William Wilson Analysis Essay

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Ashleigh Schaefer English 4 Professor Lopez 20 October 2014 Poe’s short story “William Wilson” is a doppelganger story. In it, Poe explores what happens when one’s self is split in two. In typical Poe fashion this story is shroud in mystery/horror. Poe explores how terrifying it would be if there was somebody who looked exactly like you was constantly in your life. What happens when the doppelganger tries to take over your life? One of the largest mysteries of this text is whether or not there really is somebody who exists that’s William Wilson’s double or whether it’s just a figment of his imagination. If William Wilson’s double really is just a figment of his imagination does that make it any less real to the real Wilson himself? In some …show more content…

If the conflict between the two selves is resolved then it makes room for an expanded self. However, if a conflict remains between the two ideals then a conflict similar to that seen in “William Wilson” can occur. The conscious or ego can only make room for the unconscious or shadow. The ego can never completely eliminate it. To destroy it would be to seriously destabilize one’s psychological identity. “William Wilson is a self whose identity is informed by two voices, each vying for dominance, each attempting to subjugate and subvert the other” (32). As the story progresses, William Wilson wrestles more and more with his conscious and unconscious taking over. The wrestling between these two parts of William Wilson’s brain can be seen as Wilson wrestling with doing what is right or wrong. The episodes with his doppelganger get progressively worse as Wilson makes progressively worse moral decisions until the very end. This can be viewed as Wilson succumbing to his unconscious/morally wrong desires. The doppelganger always appears as a voice to Wilson explaining what is right or wrong. According to Jungian terms, Wilson can be viewed as the ego and his doppelganger can be viewed as his …show more content…

It’s as though Wilson is projecting himself onto another student. If the doppelganger was real why would there be a sudden change in his appearance? The symbolism between the light and the dark in this particular scene can illustrate Wilson’s own fight between his good and his evil side. The darkness, where the doppelganger is, can be seen as Wilson’s own dark side or shadow. There’s a side to Wilson that literally looks different in the dark. Wilson walks in with a lamp, the only source of light in the dark room. However, the horror and evil of Wilson’s shadow win over in this scene and Wilson extinguishes his lamp before leaving the room. This can be seen as Wilson literally succumbing to his shadow and his own dark side. It can be seen as an extinguishing of his ego

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