to the systematic structure of psychoanalysis theory, which is based on the relation of conscious and unconscious psychological processes. Freuds theory on psychoanalysis. a- The conscious vs the unconscious. According to Freud, the mind can be divided into two main parts: 1. The conscious mind includes everything that we are aware of. This is the aspect of our mental processing that we can think and talk about rationally. A part of this includes our memory, which is not always part of consciousness but can be retrieved easily at any time and brought into our awareness. Freud called this ordinary memory the preconscious 2. The unconscious mind is a reservoir of feelings, thoughts, urges, and memories that outside of our conscious awareness. Most of the contents of the unconscious are unacceptable or unpleasant, such as feelings of pain, anxiety, or conflict. According to Freud, the unconscious continues to influence our behavior and experience, even though we are unaware of these underlying influences. b- The id, ego, and superego. According to Sigmund Freuds psychoanalytic theory of personality, personality is composed of three elements. These three elements of personalityknown as the id, the ego and the superegowork together to create complex human behaviors. The id : The id is an important part of our personality because as newborns, it allows us to get our basic needs met. Freud believed that the id is based on our pleasure principle. In other words, the id wants whatever feels good at the time, with no consideration for the reality of the situation. When a child is hungry, the id wants food, and therefore the child cries. When the child needs to be changed, the id cries. When the child is uncomfortable, in pain, too hot, too cold, or just wants attention, the id speaks up until his or her needs are met. The id doesnt care about reality, about the needs of anyone else, only its own satisfaction. If you think about it, babies are not real considerate of their parents wishes. They have no care for time, whether their parents are sleeping, relaxing, eating dinner, or bathing. When the id wants something, nothing else is important. The Id, according to Freud, â€Å"knows no judgments of value: no good and evil, no morality [It is] the great reservoir of libido†. From the outset (i. e. birth) the Id includes all the instinctual impulses as well as the destructive instinct. The ego: The ego is based on the reality principle. The reality principle weighs the costs and benefits of an action before deciding to act upon or abandon impulses. In many cases, the ids impulses can be satisfied through a process of delayed gratificationthe ego will eventually allow the behavior, but only in the appropriate time and place. In other words, the ego understands that other people have needs and desires and that sometimes being impulsive or selfish can hurt us in the long run. Its the egos job to meet the needs of the id, while taking into consideration the reality of the situation. The Ego, says Freud, â€Å"attempts to mediate between id and reality†. The superego: The Superego is the moral part of us and develops due to the moral and ethical restraints placed on us by our parents and societyour sense of right and wrong. Many equate the superego with the conscience as it dictates our belief of right and wrong. The superego provides guidelines for making judgments. According to Freud, the superego begins to emerge at around age five. In a healthy person, according to Freud, the ego is the strongest so that it can satisfy the needs of the id, not upset the superego, and still take into consideration the reality of every situation. Not an easy job by any means, but if the id gets too strong, impulses and self gratification take over the persons life. If the superego becomes to strong, the person would be driven by rigid morals, would be judgmental and unbending in his or her interactions with the world. c- Oedipus complex. Oedipus complex refers to a sons unconscious sexual attraction toward his mother accompanied by jealousy toward his father. Freud thought that the Oedipus complex was the most important event of a boys childhood and had a great effect on his subsequent adult life. Freud claimed that in nearly all cases the boy represses the desire for his mother and the jealousy toward his father. As a result of this unconscious experience, a boy with an Oedipus complex feels guilt and experiences strong emotional conflicts. Freud thought that the girl go through a similar experience , in which they are attracted to their father and become antagonistic toward their mother. He called this the Electra complex. According to Freud, if a woman remain under the influence of the Electra complex, shi is likely to choose a husband with characteristics similar to those of her father. Psychological Analysis of Young Goodman Brown. There are many approaches that you can take when analyzing literature. In Young Goodman Brown there are many layers to read through. By using the psychological approach to literature, you can see how Freuds ideas apply to literature. Samuel Freuds theory which divided the psyche into three parts; id, ego and superego plays a big part in studying Browns actions. Through the story, Brown is suffering from a struggle between his id which represents desires and his superego which represents perfection. Brown at the beginning of the story decides to leave his wife to go to the forest at night. His journey leads him to leave the village which is a place of light and security to the forest which is a place of darkness, dangerous and unknown destination. Browns first step in the forest considers as a victory to the id over the superego. Browns meeting with the old man who is the devil himself shows Browns confusion; weather to believe the old man or not. The devil shocked Brown, when he told him that his father and his grandfather were a servant to the devil; he meant by that that is Browns destiny too. Browns believe that they are†¦a race of honest men and good Christians†¦ has faded. The devil deceived Brown to continue his journey in the wood, when Brown decides to return back. The devil said sit here and rest yourself a while; and when you feel like moving again, there is my staff to help you along. , then he vanished. Moreover, Brown lost his trust in his people and the resource of social control became weaker in Browns psyche (Nathaniel). In the writer view that is true; Brown has always thought that Goody Cloyse, the minister and Deacon Cookin were religious and righteous people in his village. His believe in them has gone since he saw them in the wood; he thought that how he could follow their teaching any more if they themselves violate the religion. He first meets Goody Cloyse, who is his teacher she had taught him his catechism. Then he hears the minister and Deacon Cookin while they are going to their Sabbath assembly. After Brown has slept a while, he continued his journey to the heart of the forest. His bewilderment grow bigger and bigger. His wifes pink ribbon, which a combination of white for purity and red for passion, has fallen from the sky. It made him uncertain weather his wife, Faith, whom he loves, is like the rest or not. His wife was his last hope; he was going to return just for her. Finally, he saw her while she is going to become on of the devil worshipers. He totally lost everything in his life; his Faith, his trust with people and his believes and he no more afraid of losing anything. When the sun rises, Brown returns to his village. But he became a walking guilt complex burdened with anxiety and doubt. His guilt which lasts till his final gloomy day is a clear sign of the id final victory in his struggle with the superego. He cant distinguish between the external worlds from his inner world; he isnt sure if his journey is true or dream and he cant directly or indirectly asks his wife or any figure he saw in the forest if they really were there. Moreover, the consequence of his journey is the uncertainty in his live. He tries like Adam to eat from the forbidden tree. But he didn’t think of the consequence of his deed. Another idea in the story fits to the Freudian theory which suggests that our repressed desires express themselves in our dreams. Browns desire to taste the forbidden fruit is presented in his dream, while he was sleeping in the forest. So his dream didn’t come from nothingness; his desire is the motive of it. The presence of Faith and the others in the forest is just fancifulness. Brown aimed by this to convince himself that he isn’t the only sinner. Thus his desire motivates him to create them. Young Goodman Brown is not only a story that full of events and incidents which rich the story ,but it also full of many evidences that show Browns own psyche problems. In Freudian view, he is suffering from inner struggle between his id and superego His first suffering ends with the victory of one side over the o other. That made him to lose his balance between good and evil, virtue and vice and peace and war. Brown isolation is the result of his guilt and a consequence of it. In brief, Psychoanalysis, developed by Sigmund Freud, is a rather detailed and complicated theory of personality and motivation of what makes people do what they do. It is also a type of therapy. Simply put, psychoanalysis involves the exploration of a person’s unconscious thought processes through methods such as free association – saying whatever comes to mind.