farts farts
Alexis Anderson
Mr. McGlew – Yellow
November 15, 2012
The Cat and the Hat versus The Structural Theory of the Psyche
When asked to describe The Cat in the Hat, one would probably tell of a wacky talking cat that helps a pair of kids to have fun on a rainy day when their mother is out. After all, Dr.
Seuss’s short picture book is a well-known story for children. But this seemingly care-free tale contains hidden messages that, when combined, accurately describe the structure of the human mind. One can easily compare The Cat in the Hat to the ideas expressed in Sigmund Freud’s
1923 book, The Structural Theory of the Psyche. In this book, Freud breaks down the mind into parts, or psychoanalyzes it, and theorizes that most of the mind’s activity is unconscious.
Three main ideas expressed in The Structural Theory of the Psyche are id, ego, and super-ego, which are Latin for it, I, and over-I. Id is the part of the mind that contains drives, instincts, and impulses. It has no sense of time or of the external world, so it only cares about what it wants at any given moment. In Seuss’s tale, the Cat in the Hat is the id. Although his behavior and his games displease everyone around him, he continues because he “like[s] to be here [at their house]” and believes that “[his] tricks are not bad” (Seuss 12, 27). And when the fish complains, he simply finds even more harmful games to play, such as flying kites inside of the house. The id is greedy and selfish, as shown when the cat plays “up-up-up with a fish”
(Seuss 12). Even though he is holding a lot of random objects, including the fish, he claims, “I will not let you fall,” and tries to balance even more items. Of course, this game ends when all of the things and the cat come tumbling down. This fall represents a point in time in which the reality and rules of the outside world hit the id, but he ignores this realization. It sinks in, however, when the little boy kicks him out of the
Mr. McGlew – Yellow
November 15, 2012
The Cat and the Hat versus The Structural Theory of the Psyche
When asked to describe The Cat in the Hat, one would probably tell of a wacky talking cat that helps a pair of kids to have fun on a rainy day when their mother is out. After all, Dr.
Seuss’s short picture book is a well-known story for children. But this seemingly care-free tale contains hidden messages that, when combined, accurately describe the structure of the human mind. One can easily compare The Cat in the Hat to the ideas expressed in Sigmund Freud’s
1923 book, The Structural Theory of the Psyche. In this book, Freud breaks down the mind into parts, or psychoanalyzes it, and theorizes that most of the mind’s activity is unconscious.
Three main ideas expressed in The Structural Theory of the Psyche are id, ego, and super-ego, which are Latin for it, I, and over-I. Id is the part of the mind that contains drives, instincts, and impulses. It has no sense of time or of the external world, so it only cares about what it wants at any given moment. In Seuss’s tale, the Cat in the Hat is the id. Although his behavior and his games displease everyone around him, he continues because he “like[s] to be here [at their house]” and believes that “[his] tricks are not bad” (Seuss 12, 27). And when the fish complains, he simply finds even more harmful games to play, such as flying kites inside of the house. The id is greedy and selfish, as shown when the cat plays “up-up-up with a fish”
(Seuss 12). Even though he is holding a lot of random objects, including the fish, he claims, “I will not let you fall,” and tries to balance even more items. Of course, this game ends when all of the things and the cat come tumbling down. This fall represents a point in time in which the reality and rules of the outside world hit the id, but he ignores this realization. It sinks in, however, when the little boy kicks him out of the