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Brave New World Psychoanalytic Analysis

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Not too long ago, I made a Freudian slip. My friends and I were casually chatting about girls and I was about to remark that tall girls would have trouble finding boyfriends in Chinese. Instead, I remarked that tall girls would be troublesome. It soon became embarrassing for me as there were female friends around. Apart from examining Freudian slips, I would argue that psychoanalysis is useful as a literary lens and not merely a pseudoscience. Psychoanalysis used as a literary lens provokes us to re-examine the concept of the self, the society and the law. In the ‘Brave New World’, there are many instances of psychoanalytic concepts at play. First, the concept of the unconscious mind is demonstrated very strongly through the use of hypnopædia …show more content…

John may unconsciously want his mother to be loved and treated better rather than being used as a sexual tool by men (Huxley, 86). However, back then, he has no power or control over the treatment of his mother. Therefore, subconsciously, John would want to make up to his mother by loving Lenina and slowly developing his love for her. While the earlier interpretations through the psychoanalysis lens sound more convincing, this interpretation of Oedipus complex and transference is difficult to back up. It is little wonder why many still consider psychoanalysis as a pseudoscience. However, just because it is hard to prove these concepts does not diminish the usefulness of psychoanalysis. Many quantum theories are based on models that are first assumed to be true. With experimental results agreeing to the predictions based on the model, the quantum physicist then accepts the model as true. It is often very difficult to prove that the model is correct, especially for quantum physics, where our intuition is wrong. Likewise, it may be impossible to demonstrate the existence of id, ego and superego. However, the use of this model to interpret events or actions is still very applicable and

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