I Am Jack's Ego. I Am Jack's Id.

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There are several elements of the Freud's structural model of the psyche that are present in Fight Club(1999, dir. David Fincher). This film is a perfect example of how the different parts of the mind operate, according to Psychoanalysis. The opening credits scene adds to this notion, which actually travels throughout the neurons in different parts of The Narrator's brain. According to Freud, there are three parts to the psychic apparatus: id, ego, and super-ego. This model is expressed in Fight Club through the two main characters: The Narrator and Tyler Durden, who are the same person. This essay will identify The Narrator as a direct personification of the ego, Tyler Durden as the ego, and finally, the ego's control over the id. The Narrator represents the ego. In the beginning of the film he informs us that he has been suffering insomnia, and that the only thing that can help him sleep is going to self-help groups. This insomnia is what allows Tyler(id) to take control. The Narrator's life is not very fulfilling. He works for a car company as a recall expert. His job literally requires him to quantify the value of human life. When asked which car company he works for, he replies “a major one.” This creates an inner conflict: The Narrator hates his job, but he must do it in order to satiate his desire to buy more consumer goods. The Narrator states that he is a “slave to the IKEA nesting instinct” and asks himself “What kind of dining set defines me as a person?” Further, when being interrogated about the arson which occurred at his apartment, he tells the detective “that condo was my life. Okay? I loved every stick of furniture in that place. That was not just a bunch of stuff that got destroyed, that was me.” This reveals that he is attempting to attach physical objects to his identity, objects which society will approve of. The Narrator is admittedly a

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