August 28th, 2013

8/28/13

In Class:
Journal--  How are you perceived by the outside world?

Lecture and discussion-- Psychoanalytic Theory in Literary Criticism
literary theory: the variety of lenses through which we can interpret literature.
     -> What exactly are we looking for?
psychoanalysis: the process of observing and interpreting the psychological dimensions of a literary piece, its author, or its characters. Often engages the sexual subconscious.
There are three "layers" of human psychology, according to Sigmund Freud's study of psychoanalysis: the id, the ego, and the superego.

Id

- "subconsious"

- obscured, inaccesible

- animalistic/instinctual: seeks air, water, food, sex, sleep, excretion, homeostasis (the essentials, according to Maslow

- only 'layer' existing from birth

- repressed by societal standards

Ego

- personality/identity traits and reasoning

- seeks to satisfy the id in a sociologically-realistic manner

- extremely and constantly engaged in a state of anxiety--neurotic (id), realistic (external world), and moral (superego). Anxiety which is not properly reconciled can lead to a pantheon of psychological defense mechanisms and disorders.

Superego

- collective unconscious/conscience

- morality, cultural code

- affective

Read selections from "It's All About Sex..." from How to Read Literature Like a Professor.

Discussed the first reading of Their Eyes Were Watching God, specifically focusing on the pear tree scene and Janie's first marriage.

Exit ticket: What purpose does the id serve?

Homework:

Read through p. 100 of TEWWG.

Write three discussion questions.

Note: There will be no school Monday, September 3rd, 2013, for the Labor Day holiday. This class will meet again Wednesday, September 5th, 2013.