 A story that serves as an extended metaphor or symbol for another story or concept.  LOTF is considered an allegory for many things, the main concepts being: 1) A general exploration of human nature and how it impacts society 2) World War II 3) Religion – the Bible 4) The psychology of the human personality – today, this is the one we will focus on.

 Austrian neurologist  Best known for his theory of the unconscious mind & the practice of psychoanalysis  What concept from Antigone is he responsible for creating?

 Personality is composed of three elements  ID  EGO  SUPEREGO  The three elements work together to create complex human behaviors

 Present at birth  Entirely unconscious  Includes primitive and instinctive behavior

 Driven by the pleasure principle  Strives for immediate gratification of all desires, wants, and needs  If needs are not satisfied immediately, the result is a state of anxiety or tension ▪ Example: baby who’s hungry cries because he is not fed ▪ Important early in life because it ensures all an infant’s needs are met

 Realistically, all your needs cannot be immediately satisfied  If people were ruled entirely by the ID (the pleasure principle), we would grab what we wanted in order to satisfy cravings  This behavior is disruptive and socially unacceptable

 Responsible for dealing with reality  Develops to ensure that the ID’s impulses can be expressed in an acceptable manner

 Operates based on the reality principle  Strives to satisfy the ID’s needs in realistic and socially appropriate ways  Weighs the costs and benefits of an action before acting on or abandoning impulses ▪ EGO will allow the behavior but in an appropriate time and place

 Last component of the personality to develop  Aspect of the personality that holds all the moral standards and ideals that are acquired from society  Sense of right and wrong  Provides guidelines for making judgments  Begins to emerge around age 5

 The “Ideal” Ego  Includes the rules and standards for proper behavior  Obeying the rules leads to a feeling of pride, value, and accomplishment  The Conscience  Also includes information about what is viewed as improper behavior by parents or society  Improper behavior is often forbidden and leads to poor consequences, punishments, or feelings of guilt

 Operates according to the ideal/moral principle  Acts to perfect and civilize behavior  Works to suppress all unacceptable urges of the ID  Struggles to make the EGO act on idealistic standards rather than realistic ones

 With such conflicting emotions, conflict arises among the ID, EGO, and SUPEREGO  EGO is the strongest because of its ability to function despite these dueling forces  A person with ego strength is able to effectively manage these pressures, while those with too much or too little ego strength become too self- righteous or too disruptive IDEGOSUPEREGO

 Which character does only what he wants and is therefore representative of the ID?  Which character tries to be realistic and is therefore representative of the EGO?  Which character is most idealistic and is therefore representative of the SUPEREGO?  What conflicts occur between the characters who represent the ID, EGO, and SUPEREGO?