Preview

Psychoanalytic Theory In Margaret Atwood's The Blind Assassin

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
917 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Psychoanalytic Theory In Margaret Atwood's The Blind Assassin
Psychoanalytical theory: The Blind Assassin Environmental and social conducts contribute to the development of the human mind. The environment of a household and the time period of a century are examples of the influences that affect a human beings psyche. In the novel The Blind Assassin Margaret Atwood depicts the lives of two sisters, who demonstrate the pain of dishonesty and the effects of a person's chosen path. Atwood conveys the conscious, preconscious, and the unconsciousness of Iris Chase through her memoirs. The early childhood development, adolescents of a society, and the need for achievement of the desires of Iris Chase, exhibit psychoanalytic theory’s development to a character’s mind. Childhood development determines the outcome of one’s self; when there is a dissatisfaction, the child develops a lack of stability and balance. The psychoanalytical theory according to Sigmund Freud breaks up the mind into three major parts, superego (the morals of the mind), id (the desire for gratification), and the ego (the mediator of id and superego); which can be applied to a character's behavioral development. Iris' sudden loss of a mother affects the ego when she writes, “…I had no words to express my disagreement…her idea of goodness pinned onto me like a badge…” (Atwood 94). Regarding this quote, Iris has no desire to always be a 'good' sister towards Laura, she is now asked to be a role …show more content…
Margaret Atwood’s novel the Blind Assassin contribute to the understanding of the minds different and complex sections. Through the journey of the two sisters Laura and Iris, the way lives can become tangled with dishonesty and secrets, affects their already damaged relationship. Therefore the environmental and internal factors of everyday life becomes the reason to the way a person
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Life and Crimes and Harry Lavender Distinctive Voices
    • 404 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Life and Crimes and Harry Lavender Distinctive Voices

    Distinctive voices can change our perceptions and views towards an individual. This is shown in the novel “Life and Crimes of Harry Lavender” by Marele Day. The novel tells the story of Claudia Valentine, a private female detective and Harry Lavender, a ruthless individual who believes he has power over all of Sydney. The distinctive voices of both Harry and Claudia change our perspective towards the story and characters.…

    • 404 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Where Loyalty Lies: Ethan Frome
    • 1013 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Where Loyalty Lies: Ethan Frome

    Freud believed that each child is born with only the “id”, meaning that they only have wants. It is the parents’ job to shape their child into a mature adult who is able to balance “wants” and responsibilities. What parents teach their children early on mold who they will become later in life. In the novel Ethan Frome, the protagonist, Ethan Frome was molded into a superego, meaning that he focuses on his responsibilities and duties in society. This can otherwise be referred to as the “musts”. He must focus on his family and he must focus on Zeena rather then himself. He must decide where his loyalty belongs in order to achieve what he wants in life.…

    • 1013 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Coming of Age in Mississippi
    • 16769 Words
    • 68 Pages

    Coming of Age in Mississippi

    ©2000−2005 BookRags, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. The following sections of this BookRags Premium Study Guide is offprint from Gale's For Students Series: Presenting Analysis, Context, and Criticism on Commonly Studied Works: Introduction, Author Biography, Plot Summary, Characters, Themes, Style, Historical Context, Critical Overview, Criticism and Critical Essays, Media Adaptations, Topics for Further Study, Compare &Contrast, What Do I Read Next?, For Further Study, and Sources. ©1998−2002; ©2002 by Gale. Gale is an imprint of The Gale Group, Inc., a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Gale and Design® and Thomson Learning are trademarks used herein under license. The following sections, if they exist, are offprint from Beacham's Encyclopedia of Popular Fiction: "Social Concerns", "Thematic Overview", "Techniques", "Literary Precedents", "Key Questions", "Related Titles", "Adaptations", "Related Web Sites". © 1994−2005, by Walton Beacham. The following sections, if they exist, are offprint from Beacham's Guide to Literature for Young Adults: "About the Author", "Overview", "Setting", "Literary Qualities", "Social Sensitivity", "Topics for Discussion", "Ideas for Reports and Papers". © 1994−2005, by Walton Beacham. All other sections in this Literature Study Guide are owned and copywritten by BookRags, Inc. No part of this work covered by the copyright hereon may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, Web distribution or information storage retrieval systems without the written permission of the publisher.…

    • 16769 Words
    • 68 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Outline And Evaluate Two Models Of Abnormality (12 Marks)
    • 959 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Outline And Evaluate Two Models Of Abnormality (12 Marks)

    Conflicts between the id, ego, and superego create anxiety. The ego protects itself with various defence mechanisms (ego defences). These defences can be the cause of disturbed behaviour if they are overused. In childhood the ego is not developed enough to deal with traumas and therefore they are…

    • 959 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Analysis of Holcomb, Kansas
    • 465 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Analysis of Holcomb, Kansas

    The occasion of this story is to be a part of the non-fiction novel. It describes the setting of the town in which the murder of a family takes place. This essay uses the appeal of pathos. It makes the reader feel empathy towards anyone that was close to them or knew them in anyway.…

    • 465 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Secret Life of Bees Essay
    • 1207 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The Secret Life of Bees Essay

    In this story it is the character T. Ray who fills the role of the id in the psychological allegory, T. Ray fills this role by the way he treats Lily, the way he doesn’t care about his worker; Rosaleen, and by the way he only thinks of himself during lily’s absence. T. Ray’s only family left to him is his daughter Lily, yet he still treats her poorly. T. Ray finds Lily outside in the dark and without any proof of misbehaviour he punishes her rather severely “He poured a mound of grits the size of an anthill onto the pine floor “Get over here and kneel down” (p24) T. Ray seems to almost enjoy punishing Lily, perhaps because he still blames her for his wife’s death. This is a trait which fits the id portion of the psyche. T. Ray does not seem to care about the only other adult in the house he lives in;…

    • 1207 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Psychoanalytic, Neoanalytic, Jungian, and Individual Psychology Theory
    • 1036 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Psychoanalytic, Neoanalytic, Jungian, and Individual Psychology Theory

    One of such theories is the psychoanalysis. It lies in the researches of the human minds and the principles of its working. Main theorists, S. Freud and J. Breuer, emphasized the role of the childhood memories in explaining of different fears and psychological problems of the clients. In fact, S. Freud singled out three components of a human mind. They are id, ego, and superego. The Id is that part of the personality, on which the instinctual drives and needs have a great impact. This aspect is very unstable and dynamic. In other words, it is unmanageable as it is ready to satisfy all demands and avoid pain and problems in any way. Therefore, there is the other element called ego. It deals with the realistic purposes and tries to slow down the impulsiveness of the id. Ego balances between the instinctive drives and realistic principles trying to achieve as many benefits as possible. However, there is a third element superego. It deals with the morality principles. In fact, superego makes instinctive needs and drives reflect in the socially accepted ways. Morality principles and social laws limit the individual 's desires to satisfy basic needs (Masling, 1990).…

    • 1036 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Silent Spring - Rachel Carson
    • 30108 Words
    • 121 Pages

    Silent Spring - Rachel Carson

    ©2000-2007 BookRags, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. The following sections of this BookRags Premium Study Guide is offprint from Gale's For Students Series: Presenting Analysis, Context, and Criticism on Commonly Studied Works: Introduction, Author Biography, Plot Summary, Characters, Themes, Style, Historical Context, Critical Overview, Criticism and Critical Essays, Media Adaptations, Topics for Further Study, Compare & Contrast, What Do I Read Next?, For Further Study, and Sources. ©1998-2002; ©2002 by Gale. Gale is an imprint of The Gale Group, Inc., a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Gale and Design® and Thomson Learning are trademarks used herein under license. The following sections, if they exist, are offprint from Beacham's Encyclopedia of Popular Fiction: "Social Concerns", "Thematic Overview", "Techniques", "Literary Precedents", "Key Questions", "Related Titles", "Adaptations", "Related Web Sites". © 1994-2005, by Walton Beacham. The following sections, if they exist, are offprint from Beacham's Guide to Literature for Young Adults: "About the Author", "Overview", "Setting", "Literary Qualities", "Social Sensitivity", "Topics for Discussion", "Ideas for Reports and Papers". © 1994-2005, by Walton Beacham. All other sections in this Literature Study Guide are owned and copywritten by BookRags, Inc. No part of this work covered by the copyright hereon may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, Web distribution or information storage retrieval systems without the written permission of the publisher.…

    • 30108 Words
    • 121 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Margaret Atwood's The Blind Assassin
    • 68 Words
    • 1 Page

    Margaret Atwood's The Blind Assassin

    Margaret Atwood is a Canadian novelist, poet and literary critic born in 1939. The Blind Assassin was written by her and originally published in 2000 by McClelland and Stewart. The book is a novel within another novel, written by its protagonist Iris revolving around her extra-marital affair with another man. It is set in the fabled town of Ontario, Toronto of 1930s-40s, with Canadian history as its…

    • 68 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Jane Loevinger's Stages Of Ego Development
    • 351 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Jane Loevinger's Stages Of Ego Development

    Jane Loevinger’s stages of ego development believes that an individual’s ego matures and evolves through stages throughout an individual’s life span. An individual’s ego goes through nine stages to evolve and mature. The nine stages are; pre-social stage, impulsive stage, self-protective stage, conformist stage, self-aware level, conscientious stage, individualistic level, autonomous stage, and integrated stage. The pre-social stage is during the year of infancy were Loevinger does not believe we have an ego, but this is where it is believed that are ego begins to develop with the association of objects to oneself. The impulsive stage is the stage in an individual’s life as a child when they are growing with the sense…

    • 351 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Similarities Between Freud And Grinch
    • 510 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Similarities Between Freud And Grinch

    Sigmund Freud became the father figure of psychoanalysis and had believed that all aspects of a person’s personality are shown from our emotions, and impulses and the self-control against them. His three connecting structures consist of id, ego and superego. Id involves unconscious physiological energy that continuously tries to appease the basic necessities of survival, reproduction and assail. Focuses mainly on unconscious and bases that focus on the pleasure fundamental. The Grinch according to everyone in Who Ville is heartless. Cindy-Lou meets him in the mail office. The Grinch scares her causing her to fall in the sorting machine. But, the Grinch rescues her. Curious, she digs up his past and unveils his sad childhood. His childhood is…

    • 510 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Fight Club according to Freud
    • 805 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Fight Club according to Freud

    Freud stressed that human behavior is a result of “intrapsychic forces in conflict” and that in order to analyze these forces he had to find ways of tapping into the unconscious of his patients. He believed that there are three elements of personality: the id, the ego, and the super-ego. The id is the only component of personality that is present from birth. This aspect of personality is completely unconscious and includes instinctive behavior, and is the primary component of your personality. The id strives for immediate gratification of all desires, wants and needs. The ego on the other hand, is a component of personality that is responsible for dealing with reality. Freud Believed that the ego develops from the id and makes sure that the impulses of the id can be expressed in a way that is acceptable in the real world. The last component of personality is the superego. The superego holds internalized moral standards and ideals and ideas of right and wrong that we acquire from our society. It is important to note, that it is not a separation of the mind into three structures and functions, they separate aspects and elements of the single structure of the mind.…

    • 805 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Narrative Conventions
    • 817 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Narrative Conventions

    Short stories often develop a theme in a short time frame. Their authors must do this with limited settings and characters. The short story Killer, written by Paula Goslings, contains many themes with the main one being deception. One of the ways the author expresses this is through the narrative convention of style or mood. In this piece the convention of plot is also utilised by the author to develop this idea. Characterisation is another narrative convention successfully utilised to explore this theme. By themselves these elements are nothing, but when together, they effectively portray the theme of deception in the fantastic short story Killer.…

    • 817 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Girl with a Pearl Earring
    • 2758 Words
    • 12 Pages

    Girl with a Pearl Earring

    1. In Girl With a Pearl Earring, Tracy Chevalier treats us to a richly appointed portrait of intersecting faiths, fracturing family dynamics, erotic awakenings, community scandals, religious tensions, and aesthetic compromises—all filtered brilliantly through the eyes of the young narrator, Griet, whose concise, wide-eyed perspective functions much like Vermeer’s camera obscura, rendering with particularly sharp precision and subtle insight the character of seventeenth-century Delft itself. “The camera obscura helps me to see in a different way, to see more of what is there,” Vermeer muses. Discuss the way in which Chevalier’s writing style achieves a similar effect. What techniques does she use to establish the novel’s particular tone and tension, to enrich the imagery, to develop her characters’ motives, and to encourage us “to see more of what is there”? 2. In the particular emotional realm of this novel, the issue of “seeing” is central. Griet endeavors for much of the novel to manipulate all that she sees into a sort of harmony, beginning with the soup vegetables she so carefully arranges so that they will not “fight when they are side by side.” Likewise, Vermeer’s art relies upon his ability to see the universal in even the most prosaic settings. Griet’s father cannot see at all, and not coincidentally, he is perhaps the novel’s most tragic and impotent figure. What does “seeing” mean to the novel’s other characters? Is it fair to say that, of all the characters, it is Maria Thins who sees the most clearly in the end? 3. Compare Girl With a Pearl Earring to other historical novels you’ve read in recent years (e.g.: Jane Smiley’s The Greenlanders, A. S. Byatt’s Possession, Margaret Atwood’s Alias Grace, and so on). How does Chevalier's novel—focused, detailed, and tightly framed as it is—complement, complicate, and/or depart altogether from the standard themes and trappings of…

    • 2758 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Best Essays

    The Bluest Eye Psychoanalysis Essay
    • 1826 Words
    • 8 Pages

    The Bluest Eye Psychoanalysis Essay

    This study is a psychoanalytic approach to the Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison. The previous research of psychoanalysis to this novel was always by using Freudian psychology. Freud’s theory of psychoanalysis focuses on determinism that human Nature is not flexible. But he doesn’t emphasize much on one’s self-realization and self growth. Freud was pessimistic and believes that neurosis is present in every Human being. But Karen Horney’s theory of neurosis focuses on free will that human Nature is flexible. Everyone has capacity for self growth and all can consciously shape their lives and can achieve self realization. She was optimistic and believes that humanity is relational and instinctual drives do not criticize persons to neurosis. The author chooses Horney’s theory of neurotic human Nature to employ in this thesis. According to Horney, Human Nature and each person is unique and is not destined to basic conflicts. When…

    • 1826 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Best Essays
    Read More

Related Topics