Myth Cycle Presentations; Freud Introduction

This morning, please go to the library to pick up our next novel: The Life of Pi by Yann Martel. The characters you meet might change you...

Myth Cycle Project Presentations

If you can, please list your Youtube project/documentary URL link in the comment below this post. If you submitted your project as a Quicktime movie (another option) please submit it to our Google Classroom site for viewing.

• Egypt
• Norse
• Celtic
• India (Hindu)
• Africa (Akan (Ashanti)) 
• Africa (Yoruba) 
• Africa (Bambara)
• Middle East (Mesopotamian/Babylonian/Assyrian)
• Middle East (Zoroastrian/Persian)
• North American Indian (Navajo) 
• North American Indian (Hopi & Pueblo)
• North American Inuit (Eskimo)
• Chinese
• Japanese
• Oceania
• Australia (Aborigine, Dreamtime)

Story Ideas/Prompts: Using what you learned from the presentations, choose a god/story/creation myth or legend and retell it for a contemporary audience--or write an ode to one of the gods/goddesses of these stories--or place two or more gods in a common place (like a coffee shop, lounging on a beach, or playing with a frisbee in a park or attending a rock concert or museum exhibition, etc.) and tell that unlikely story.

After we screen the documentaries, I'll give you some time to write. If possible (due to timing) I'll start covering Freud. We will continue whatever we have left on Monday of next week.

Freudian Theory

EQ: What is Psychology & Psychotherapy? What contributions/concepts did Sigmund Freud make to the field of Psychology & Psychotherapy? How can a writer use psychology to understand herself or her characters?

As we discuss the topic of Sigmund Freud, please practice taking notes. You will use your notes in a creative writing and analysis assignment later.

Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)

Freud in a nutshell:

Freud created "Freudian Psychology" (psychoanalysis): interpreting what people say and do in order to figure out what their root problems are.

Freudian psychology is used by literary critics using psychoanalytical criticism. (i.e., analysis of a text through the lens of psychological theories). In order to use this type of criticism, you need a basic understanding of Freud's key concepts.

Freud believed that psychological desires influence the forming of a personality.

Theory of Unconscious:
The part of the mind that thinks and feels without you being aware of these thoughts and feelings is called the UNCONSCIOUS.
The UNCONSCIOUS is comprised of 3 sections: The Ego, the Id, and the Superego.

1. The Ego is the self
2. The Id is the animalistic or primitive side of the unconscious.
3. The Superego is the control

Dreams are one way of communicating with the unconscious. They are coded messages mailed to your conscious self.

Freud also stated that:

• We all have desires.
• Sometimes the self cannot admit that it wants certain things, because we all learn (usually during infancy) that some things are bad for us.
• As a result, the mind REPRESSES (repression) or hides these desires in the unconscious until they resurface as expensive psychoanalysis bills.
• In general, most repressed desires are sexual in nature.

We are sexually motivated from birth. Freud divided people into three major developmental stages:

1. Oral (infancy to about 1 year old)
2. Anal (2-3 years)
3. Genital (until about adulthood)

Freud had two major principles:

1. Pleasure Principle: we pursue pleasure. From the moment we're born, we want to be comforted, fed, etc. This pleasure seeking can be both physical and emotional.
2. Reality Principle: You can't always get what you want. Sometimes you have to alter your instinctual behavior to get what you want. Often this leads to suppression.

These two principles combine to affect our personalities and make us who we are.
Jokes, dreams, myths, compulsions, obsessions, fetishes, hysterical fits, etc. all are part of our repressed desires, says Freud.

Two Famous Complexes:

Oedipus Complex: A desire to get rid of one's father and "marry" one's mother.
Virtually all men deal with this repressed desire, says Freud.
A male child develops an Oedipus complex as a result of having to compete with their fathers for their mother's attention/affection. They have not learned to accept their fathers' authority and are still dependent on the mother.

Girls go through the Electra Complex - basically the same thing, but reversed gender roles: daughter wants father, etc.

HOMEWORK: You can begin reading The Life of Pi. In the event you are absent, please check the blog for details about our curriculum.