Freudian Psychology in Franz Kafka's Metahorphasis

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Mr. Steal Yo' Gurl Mrs. Tsichlis Gold 3 Honors Survey of Lit. and Comp. March 2, 2012 Freudian Psychology in the Metamorphosis Sigmund Freud was a crucial figure in the field of neurophysiology, as he founded many new revolutionary ideas; the conscious and the unconscious mind; the id, ego, and superego; and life and death experiences. He lived around the same time period that Kafka was alive, and thus there are many parallelisms in Kafka’s book, The Metamorphosis. One major theory of Freud was the theory of the conscious and unconscious mind. “When Gregor Samsa woke up one night from unsettling dreams, he found himself changed in his bed into a monstrous vermin.” (page1) Dreams were a big deal to Freud, and he believed that they always had a deep underlying meaning. The dreams that Gregor had the night before he turned into a bug are examples of the unconscious mind at work. Dreams are reflections of the feelings and desires of the unconscious mind. A majority of one’s unconscious mind is disturbing to think about. In accordance with Freudian views, the unconscious mind has the ability to alter one’s carriage and discernment. “Most of the contents of the unconscious are unacceptable or unpleasant, such as feelings of pain, anxiety, or conflict. According to Freud, the unconscious continues to influence our behavior and experience, even though we are unaware of these underlying influences.” (About.com) Freud believed that the unconscious can influence one’s behavior, and even one’s experiences. If the book is taken metaphorically, not literally, perhaps one could come to the conclusion that the feeling’s in Gregor’s unconscious mind of worthlessness and pain turned him into a vermin. The conscious mind is everything that one is aware of. It is what permits us to think, speak, and observe rationally. It is also the sum of feelings, beliefs,

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