Saturday, January 16, 2016
UM vs Freud
It is interesting to point out how Freud would analyze the Underground Man. One of Freud's most significant theories was the structural model (what he called the "psychic apparatus") of the mind composed of the "id," the "ego," and the "super-ego." According to Freud, the id is the completely unconscious portion of the psyche that operates in accord with the "pleasure principle," seeking immediate pleasure and gratification, and is the source of basic impulses. Freud then proposed that the ego's goal is to satisfy the demands of the id in a "safe and socially acceptable way." Pleasure dominates the id while the ego represents reason. Thus, the id and ego contrast each other and there is a constant battle between the two. UM obsesses over the relationship between human reason and desire. He claims that while he is not completely opposed to reason, reason is only a part of what makes us human and desire is oppositional to what reason would dictate. Simply put, UM does not want to live a life based just on reason because the essence of human life is desire. Here, UM's id overpowers his ego.
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To me I thought that the super-ego was over powering UM's unconsciousness the most. I think this because the UM over analysis everything he is about to do and is a critic. UM constantly prohibits himself from doing everything till he reaches the point of becoming a recluse. The super-ego is the part of the mind, as freud says, that controls the guilt factor and a feeling of atonement for ones actions. UM has a surplus of negatively led thoughts that make him sound guilty of his action, so I feel that his super-ego has gone rancid with punishments.
I agree with Anastasia as, although the id and ego sort of seem to make the basic decision, ultimately it seems like it is up to the super-ego to decide what would be the best idea according to "societal norms". While reading this, I imagined the id, ego, and super ego like that cartoon angel and devil that will appear on someones soldier when they are trying to decide whether something is right or wrong. But in this case, there would be three. To me it definitely seemed that the super ego had the final decision. At one point in our reading i remember it even said that if something was to happen, by the ego's choice, out of societal norm, the super ego would "punish" the ego with feelings of "guilt". That is what solidified the image in my head that these three things are sort of just arguing with each other like the little angel and devil that appear on peoples shoulders, and try to convince your mind one way or the other.
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