This is an actual copy of my final paper for psychology class! If you do
not know anything about Freudian psychology, here's all you need to know
about it:
Id: the part of the mind where all prohibited desires lie
Superego: the part of the mind where all morals and societal values lie
(the conscience)
Ego: the part of the mind that tries to balance between the id and superego
(basically it's your thoughts)
Ego ideal: your vision of your perfect self (part of the superego)
Ego defense mechanisms: what the ego uses when the conflict between the id
and superego is too much for the ego to bear
Ok, you got all that? Good. Also, I took some "creative license" with the story and characters to make it fit into my theory because I knew my teacher doesn't know anything about LOTR. Hey, if PJ can make Arwen into a kick@$$ female elf, then I can make the race of elves genderless.ok, never mind. So, here it is.an actual copy of my psych final paper! Enjoy!
A Psychological Analysis of The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (2001 movie)
LOTR (a shortening of the name of the movie) is based on a book published in the 1940s that became wildly popular during the 1970s as what the hippies thought epitomized the ultimate battle between good and evil, as well as their own counterculture. However, the movie (and book) based on LOTR, when one analyzes it, has underlying Freudian and sexual themes, and, overall, represents the human mind. The movie centers on an object coveted by many, the Ring. The Ring, made of pure gold (the source of much greed and lust for much of human history) represents the object of sexual gratification, forbidden to be "worn" by societal and moral standards, yet wanted by everyone, whether openly, as by the villains of the movie, or secretly, as by the heroes of the movie. One could also say that the Ring represents the id, since the Ring is an object that "tells" people to obey the pleasure principle and their libido, pushing people literally to lust for its power for immediate gratification, whether it is socially, morally, or realistically possible or not. To satisfy themselves, people seek out the Ring to wear it, using their finger (a phallic symbol) to go through the Ring (a female symbol, in this case), to represent the physical union for gratification. However, the whole point of the movie is that the object of gratification is evil and corrupt, as the Ring has the power "to bring them all and in the darkness bind them." Frodo, the movie's main character, is a hobbit, a race of beings only three to four feet tall. Frodo is a hobbit coming into manhood, the equivalent to a human 18 years of age, and his youth is further emphasized by his height. He is the personification of a person nearing the end of the genital stage of psychosexual development, whose major developmental task is to have a mature sexuality. He inherits the Ring from his aging cousin; thus, the libido has passed from one who does not need it anymore to a young boy who is ripening. It could also be said that Frodo represents the ego, who has to arbitrate the conflict between id impulses and the superego demands. He has to deal with the burden of the id, which hangs heavily around his neck and near his heart (the symbol of the emotional center of humans), symbolizing his yearning for mature sexual intimacy and sexual love and companionship, as the libido is so near his emotional center. Simultaneously, he also has to deal with the burden of the superego, or, in the case of the movie, the elves, who constantly remind Frodo, through their messenger Gandalf the Wizard (who represents the conscience, or the voice of the superego), that to wear the Ring on his finger (satisfy his id) is unacceptable, and the Ring (id) must be destroyed for the good of all. The elves symbolize the values and moral attitudes of society, as well as Frodo's ego ideal. They are tall (symbolizing their adulthood as opposed to Frodo's youthful height) and supposedly the most intelligent and beautiful of all the races. Frodo strives to become the mature, experienced adult that the elves represent. The elves, unlike Frodo, have already rid themselves of their sexual drives, becoming an even-minded, wise, androgynous people, free of both lust and gender, but not of love and companionship. It is the elves who form the Fellowship to protect Frodo and to see to it that the Ring is destroyed. The villains of the movie represent the temptations of the id and the sexual drive for immediate gratification. The primary villain of the story is Sauron, the maker of the Ring, thus also the source of the libido. To destroy Sauron, the source of the libido, Frodo must destroy the Ring, or the object of sexual gratification, thus ridding himself of his sexual drive, whose tension (from the desire to wear the Ring) is literally driving him insane. Sauron, however, has many servants, including the Ringwraiths, the ultimate temptation for Frodo. Clad in black robes and able to sense the Ring whenever it is worn on a finger, they symbolize the clandestine, seductive human, both addicted to sex and able to sense when a person has become lustful, therefore taking advantage of that person, or, in the case of the movie, Frodo, whenever he wears the ring to satisfy himself. The Ringwraiths also have phallic symbols, from their overly long, metal-clad fingers to their exceedingly long swords that, when a person is stabbed by them, can change the person into a Ringwraith himself. Thus, when an innocent, naive person such as Frodo is seduced by wanton person, he will become wanton himself. Other villains in the story present themselves with phallic symbols, including the Watcher in the Water, a huge octopus-like creature with long-tangling arms, who wraps his appendages around Frodo's body to drag him under water, but he is saved by the Fellowship, who now represents the ego defense mechanisms who protect Frodo from the conflict that results from both the burden placed on him by the id (Ring) to turn "dark" and by the superego (elves) to destroy the id, protecting him from the villains and comforting him whenever he falters from his ultimate quest to become his ego ideal, satisfy his superego, and destroy his desire for gratification, although he learns later on that the id will always be a part of him, even having the scar to remind him of the id after he was stabbed by a Ringwraith. Thus, LOTR is a movie that embodies not only the conflict between good and evil, but also the dilemma of the ego to mediate conflict between the desire for pleasure and gratification of the id and the morals and values of the superego. The whole movie is a denotation of the quandaries of the human mind.
So, wutcha think? Please review, b/c I really wanna know.also, I'll post my grade for my paper in the second chapter.hopefully soon, b/c I know all of you are dying to know if my psych teacher gave me a F for such a ridiculous paper.also, if anyone knows any websites where there is a Freudian analysis of LOTR (it doesn't have to be a serious one), please tell me! Oh, and did I mention to review my paper?
Ok, you got all that? Good. Also, I took some "creative license" with the story and characters to make it fit into my theory because I knew my teacher doesn't know anything about LOTR. Hey, if PJ can make Arwen into a kick@$$ female elf, then I can make the race of elves genderless.ok, never mind. So, here it is.an actual copy of my psych final paper! Enjoy!
A Psychological Analysis of The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (2001 movie)
LOTR (a shortening of the name of the movie) is based on a book published in the 1940s that became wildly popular during the 1970s as what the hippies thought epitomized the ultimate battle between good and evil, as well as their own counterculture. However, the movie (and book) based on LOTR, when one analyzes it, has underlying Freudian and sexual themes, and, overall, represents the human mind. The movie centers on an object coveted by many, the Ring. The Ring, made of pure gold (the source of much greed and lust for much of human history) represents the object of sexual gratification, forbidden to be "worn" by societal and moral standards, yet wanted by everyone, whether openly, as by the villains of the movie, or secretly, as by the heroes of the movie. One could also say that the Ring represents the id, since the Ring is an object that "tells" people to obey the pleasure principle and their libido, pushing people literally to lust for its power for immediate gratification, whether it is socially, morally, or realistically possible or not. To satisfy themselves, people seek out the Ring to wear it, using their finger (a phallic symbol) to go through the Ring (a female symbol, in this case), to represent the physical union for gratification. However, the whole point of the movie is that the object of gratification is evil and corrupt, as the Ring has the power "to bring them all and in the darkness bind them." Frodo, the movie's main character, is a hobbit, a race of beings only three to four feet tall. Frodo is a hobbit coming into manhood, the equivalent to a human 18 years of age, and his youth is further emphasized by his height. He is the personification of a person nearing the end of the genital stage of psychosexual development, whose major developmental task is to have a mature sexuality. He inherits the Ring from his aging cousin; thus, the libido has passed from one who does not need it anymore to a young boy who is ripening. It could also be said that Frodo represents the ego, who has to arbitrate the conflict between id impulses and the superego demands. He has to deal with the burden of the id, which hangs heavily around his neck and near his heart (the symbol of the emotional center of humans), symbolizing his yearning for mature sexual intimacy and sexual love and companionship, as the libido is so near his emotional center. Simultaneously, he also has to deal with the burden of the superego, or, in the case of the movie, the elves, who constantly remind Frodo, through their messenger Gandalf the Wizard (who represents the conscience, or the voice of the superego), that to wear the Ring on his finger (satisfy his id) is unacceptable, and the Ring (id) must be destroyed for the good of all. The elves symbolize the values and moral attitudes of society, as well as Frodo's ego ideal. They are tall (symbolizing their adulthood as opposed to Frodo's youthful height) and supposedly the most intelligent and beautiful of all the races. Frodo strives to become the mature, experienced adult that the elves represent. The elves, unlike Frodo, have already rid themselves of their sexual drives, becoming an even-minded, wise, androgynous people, free of both lust and gender, but not of love and companionship. It is the elves who form the Fellowship to protect Frodo and to see to it that the Ring is destroyed. The villains of the movie represent the temptations of the id and the sexual drive for immediate gratification. The primary villain of the story is Sauron, the maker of the Ring, thus also the source of the libido. To destroy Sauron, the source of the libido, Frodo must destroy the Ring, or the object of sexual gratification, thus ridding himself of his sexual drive, whose tension (from the desire to wear the Ring) is literally driving him insane. Sauron, however, has many servants, including the Ringwraiths, the ultimate temptation for Frodo. Clad in black robes and able to sense the Ring whenever it is worn on a finger, they symbolize the clandestine, seductive human, both addicted to sex and able to sense when a person has become lustful, therefore taking advantage of that person, or, in the case of the movie, Frodo, whenever he wears the ring to satisfy himself. The Ringwraiths also have phallic symbols, from their overly long, metal-clad fingers to their exceedingly long swords that, when a person is stabbed by them, can change the person into a Ringwraith himself. Thus, when an innocent, naive person such as Frodo is seduced by wanton person, he will become wanton himself. Other villains in the story present themselves with phallic symbols, including the Watcher in the Water, a huge octopus-like creature with long-tangling arms, who wraps his appendages around Frodo's body to drag him under water, but he is saved by the Fellowship, who now represents the ego defense mechanisms who protect Frodo from the conflict that results from both the burden placed on him by the id (Ring) to turn "dark" and by the superego (elves) to destroy the id, protecting him from the villains and comforting him whenever he falters from his ultimate quest to become his ego ideal, satisfy his superego, and destroy his desire for gratification, although he learns later on that the id will always be a part of him, even having the scar to remind him of the id after he was stabbed by a Ringwraith. Thus, LOTR is a movie that embodies not only the conflict between good and evil, but also the dilemma of the ego to mediate conflict between the desire for pleasure and gratification of the id and the morals and values of the superego. The whole movie is a denotation of the quandaries of the human mind.
So, wutcha think? Please review, b/c I really wanna know.also, I'll post my grade for my paper in the second chapter.hopefully soon, b/c I know all of you are dying to know if my psych teacher gave me a F for such a ridiculous paper.also, if anyone knows any websites where there is a Freudian analysis of LOTR (it doesn't have to be a serious one), please tell me! Oh, and did I mention to review my paper?