Freud's psychosocial conflict theory

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Why I chose the theory: In this Essay I will analyze the personality of Gilbert Grape in the film What’s Eating Gilbert Grape. Freud’s psychosocial Conflict theory is the most complete because it includes the three core characteristics of the personality, which are the id, the ego, and the superego. The three core characteristics are helpful in explaining Gilbert’s personality which represses the influence of the id and allows only the superego to guide his life. However he does not do much on trying to increase the influence of the ego, therefore he is classified as one of Freud’s non-ideal character type. Furthermore it is more valid when evaluating Gilbert because he is a character living at conflict with his own instinctual desires and the family needs. He is perfect for the psychosocial conflict theory because most of the time he acts accordingly to the social norms, but sometimes he expresses anti-social behavior, feels guilty and punishes himself for doing so. Freud’s personality theory is a conflict theory. This means that the person has two opposing forces at war; although, he is only aware of one and therefore expresses it more than the other one. Nevertheless the person will find himself at conflict because the other force is still present even though is repressed by defense mechanisms. This is a theory I found helpful in describing Gilbert because throughout most of the movie he lives at conflict trying to deal with the family needs and satisfy his own needs, specifically his sex instincts. The relevant core characteristics of Freud’s theory the ID, the Ego, and the Superego. The id, the ego, and the superego are also present in all persons. The id rests completely unconscious within the individual, but it is the sour... ... middle of paper ... ...eel guilty. Then, the ego is the reason why Gilbert ended the affair and pursued Becky, a single young lady that could satisfy his desires and he would not feel guilty for being with her. Although Freud’s theory states that a change in the personality type is not possible, at the end of the film Gilbert is able to develop the genital ideal personality character. He was able to overcome the Oedipus complex by making peace with his mom. Gilbert told her and kept repeating that she would not be a joke, that he would not let her be a joke. At this point he realizes that her mom is not just a sexual object, even though “she’s a beach whale,” she is more importantly his mother and that deserves respect. This change contradicts Freud’s theory, which states that once the person gets a fixation at any particular stage of development, he cannot ever move to the next stage.

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