Freud has had several influences over psychology. He found many psychological disorders and categorized the mind into three sections: Id, Ego, and Superego. Use Freudian concepts to analyze a character and use textual evidence to support your answer.
(Maura and Josh)
In Tennessee Williams’ “The Glass Menagerie”, Tom is the perfect example of the Freudian concept that the human mind is like an "Iceberg". This theory divides the human unconscious into three sections: the id, the ego, and the superego. The id represents want and desire, the superego represents morals and values, and the ego balances these two aspects of the unconscious mind. In the play, Tom’s id and his superego are in constant conflict. Tom is divided between his id, his desire to leave home and become a writer, and his superego, his morals that convince him that he needs to stay home and take care of his mother and his sister. This conflict is clearly demonstrated when Tom exclaims at Amanda, “‘For sixty-five dollars a month, I give up all that I dream of doing and being ever! And you say self-self’s all I ever think of’” (1988). For the majority of the play and of his life, Tom’s superego overpowers his id, as he remains home to provide for his family. However, at the end of the play, Tom’s id conquers his superego, as he leaves his family and joins the military. This clash between desire and morals completely exemplifies the Freudian “Iceberg” theory and effectively shows the man vs. self theme in the play.
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ReplyDeleteFreud had a great influence over psychology. In fact, many of the concepts today in psychology originated from Freud. These concepts, which decipher the human mind, can also often be applied to characters in literary works, in this case Tom in “The Glass Menagerie” by Tennessee Williams. The division in the human mind between the Id, Ego, and Superego is one of Freud’s concepts that is applicable to Tom. The Id is the part of the mind that focuses only on the human’s wants while the Ego deals with the human’s morals. The Superego tries to balance out the Id and Ego. In “The Glass Menagerie,” Tom is “boiling” for “adventure” which he feels he can obtain by joining the Union of Merchant Seamen, demonstrating Jim’s Id (2005- 2006). However, Tom’s Ego, which tells him to stay and support Amanda and Laura, counterbalances his desire to become a seaman. Eventually though, Tom’s Id outweighs the influence of his Ego. This struggle for Tom between what he truly desires and his morals epitomizes the Freudian concept involving the Id, Ego, and Superego. Also, one of Freud’s concepts was repression of traumatic events. For Tom, this traumatic event was his father deserting him and his family and “skipped out of town” (1979). Tom represses this experience because of the hardships it brought to him. Because of his father leaving, his family structure was destroyed along with his ambitions of becoming a seaman experiencing adventure and a writer which he now has to secretly work on in the bathroom stalls at the warehouse. Obviously this is a traumatic event for Tom not only because of the direct effects it had on the family but also how he had to give up on his dreams to take over the father role in the family and support the family which is why Tom wants to repress this event because it brings up how he has had to abandon his dreams. As seen, the concepts of Freud are quite applicable to characters in literature such as Jim in “The Glass Menagerie.”
ReplyDeleteFreud’s theories have had a major affect on physiological studies. One of his theories is that of the ego having an iceberg arrangement of three seperate egos. The Ego refers to ones morals, superego refers to one abiding to morals but also demonstrating one’s wants, and the id refers to ones wants. Tom in “The Glass Menagerie” can have these Freudian principals applied to him. Tom goes through numerous struggles throughout the play, but he always wishes to leave home. “Every night” Tom “goes to the movies”. (1999). This is Tom’s superego; for he really wishes to leave, but morals keep him from doing so. Tom frequently goes to the movies, until his final trip. When he acts on his id ego. Tom leaves his family. He “didn’t go to the moon” as Amanda suggested to him in rage, “he went much further”. He not only left his family listening to his id ego, but Tom also “left Saint Louis”. (2021). Freudian principals demonstrate Tom’s want to leave through the superego, and then his doing so by acting upon his id ego.
ReplyDeleteFreud's use of the id, ego, and superego can be applied to many fiction and nonfiction characters. Laura holds these three dynamics of the mind in Tennessee William's "The Glass Menagerie. Her id is the desire to do what she wants and desires - to just be left alone, to not have to work, and to just sit and play with her glass menagerie all day. When asked about where she was when she was skipping business school, she replied, "I just went walking...I went in the art museum and the bird-houses at the zoo. I visited the penguins everyday" (1984), showing that she just wants to essentially be a child again. The desire for the simpleness of childhood often drives her id, causing her to come into conflict with her adult duties. Her superego is the desire to do what society and her mother tell her is moral - to marry and if she cannot do this, to get a job. She wants to please her mother and tries to find anything to make it seem as though se has tried to find a man, such as saying that "[She] liked a boy once" (1985); however, this is short-lived because she clarifies that the boy was from her highschool days. Her ego is often not present, she wants to do what her mother wants, but just cannot bring herself to do so because of her social anxiety. Her reason for dropping out of business college is that "It was the lesser of two evils...[She felt that she] couldn't go back [because she] threw up - on the floor" (1984). Her ego consists of her attempts to mk her mother happy but failing to do so. This short-lived ego indicates a mental instability, reaffirming Freud's positions on mental illnesses.
ReplyDeleteFreud's psychoanalytic theories can be interpreted in many novels. His theory of the mind is like an "Iceberg" is most commonly used. The "Iceberg" theory consists of superego, which are the morals of the mind, ego, the mix of morals and desires, and id, which are one's desires. In Tennessee Williams' "The Glass Menagerie", the character, Tom is an example of these Freudian concepts because he shows his ego and id. He shows his ego when he knows his morals in society of providing for and protecting his mother and sister, but he still has a desire to leave to follow his dream of becoming a writer. The decision he makes proves what state of mind overpowers Tom. He decides to leave his family behind and go against his morals and go with his desires. Amanda believes his decision to leave is selfish. Tom looked at his decision as doing something for himself and following his dream, but he was leaving two people he cares about and who need him the most behind. According to Freud, Tom overpowers his ego with his id state of mind because he left his family.
ReplyDeleteFreud believed that the human brain is divided into three separate sections, id, ego, and superego. In a Glass Menagerie, Freud's "iceberg" theory can be used to analyze many of the characters. For example, Amanda by being unable to grasp her daughter Laura's life situation. Amanda grew up in the old south, with "gentleman callers," and the expectation that she would live "on a large piece of land with plenty of servants." Her "id" wants to live in the past, and for Laura to do the same. However, this is impossible because of Laura's leg. Amanda does not have a strong enough "ego" to understand that her want is not realistic. Tom is also an example of an imbalanced "iceberg." He dreams of financial success and a happy life. His moral conscious or "superego," however, does not allow this. When he cheats with Amanda, he breaks society's contract. From there he is doomed to unhappiness. Williams uses Freud's "ego" and "superego" theory to show how characters do not understand consequences.
ReplyDeleteFreud’s theory that “the mind is like an iceberg” divides a person’s subconscious into three levels: the id, ego, and superego. The id is the unconscious portion of the mind that represents a person’s wants, the ego is the part of the mind that gets things done no matter the consequences, and the superego is a person’s moral code and the ability to determine what is right and what is wrong. In “The Glass Menagerie,” Tom experiences an internal conflict between his id (wants/desires) and his super ego (morals/conscience). Tom’s social responsibility is to his family, which he must provide for. However, this dampens his ability to pursue his true dream, which is to become a writer. His superego keeps him at home to support his family on a meager “sixty-five dollars a month” (1988), because it is the more socially responsible thing to do. Over time however, his id gets the best of him and he ultimately ends up leaving his family. Tom’s internal struggle shows how Freudian principles say that the id can only be suppressed for so long before it prevails over ones superego when there is a conflict of interests such as this one.
ReplyDeleteIn Tennessee Williams' "The Glass Menagerie," all three characters suffer from a psychological disconnect with reality. Freud's studies focused on the relationship between the mind and reality - this was the relationship between id, ego, and superego. A particular character of interest in "The Glass Menagerie" is Amanda, the mother of Tom and Laura. I believe that Freud would warrant it the most severe case of disillusionment in the play, as she routinely reverts into a fantasy world of Southern coquetry, perhaps as a defense mechanism/repression of reality. This fault is particularly severe in her pathetic, desperate efforts to project her daughter and herself onto Jim, the gentlemen caller and friend of Tom’s: "Well, now that you’ve found your way, I want you to be a very frequent caller! Not just occasional but all the time. Oh, we’re going to have a lot of gay times together! I see them coming!" (7.282). Amanda becomes so wrapped up in her wishes and desires that she fails to recognize the social conventions, thus her id completely overpowers the superego. Ultimately, continuous behavior such as this contributes to the desperate plight of Amanda and her family in the play; their desperation leads to disillusionment and psychological distortion over a period a continuous failures.
ReplyDeleteIn "The Glass Menagerie" the gentleman caller, Jim, kisses Laura. He then goes on to tell her that he can't call because he is "going steady" with someone and "in love" and it made him a new man (89-90). Jim followed his id when he kissed Laura, not thinking of the consequences, just acting on instinct. When he backs off and tells her he can't call her, he follows the voice of his ego and superego. His superego keeps him from cheating on his girl with Laura and his ego is the part of him that rationalizes the denial of his id in order to maintain his relationship in light of the long term.
ReplyDeleteFreud's psychological concepts can be found in many kinds of novels and Tennesee William's, " The Glass Menagerie" is a prime example of how the mind's "Iceberg" effects human actions. Tom is a good example of someone who follows his Id, or unconscious part of the mind. The part the has desire. Tom knows he should stay with the family, "Every time you come in yelling that Goddamn "Rise and Shine! Rise and Shine!" I say to myself, "How lucky dead people are!" But I get up. I go! For sixty-five dollars a month I give up all that I dream of doing and being ever! And you say self - self's all I ever think of. Why, listen, if self is what I though of, Mother, I'd be where he is GONE!" but he ends up leaving to be a merchant marine because thats what his desire is. he gives up his moral battle within and goes to the desire side. Tom wants adventure, he desires it, and he is miserable working in a factory. He tells his mother that, "Man is by instinct a lover, a hunter, a fighter, and none of those instincts are given much play at the warehouse" and this proves that his Id is starting to over power him. Morally he needs to stay and support his family but he wants to fulfill his inner desire for adventure. THe superEgo of Tom's mind is the part that makes him want to stay but in the end he falls into the desire and personal want. Freudian concepts are timeless and will always be present in literature as human kind exists.
ReplyDeleteI believe that in order to analyze the Freudian concepts in the play we must look at Tennessee Williams as a person because this play was based so much on his own life and in a whole he was THE character of the play…he put himself. The Id, Ego, and Super Ego are viable point in Freud’s research. However, in terms of the Glass Menagerie, ego seems to be William’s place of mind. Although he most closely resembles Tom, I think the ego (with some id) in him twisted his sister’s personality in Laura to what he wishes she could have been like in real life. The real ego in the story is when Tom brings Jim to the house in good spirit to the house for Laura to meet. In translation, I think that Williams was in Tom’s position, and had a male friend like Jim. I may be going on a limb here, but I think the “Jim” in William’s life was a man he could not have…(he was gay)…and the best way to get over a heterosexual “infatuation”, in his mind, was to push him on somebody else. The separation can be caused by a self realization that the infatuation was useless, or an actual experience or conversation with the other “party”. The translation in the story is a possible remedy to guilt that William’s has been fighting knowing that his sister would never have the joy of love outside of the family, especially after her death. This “happy ending” can equate to a mix of ego and super ego; the desire to use logic and also have a precise kind of life that he could control, which was the exact opposite of what he had actually lived.
ReplyDeleteAwesome job, everyone. Maura and I chose this prompt primarily because it would help the class practice applying their Freudian concepts, and I think every response accomplished this very well. Keep up the good work everyone!
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