Psychoanalysis: A Freudian criticism of
three works of literature
A Clockwork Orange
Atlas Shrugged
The Picture of Dorian Gray
A Clockwork Orange
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Id, ego, and superego
Dreams
Father figures
Oedipus complex
“What’s it
going to be
then, eh?”
• Alex freely acts out all desires, giving his id
complete control.
• His superego fails to punish him because he
sees no wrong in what he is doing.
• Music fuels violence and vice versa.
Dreams are the
royal road to the
unconscious
• Dreams that he loses his power – wish
fulfillment of keeping power.
• Dream comes true when droogs turn on him.
• In jail, he dreams of music and violence, his
two passions that are now taken away.
• In prison, he dreams of Ludwig van in form of
castration complex.
Rehabilitation
• Behavior modification program combines violent
images with a physically sick feeling
• Ego changes because his relationship to reality is
driven by physical sickness in relation to violence
• Superego still craves violence, but ego suppresses
the urge to avoid feeling ill
• Becomes a “Clockwork Orange”, alive on the
outside, yet mechanical inside
Reintegration
• Alex cannot defend himself because the
thought of violence makes him ill.
• Sees F. Alexander as father figure
• Oedipus complex fulfilled– Alex raped and
killed F. Alexander’s wife.
• F. Alexander seeks revenge by using Alex then
driving him to attempt suicide.
“I Was Cured All Right.”
• Alex envisions his tainted ego leaving his body
and new, fresh ego entering, freeing him to
act out his id’s desires.
• The ultimate wish fulfillment of regressing into
his original state.
The Picture of Dorian Gray
• The Uncanny
• Id, Ego, Superego
• Oedipus Complex
If I would be always young, and the
picture grow old…I would give my soul
for that.”
“
• The Faustian bargain transfers evidence of
Dorian’s age and misdeeds to the portrait.
• The picture becomes uncanny because it is
essentially Dorian’s soul manifested in a
physical painting.
“The only way to get rid of
temptation is to yield to it…”
• Acts out all the fantasies of his id
• Superego dissolves because he has no
conscious and his self-ideal resides in the
picture
• Ego is transferred to the portrait because
anything that would normally bring him pain
is evident in the painting
He has been twenty-one
nearly half a century
• He has no need for a superego .
• Society continues to accept him despite his
horrid acts because he remains young and
beautiful.
• The reader lives out the fantasy of being
forever young.
A Schism of the Soul
• Basil (father figure) is horrified at the portrait
and Dorian, realizing he’s done something
wrong, kills him.
• Has no ego or superego so he destroys the
painting. Because the portrait contains those
essential parts, Dorian dies.
Atlas Shrugged
• The perfect man?
• Sex is not an animal instinct.
• Does repression cause everything?
“Who is John Galt?”
The archetypal man
• Galt is in absolute control of himself, thus has
successfully repressed all desires.
• Characters view sex as a recognition and
sharing of values.
"So you think that
money is the root
of all evil? Have
you ever asked
what is the root
of money?"
• Wealth and values versus living life through
alms, altruism, and socialism.
• Possible repressions results in overly
passionate views.
Conclusion
• All human motivations
and behaviors can
have psychoanalytical
interpretations.
• The explanations are
not always correct,
but can me made to
fit most
circumstances.
FIN