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A Streetcar Named Desire Psychological Analysis Essay

1397 Words6 Pages

Psychologist Sigmund Freud developed an idea that there is more than one aspect to the human psyche. The human psyche rather is structured into three separate parts including: id, ego, and superego. In a similar manner, Tennessee Williams has three main characters in his Southern Gothic play, A Streetcar Named Desire. In addition to the human psyche as the three mentioned categories, Freud introduced psychoanalysis, which is the belief that people could be cured through developing their unconscious thoughts or motivations into their conscious decisions, receiving insight (McLeod). Characters are shaped by their thoughts and actions, as this is present in A Streetcar Named Desire. Williams seems to have taken the ideals of Freud to build his characters in Freudian molds. Psychoanalytic ideas are revealed through the actions of the three main characters as Stanley is the Id, Stella as the Ego, and Blanche as the Superego. Creating an understanding of each individual as they pertain to a psychological approach, reveals the reasons they had for acting the way they did throughout the play. The first of the three psyche components are the id, or someone 's instincts to their personality. Impulsive and inherited …show more content…

By taking a psychological approach to the characters, it is evident that they stand for more than just Southern Gothic characters trying to get by in the 40s. What is present and portrayed by the writer, Tennessee Williams, is that he uses similar ideologies as great Psychologist Sigmund Freud. Williams does this because of the diversity of the city of New Orleans and the ability it can shape and potentially adapt to the various lifestyles. The human psyche divided into three categories is present in the play as the main characters play each one: Stanley as id, Stella as ego, and Blanche as superego. Each character works as their own, but also in unison just as seen in

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