◼ 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) 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.
◼ Most of Freud’s theories are centered
around the way our actions correspond
with our behavioral psychology.
◼ 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
◼ The impulsive and unconscious part of our
psyche which usually responds to
subconscious thoughts like “I need food.” “I
need water.”
◼ The ID is not affected by reality or morality-
The ID operates on the pleasure principle
which is the idea that every wishful impulse
should be satisfied immediately, regardless of
the consequences
◼ 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
◼ 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?