Examples Of Freud In The Great Gatsby

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Due to Freud and Fitzgerald being present in the same time period it is a common theory that Freud influenced Fitzgerald’s interaction of characters and their overall mental state. The first main point of Freud’s in The Great Gatsby is Id. "The id is the impulsive (and unconscious) part of our psyche which responds directly and immediately to the instincts." (Gholipour, Sanahmadi) The Id for Gatsby is his constant drive for Daisy. From this he reaches wealth and his death. This unconscious drive leads to actions that are similar to Dependent Personality Disorder. The symptoms that would lead one to believe this is his overreliance on and obsession of Daisy, refusal to admit Daisy is gone, and his disillusion throughout the entire story. Gatsby’s Id leads to mental instability and his eventual death. He lives only in his defense mechanisms and never for himself.. …show more content…

“Superego is the part of the mind-set that appeals more to pathos and emotion.” (Gholipour, Sanahmadi) The Superego is represented by Gatsby’s paradoxical personality. Gatsby is both moral ,by his immediate willingness to replace property and kindness, and immoral, by his secret business against the law. His morals lead him to want to help whoever he can and feel empathy, while his drive for Daisy ,his Id, leads him to feel as though he must make as much money as he can, legal or not, in order to get Daisy. The Superego being idealistic, leads him toward the american dream and his intense inner conflict throughout the