From the time of the Victorian Era, theorists have analyzed the mind and how it works. Many consider Sigmund Freud the father of psychology. According to Freudian theory, humans are controlled by three personalities throughout life; the id, ego, and super ego. However, we are not born with all three. Instead, “we are born with our id” (“Structural Model”). At the age of three, the second part of the unconscious mind, the ego, is developed. Later, when the child is five, or ending his or her phallic stage of development, the super ego structure is developed (“Structural Development”). Using psychoanalytic theory, we are able to analyze many modern day texts. Throughout the novels Batman: The Dark Knight Returns (hereafter referred to as B: DKR) by Frank Miller and Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane, the main characters have similar and different characteristics. Through their novels, we see the main characters from Batman: Dark Knight Returns and Shutter Island specifically, Bruce Wayne and Teddy Williams respectively, living their everyday lives while dealing with struggles, hardships, and prosperity. Thus, this essay analyzes the lives of the character from both modern texts using Sigmund Freud’s concept of the id, ego, and super ego.
The id is in the unconscious part of the mind and is also known as our primitive instincts that “seek satisfaction in accordance with the Pleasure Principle” (“Id”). Furthermore, “(t)he Pleasure Principle states that people see pleasure and avoid pain” (“Pleasure Principle”). As a newborn, the id (our initial structure of our personality) thinks in an animalist, manner not caring for anything other than its personal satisfaction (“Id, Ego, and Super-ego”). For example, when a baby is hungry or needs...
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...ehane’s Shutter Island, it is noted that both books deal with the two very complex lives of Bruce Wayne as Batman and Teddy Daniels the U.S Marshal respectively and how they manage on a day to day basis. Therefore, this essay analyzes the characters from Batman: The Dark Knight Returns and Shutter Island using Freud’s concept of the id, ego, and super ego.
Works Cited
• “Id, Ego, and Super Ego.” Wikipedia. n.p, n.d. Web. 13 Dec 2010.
• Lehane, Dennis. Shutter Island. New York: HarperCollins Publisher, 2003. Print,
• Miller, Frank, and Klaus Janson, and Lynn Varley. Batman: The Dark Knight Returns. New
York: D.C Comics, 2002. Print.
• “Pleasure Principle.” Wikipedia. n.p, n.d. Web. 13 Dec 2010.
• “Reality Principle.” Wikipedia. n.p, n.d. Web. 13 Dec 2010.
• “Structural Development.” Allpsych. n.p, 23 Sept 2002. Web. 13 Dec 2010.
An individual’s mental well being can greatly affect their character and the way they perceive things. In the novels The Kite Runner and A Separate Peace, the protagonists are boys who are infested by internal conflicts such as insecurities and emotions. In Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner, a boy lets his dad negatively affect his character, causing him to treat those around him in a cynical manner. Likewise, a boy from John Knowles’ A Separate Peace bases his character on whom he wishes to be, letting his unhealthy mental state consume him. Hence, explored through both novels, is how a person’s internal conflicts can lead to their downfall, whether as a result of their struggle with identity or their feelings towards others.
Print "Id, Ego, Superego, and the Unconscious in Psychology 101 at AllPsychOnline. " Psychology Classroom at AllPsych Online. 21 Mar. 2004. The 'Standard' of the 'Standard' of the 'Standard' of the Web.
Sigmund Freud believed that he “occupies a special place in the history of psychoanalysis and marks a turning point, it was with it that analysis took the step from being a psychotherapeutic procedure to being in depth-psychology” (Jones). Psychoanalysis is a theory or therapy to decode the puzzle of neurotic disorders like hysteria. During the therapy sessions, the patients would talk about their dreams. Freud would analyze not only the manifest content (what the dreamer remembers) of the dreams, but the disguise that caused the repressions of the idea. During our dreams, the decision making part of personality’s defenses are lowered allowing some of the repressed material to become more aware in a distorted form. He distinguished between
Freud, S., & Strachey, J. (19621960). The Ego and the Super-ego. The ego and the id (pp. 19-20). New York: Norton.
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The first feature, the id, feature of personality is the most common and everlasting element that exists since birth. It is completely unconsciousness and consists of natural and original behavior. As it is the main element of personality, id is considered the main source of psychic energy. According to Freud id is compelled by pleasure principle, which attempts for immediate satisfaction of desires and needs. It will result in a state of anxiety or strain if the needs are not satisfied immediately. Secondly, the ego is a component of personality in charge of dealing with reality. As stated by Freud, the ego progresses from Id and confirms the desires of the id, articulated in an acceptable manner in real life. The main function of ego is to handle conscious, preconscious and unconscious mind. It helps to satisfy needs of id in a socially suitable way. Besides, it supports to release tension with assistance of a process where an object found in reality is created by id’s p...