essay 2 draft1

7/30/2019 Essay 2 Draft1

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Franklin

Molly Franklin

English 2100

Professor Camargo

21 March 2013

The Id, Ego, or SuperEgo?

Dictionary.com defines the word crazy as mentally deranged;demented; insane or

senseless; impractical; totally unsound. While this is a very broad definition, it is also a very

flexible one in that it applies to many different people and situations in both reality as well as

works of fiction. Some people are born crazy and some people develop it as they grow in age.

Some people are made to be crazy by their unconscious urges and desires. Sigmund Freud, a

well-known psychologist, developed the idea of psychodynamic psychology. This field of

psychology includes personality theories contending that behavior results from psychological

factors that interact within the individual, often outside of conscious awareness (Morris 14). To

relate this idea of psychodynamic psychology to a work of fiction, one may choose to analyze

Stephen KingsAll That You Love Will Be Carried Away. In this short story, each part of

Freuds structure of the mind, the id, the ego, and the superego, can be clearly seen.

To briefly summarize the story at hand, Alfie Zimmer is a traveling salesman who takes

interest in noting different writings on the walls of bathroom stalls and other sorts of profanity

along the roads that he travels. He travels to Lincoln where he plans to stay in a hotel and

commit suicide. As he is preparing to kill himself, Alfie becomes distraught on what to do with

his notebook containing his collection of noteworthy profanity.

According to Morris and Maisto, the id, in relation it Freuds theory of personality, can

be defined as the collection of unconscious urges and desires that continually seek expression


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(Morris 335). Collectively speaking, this means that every person has urges and desires in which

they are not consciously aware that are constantly seeking to be obtained. The first example of

the id that can be seen in the text ofAll That You Love Will Be Carried Away appears in the

second paragraph of the text when the narrator is reflecting on Alfies age by stating Alfie was

forty-four, too old to be f****** truck stop whores, eating chicken fried steak, or hauling his

luggage upstairs (King 81). In saying this, the narrator is letting the reader in to the

unconscious mind of Alfie. The things listed by the narrator seem to be things that Alfie wishes

he could do but is no longer able to because of his age, whether he recognizes it like hauling

suitcases upstairs or rather if he is oblivious to it like the mention of having sexual relations with

truck stop whores or eating chicken fried steak. Its thoughts and desires like these that make up

the unconscious mind that seem to dictate our behaviors that Freud so strongly defines. Another

example of Alfies id that can be seen within the text comes in to play when the narrator is

discussing the farmhouse Alfie is fascinated with. And was is possible that behind those lights,

some farmers wife was even now heating up a pot of Cottager Split Pea Soup or perhaps

microwaving a Cottager Shepherds Pie Francais? It was (King 82). A Freudian psychologist

would note that the wife of the farmer is the only person mentioned and perhaps conclude that

Alfie has an unconscious urge or desire for the farmers wife. The argument they may present to

defend the theory is why mention the farmers wife? Why not the farmer?

The next piece of Freuds psychodynamic puzzle is the ego. As defined my Morris and

Maisto, the ego is Freuds term for the part of personality that mediates between environmental

demands (reality), conscience (superego), and instinctual needs (id) and is now often used as a

synonym for self (335). One of the strongest examples from within the text ofAll That You

Love Will Be Carried Away can be found towards the middle of the text when the speaker is


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elaborating on Alfies hobby of writing miscellaneous bathroom graffiti down in his little

notebook. King writes He had started collectingwhen he was selling the UPCs, noting various

bits of graffiti in the Spiral notebook without at first knowing why he was doing it. They were

just amusing, or disconcerting, or both at the same time (King 85). A few paragraphs later, the

narrator mentions, He (Alfie) had thought of writing a book (85). When these two quotes are l

compared side-by-side, Freuds concept of the pleasure principle can be seen. The pleasure

principle is the way in which the id seeks immediate gratification of an instinct. The thought of

writing a book is that pleasure principle kicking in to play in Alfies personality.

The last major piece of Freuds psychodynamic personality puzzle is none other than that

of the superego. The superego is defined as the social and parental standards the individual has

internalized; the conscience and the ego ideal (Morris 336). One may ask well what is the ego

ideal? Morris defines the ego ideal as the part of the superego that recognizes what one may

like to be (336). In more understandable language, the superego is simple the part of the

personality that make compromises between the id, unconscious urges and desires, and the ego,

reality of the situation, by the use of morals. In the later pages of the story, it is clearthat Alfies

superego is hard at work when he is trying hard to decide what to do with the notebook. At first

he thinks he will just leave it open by the bed, then he realizes that the detectives would end up

reading it and think he is crazy. He then has the thought to flush it down the toilet but decides

against that as well because although immersion might blur some of the ink, it wouldnt blur all

of it. Not enough He hated the idea of just flushing it away (King 87). This recognition of

the perspective others may take on the notebook and Alfies instant search for a new plan signify

Alfies superego looking for a compromise to please Alfies unconscious need to keep the work

alive but not in a way that ties it to his dead body causing society to question his sanity. This


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concept can also be seen in the text before Alfie starts to imagine what would happen when

someone found the book. Alfie attempts to call his family as if he feels like he owes them some

sort of explanation, apology, or sympathy. He leaves a message on the answering machine for

his wife and he even goes as far in to detail as to say he paused, then for the first time in about

four years added I love you (86). Again this is Alfies superego searching for a way to please

both Alfies subconscious need to please and protect his family as well as to meet his conscious

desire to commit suicide.

While Alfie can definitely be described as mentally deranged, demented, insane,

senseless, impractical, and totally unsound, most of his behaviors can in fact be explained by

Freuds psychodynamic theory of personality. From the id to the ego to the super ego, Alfies

behaviors fit into Freudspsychodynamic personality puzzle nearly perfectly.


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Works Cited

"Crazy."Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com, n.d. Web. 19 Mar. 2013.

King, Stephen. All That You Love Will Be Carried Away. The Bedford Introduction to

Literature. 7th

ed. New York: Bedford/St. Martins, 2004. 80-89. Print.

Morris, Charles G., and Albert A. Maisto. Understanding Psychology. 10th ed. Upper Saddle

River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2008. Print.

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