buyingSigmond Freud
Sigmond Freud, one of the major founders of the psychological concepts proposed that a person’s personality comprises of three components: the Id, the Ego and the Superego. The Id is a reservoir instinctual energy containing biological urges like the impulses towards sex, aggression and survival. According to the theorist, the Id is unconscious and operates basing on pleasure principle; which is the drive when attaining pleasure and evading pain. It is characterized by the primary process thinking, which is irrational, illogical and motivated by the urge for instant gratification of impulses. The ego is the component that manages the clash between the id and the restrictions of the real world. This component operates basing on reality principle, which creates awareness that gratification of the desires is usually delayed to accommodate the demands of the real world (Nevid, 2006, p.385). Its characteristic feature is secondary process thinking, which is rational and logical. The role of the Ego is to prevent the Id from seeking the gratification of its impulses in the ways that are socially inappropriate.
The Superego is the moral component of the personality, and contains the moral standards learnt from the society and the family. It compels the ego to conform to not just the reality, but to the principles of morality as well. This component forces people to feel guilty when they act against the social norms and rules.
From the psychoanalysis perspective, Franz Kafka, the author of piece of art titled “The Metamorphosis” makes use of Samsa’s family as a representation of a human or a family under pressure. Gregor Samsa can be a representation of the human mind, while his family is a representation of the other parts of the mind. The book begins with a transformation where Gregor goes through an overnight metamorphosis into a monstrous insect (Gallagher, 2009, p.127). The mind, when accosted by unrealistic and strong facts, its initial reaction is always either fight or flight, which is usually referred to as the first instinctive response. The fact forces the mind to either flee or fight the problem right away. When the family finds about Gregor’s transformation, they split as to the next course of action.
Grete, Gregor’s sister, represents the Superego, by trying to undertake the societal and moral actions of keeping Gregor happy and at the same time away from the family. Mrs. Samsa is a representation of the Id through showing the maternal love by praying and hoping for him to get well and seeking satisfaction in having a son who carries on her genetic identity. Mr. Samsa, on the other hand, represents the Ego and takes over the family responsibilities in the absence of Gregor, keeping calm after the revelation of the transformation and making money, understanding that life must continue under the current circumstances.
However, as the pressure in the family increases, every person bends on the Id’s form. Mrs. Samsa faints, Grete helps her mother and her fear for Gregor increases and Mr. Samsa starts to attack the source of the increased pressure, which in this case is Gregor. As the pressure continues to go up, the mind’s tolerance point is surpassed and the entire system collapses. The fight or flight question turns into a fighting response only and Samsa’s attempts to escape fail. At this point, the mind fights with its might without regard as to whether anything will change until one loses completely. This is the point where Gregor dies; his Id gives up and his manhood tendencies of the Superego flashes through his mind as death takes him away (Gallagher, 2009, p.127).
The metamorphosis reveals a case of paradox, where some people feel that they are not able to connect with others, yet at the same time, they cannot live without them. In the case of Gregor, he kept complaining of how annoying his boss was, but he needed him for survival. He had a family to look after and who entirely depended on him, and thus he had to tolerate the manager under all circumstances. It also reveals the need for and urge for family connections as evidenced by Gregor’s urge to keep working so that he could support his family.
When faced a difficulty, unfamiliar or unpleasant experience, it is a human tendency to flee away or shield oneself from such thoughts or protecting oneself from going through such experience. Freud defines defensive mechanisms as the psychological strategies used by the unconscious minds to deny, distort, manipulate or change the reality to maintain a self-image or self-schema that is acceptable for the society. The unconscious mind uses the mechanisms to reduce the anxiety resulting from the threats presented by unacceptable impulses (Nevid, 2006, p.386). Freud identified several strategies used; among them there are repression, regression, and rationalization as some of the strategies people use. These strategies are very clear in metamorphosis as Samsa’s family tries to deal with the new changes that happened to Gregor.
Repression refers to keeping of unpleasant thoughts, feeling, and memories shut in the unconscious. In this case, someone is not able to live the reality since he or she is suppressing the feelings in the subconscious mind. In the metamorphosis, Gregor first does not believe that his body had changed and even tries to change his sleeping into the positions he is used to when sleeping. When he is up and realizes all the changes in his body, he still hopes that he will be able to catch the net train to work despite the fact that he is not normal anymore. When he is finally able to open the door and the manager is leaving, he attempts to stop him though he cannot be able to move as fast as he did before the transformation. In addition, he tells the manager that he will still be able to work.
When the manager comes to Gregor’s home to check on why he did not take the first train to work, he finds Gregor locked up in his room and joins his family in begging Gregor to open the door. When this fails to work, he attacks him by explaining his work issues at home. Lastly, Gregor is able to open the door and tries to explain his situation to the manager, who is shocked. He explains rationally that he can still be able to work and he should report to the chief. This defensive mechanism is referred to as rationalization, where someone attempts to explain an unpleasant situation in a logical or a rational manner while avoiding the exact reasons for the behavior.
When Grete realizes that her brother Gregor has not opened the door yet and he is late for work, she starts sobbing. At this point, she is not even sure if Gregor feel well or is sick, or even whether he was just late to wake up (Bloom, 2009, p.56). This kind of a defensive mechanism is called regression, and it refers to the turning to an immature state of psychological development to escape the reality. The father, Mr. Samsa, also gets frustrated and starts attacking his son since he sees him as the course of the problems they are experiencing. He beats Gregor to the point of injuring him badly. This eventually frustrates Gregor since he continually feels like he has become a burden to the family he had been supporting before this transformation. Freud’s theory fully supports his moral state and explains the conflicts which happened inside his mind and his surroundings.