It was Sigmund Freud who developed a
psychoanalytical theory of personality, grouping all human
personalities into three divisions that he named the id, the ego, and
the superego. More specifically, the id represents
our primitive instinctive side, the side that only acts for immediate
gratification of any desire, such as the satisfaction of hunger, thirst, or
even lust. The ego is the part of our personality that checks
the instinctive impulses of the id in order to deal with reality. Finally, the
superego is the part that acts based on moral standards,
society's sense of right and wrong. We can use Freud's psychoanalytical theory
when examining a text through psychoanalytical criticism.
Since the id, the ego, and the superego apply to all of humankind's
personalities, they can be applied to just about any
character. We can use Louise Erdrich'sThe Plague
of Doves as an...
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example.
The Plague of Doves is set on the Ojibwe reservation in North Dakota,
just outside of the town Pluto. The novel especially concerns the murder of a
Pluto farm family, particularly the ensuing consequences of the murder. The
story starts out with four young Native Americans of the
Ojibwe tribe, Mooshum, Cuthbert Peace, Asignak, and Holy
Track, traveling to Pluto just as the murder takes place. They stop at
the farm because they become alarmed by the sound of the unmilked cows crying
out. We can clearly see both the id and the ego portrayed in
Cuthbert's and Asignak's different reactions to the situation.
First, Cuthbert instinctively wants to help the cows, but
Asignak tries to get them all away from the farm and uninvolved because he
senses danger and knows that society is likely to blame the Indians for the
danger. Cuthbert shows further instincts when he wants to help
the baby, leading to the discovery of the murder. It can be argued that
Cuthbert's instinctive acts portray the id
and are a way for him to fulfill his born need to care for and
nurture. As soon as they discover the murder, Asignak warns
Cutherbert not to get involved, saying that if they report the murder, they'll
be blamed and hanged for the deed. Asignak's responses to the
situation is a clear example of the ego. He is basing
his actions on his knowledge and fears of society,
particularly his knowledge that society is prejudiced against his race, ready
to accuse his race of any wrongdoings. However, Asignak
further portrays the superego when he next writes an anonymous
letter to the police informing them of the murder. Regardless, Asignak's first
instincts prove to be correct when, after Mooshum unfortunately blabs about the
murder while drunk, the rest Mooshum's Indian friends are indeed accused of the
murder and hanged.
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