1)In her dream, Jennifer mentions how she’s a ghost. “As a ghost I visit all the people who I knew in my life and help them to figure out something or to learn something.” In most media, ghosts are usually spiritual organism, almost undetectable to the naked eye. The image of Jennifer helping others in the guise of an unseen being such as a ghost could be metaphorical to her being a caring individual. She’s willing to come to the aid of others but (being a ghost) does not care if she gets the credit or not. It makes her out to be a benevolent, selfless person, one loyal to those she cares for, like her brother. This could be seen positively or negatively. She reveals, later on, that, sometimes, she also sees herself as a dog. The dog (“man’s best friend”) is also seen a lot as a symbol of loyalty. But it’s more of a domesticated loyalty. Now it sounds more like she feels obliged to help others, like it’s a task she put upon herself because she feels like she deserves it. She tends to the needs of others to please them, not paying attention to her own.
2)”This fragmented body- which term I have also introduced into our system of theoretical references- usually manifests itself in dreams when the movement of the analysis encounters a certain level of aggressive disintegration in the individual. It then appears in the form of disjointed limbs, or of those organs represented in exoscopy, growing wings and taking up arms for intestinal persecutions- the very same that the visionary Hieronymus Bosch has fixed, for all time, in painting, in their ascent from the fifteenth century tot eh imagery zenith of modern man. But this form is even tangibly revealed at the organic level, in the lines of ‘fragilization’ that define the anatomy of phantasy, as exhibited in the schizoid and spasmodic symptoms of hysteria.”
Really having a hard time understanding the passage much less translating it, but here goes nothing. I think here he is trying to establish the relation between our physical selves in the real world, everything that makes us whole in the anatomical sense, with our symbolic form in dreams. He explains how we appear in dreams explains a bit about our mindset.
Saturday, December 1, 2007
Thursday, November 29, 2007
PATIENT NAME: JESSICA
PART ONE …
Patient #1 : Jessica –“ I barely remember anything in the morning, so this will be really undescriptive and lack lots of detail.”
The Dream: My boyfriend and I were in his parking garage and I was driving his car, which is brand new and he seems to love more than me. It's a stick shift, so I was practicing how to park it into his spot, #23 to be exact. I remember that he was in the back seat, someone else (no clue who) was in the passenger seat, and we were all listening to music while I ATTEMPTED to park the vehicle. I do remember that it took me a really long time to park it but I finally did it successfully, and surprisingly, no one was impatient and anxious for it to get done, we were all just happy and singing along to the tunes.
The Analysis: Jessica makes it very clear that she barely remembers of any details in her dream. On contrary there is a sufficient amount of evidence to perform a ‘Dream Work’ of Jessica’s dream. The latent content of a dream is the very thoughts that are disguised in the unconscious. The fist stage of ‘Condensation’ she omits certain latent elements. In her case the very unknown third party in the back seat. She then takes this third party in the back seat into her manifest dream, which is the dream remembered or recounted.
The displacement of the dream takes place when she becomes the driver, and attempts to park the car. The manifestation of the psychical accent is shifted from important elements to a non-important, so the dream appears strange. The important element is the third individual in the back-seat, and it is shifted to something non-important because there is another task ‘parking the car’. Another important element is the Boy friend. It is clear that the parking of the vehicle has something to do with Jessica attempting to hold, or maintain control in her relationship. Her success in parking only reveals the thinking which is opposite to the way in which it would revoke distress. In other words, her boyfriend probably gets anxious and impatient when he is with her. The very Charlie Chaplin like ending “all like happy and singing along the tunes”, is another suppression of hidden thought that attribute to the displacement of the dream, a.k.a. reaction formation.
PLEASE DON’T TAKE ANY OF THIS TOO SERIOUS…OR EVEN SERIOUS
PART II
“Indeed, for the IMAGOS—whose veiled faces it is our privilege to see in outline our daily experience and in the penumbra of symbolic efficacity—the mirror-image would seem to be the threshold of the visible world, if we go by the mirror disposition that the IMAGO OF ONES OWN BODY presents in hallucinations or dreams, whether it concerns its individual features, or even its infirmities, or its object-projections; or if we observe the role of the mirror apparatus in the appearance of the double, in which psychical realities, however heterogeneous, are manifested.
: I don’t want this means. But I am guessing that we dream in a mirror like fantasy? Even if one sees one self in a mirror, it’s an illusion that you see yourself, because that is not entirely you. (ex. Your right arm is the mirrors left)
Patient #1 : Jessica –“ I barely remember anything in the morning, so this will be really undescriptive and lack lots of detail.”
The Dream: My boyfriend and I were in his parking garage and I was driving his car, which is brand new and he seems to love more than me. It's a stick shift, so I was practicing how to park it into his spot, #23 to be exact. I remember that he was in the back seat, someone else (no clue who) was in the passenger seat, and we were all listening to music while I ATTEMPTED to park the vehicle. I do remember that it took me a really long time to park it but I finally did it successfully, and surprisingly, no one was impatient and anxious for it to get done, we were all just happy and singing along to the tunes.
The Analysis: Jessica makes it very clear that she barely remembers of any details in her dream. On contrary there is a sufficient amount of evidence to perform a ‘Dream Work’ of Jessica’s dream. The latent content of a dream is the very thoughts that are disguised in the unconscious. The fist stage of ‘Condensation’ she omits certain latent elements. In her case the very unknown third party in the back seat. She then takes this third party in the back seat into her manifest dream, which is the dream remembered or recounted.
The displacement of the dream takes place when she becomes the driver, and attempts to park the car. The manifestation of the psychical accent is shifted from important elements to a non-important, so the dream appears strange. The important element is the third individual in the back-seat, and it is shifted to something non-important because there is another task ‘parking the car’. Another important element is the Boy friend. It is clear that the parking of the vehicle has something to do with Jessica attempting to hold, or maintain control in her relationship. Her success in parking only reveals the thinking which is opposite to the way in which it would revoke distress. In other words, her boyfriend probably gets anxious and impatient when he is with her. The very Charlie Chaplin like ending “all like happy and singing along the tunes”, is another suppression of hidden thought that attribute to the displacement of the dream, a.k.a. reaction formation.
PLEASE DON’T TAKE ANY OF THIS TOO SERIOUS…OR EVEN SERIOUS
PART II
“Indeed, for the IMAGOS—whose veiled faces it is our privilege to see in outline our daily experience and in the penumbra of symbolic efficacity—the mirror-image would seem to be the threshold of the visible world, if we go by the mirror disposition that the IMAGO OF ONES OWN BODY presents in hallucinations or dreams, whether it concerns its individual features, or even its infirmities, or its object-projections; or if we observe the role of the mirror apparatus in the appearance of the double, in which psychical realities, however heterogeneous, are manifested.
: I don’t want this means. But I am guessing that we dream in a mirror like fantasy? Even if one sees one self in a mirror, it’s an illusion that you see yourself, because that is not entirely you. (ex. Your right arm is the mirrors left)
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
My dreams....
As long as I can remember, my dreams are more and frantic then calm and satisfying. When I used to work as a corporate trainer for The Cheesecake Factory, I would have nightmares almost every night that I was on the road that I would walk into the restaurant and everything that I had done to make things successful for the opening the day before would somehow be a disaster the next day, and I would have start over from the begining again. I would dream that all my servers would quit the day of the grand opening and I would have to take all the tables by myself and my feet would be stuck to the ground and I wouldn't be able move. It would be as if I was in slow motion, and there would be nothing that I could do to keep it moving.
Now that I am in school, almost every night I have bad dreams that I wake up late and miss tests. I also have dreams of my friends and family saying things to may that make me feel like I am waisting my time, and I should just give up. This couldn't be further from the truth in real life. My family members tell me on a daily basis how proud they are of me and how much they believe in my success as a student and as a person in life in general. I suppose that my dreams are just illustrating my own personal fears, and that I need to keep going and working hard no matter what it takes.
Now that I am in school, almost every night I have bad dreams that I wake up late and miss tests. I also have dreams of my friends and family saying things to may that make me feel like I am waisting my time, and I should just give up. This couldn't be further from the truth in real life. My family members tell me on a daily basis how proud they are of me and how much they believe in my success as a student and as a person in life in general. I suppose that my dreams are just illustrating my own personal fears, and that I need to keep going and working hard no matter what it takes.
11.28
For Monday, three tasks:
1) post a 'reading' of one of the dreams posted on Wednesday. I'm specifically interested in the use of Freud's concepts of condensation, displacement, and the transformation of thoughts into visual images. Try to guess at what lurks behind the manifest dream the author wrote about. Please do not respond to any dreams which are already responded to.
2) Type out and post one three or four sentence passage from the Lacan which you found particularly troubling, and then try to paraphrase it in 'ordinary' language. Again, do not use any passage which another classmate has dealt with. Look at the 'a bit about lacan' lecture for a relatively valuable gloss.
3) Read Act I of King Lear. Read more if you have time, because we have to get through the play relatively quickly. I've linked to the Shakespeare on-line text, which will help us standardize the text for the class. Any standard version will do, though I recommend staying away from the varioriums and concordances, which can keep folio versions separated rather than creating a single text (they can be very valuable, because there are problems with all the edited versions, but for our purposes a single text will be best).
Lastly, if you are worried about your final paper, be sure to start early and talk to me often.
1) post a 'reading' of one of the dreams posted on Wednesday. I'm specifically interested in the use of Freud's concepts of condensation, displacement, and the transformation of thoughts into visual images. Try to guess at what lurks behind the manifest dream the author wrote about. Please do not respond to any dreams which are already responded to.
2) Type out and post one three or four sentence passage from the Lacan which you found particularly troubling, and then try to paraphrase it in 'ordinary' language. Again, do not use any passage which another classmate has dealt with. Look at the 'a bit about lacan' lecture for a relatively valuable gloss.
3) Read Act I of King Lear. Read more if you have time, because we have to get through the play relatively quickly. I've linked to the Shakespeare on-line text, which will help us standardize the text for the class. Any standard version will do, though I recommend staying away from the varioriums and concordances, which can keep folio versions separated rather than creating a single text (they can be very valuable, because there are problems with all the edited versions, but for our purposes a single text will be best).
Lastly, if you are worried about your final paper, be sure to start early and talk to me often.
My Dream
In my dreams all I can usually remember is the general things that happen and then a couple of random details. In my most recent dream that I can remember is one in which I am a ghost. As a ghost I visit all the people who I knew in my life and help them to figure out something or to learn something. One thing in paticular I remember is helping my brother get a house. Another weird thing is that I also part of the dream am a dog that is just like a dog all the time and its for my family when we were all younger. Then I sometimes become a ghost again and thats about it.
My Dreams....
The thing about my dreams is that I don't really remember exactly what happen. There can even be times that I wake up out of nowhere and then I go back to sleep, but have a different dream. I think that a dream its all an illusion that one seeks to come true, or it can also be a desire of the mind deep inside. Eventually, it turns into a wondeful dream sometimes that one wishes not to wake up from it, but just when you least imagine, your up.
A dream I can remember recently is me playing in a concert with alot of people in the audience having a good time. Although, I was playing a new song, new melodies that I havent even heard before, and the words I don't really remember. It was new music for my ears, but eventually as spot lights traveled around the audience I would see them jumping and screaming, it was just weird. Maybe it can all be an illusion on some concerts I have been as part of the audience, or it can also be by an experience I had in the past by been playing in a concert. Unfortunately, as I wrote earlier, I woke up from that dream, but would go back to sleep and have a different dream, it can be related to sports, soccer which I enjoy playing, or even nightmares, by watching too many horror movies. Another dream I would have is by having the illusion of being in my country in the beach, its a feeling of comfort and relaxation, by taking a moment to stop thinking of things that happen in our lives routine, and just enjoy the moment. Although, I don't really remember all the exact details that happen in my dreams, but I wish they are good ones and not nightmares, because in the end good dreams are illusions that one enjoys and do not want to leave, and nightmares well they're not cool.
A dream I can remember recently is me playing in a concert with alot of people in the audience having a good time. Although, I was playing a new song, new melodies that I havent even heard before, and the words I don't really remember. It was new music for my ears, but eventually as spot lights traveled around the audience I would see them jumping and screaming, it was just weird. Maybe it can all be an illusion on some concerts I have been as part of the audience, or it can also be by an experience I had in the past by been playing in a concert. Unfortunately, as I wrote earlier, I woke up from that dream, but would go back to sleep and have a different dream, it can be related to sports, soccer which I enjoy playing, or even nightmares, by watching too many horror movies. Another dream I would have is by having the illusion of being in my country in the beach, its a feeling of comfort and relaxation, by taking a moment to stop thinking of things that happen in our lives routine, and just enjoy the moment. Although, I don't really remember all the exact details that happen in my dreams, but I wish they are good ones and not nightmares, because in the end good dreams are illusions that one enjoys and do not want to leave, and nightmares well they're not cool.
11.28.07
The dream I had happened about a week ago and happened back to back nights. I had a dream of being in a deli/candy store and I purchased one of those NY lottery scratch off cards where you have a chance to win a certain amount of money. So I bought what I think was a "Win For Life" card and I won $100 dollars on it. I remember going back to the place cashing it in and getting the money and spending it on something. After spending the money I woke up from my dream I couldn't remember where i bought or who i might have been with all I knew was i had one $100. So on my way to school the next morning I had stopped by a 7-eleven to get a coffee and while I'm paying I see they sell the same card I won the $100 on. So i decided to buy one thinking maybe it was a sign and I'm going to win that amount of money now. That wasn't the case I lost like you normally do. So that was the end of that.
The next night however I had the same dream again this time it had a couple of more details in it. I once again was in another candy store this time it was a certain one that i always go to. They had the "Win for Life" card there again so I bought one and once again its a $100 winner.This time i remember seeing the card, and seeing I had three $100 symbols in three certain spots. That's what you needed to get in order to win. So I woke up from my dream dazed and confused and kind of angry I keep having this reoccurring dream. So once again i go to the Store that I saw in my dream and buy a card to play. This time however I won $10, so I thought to myself its not $100 but at least I won something. Then the weird thing was the $10 numbers were in the same spots I dreamt the $100 numbers were. Could it be I thought in my dream it said $100 but was actually $10? I don't know but after that happened I stopped having that dream!
The next night however I had the same dream again this time it had a couple of more details in it. I once again was in another candy store this time it was a certain one that i always go to. They had the "Win for Life" card there again so I bought one and once again its a $100 winner.This time i remember seeing the card, and seeing I had three $100 symbols in three certain spots. That's what you needed to get in order to win. So I woke up from my dream dazed and confused and kind of angry I keep having this reoccurring dream. So once again i go to the Store that I saw in my dream and buy a card to play. This time however I won $10, so I thought to myself its not $100 but at least I won something. Then the weird thing was the $10 numbers were in the same spots I dreamt the $100 numbers were. Could it be I thought in my dream it said $100 but was actually $10? I don't know but after that happened I stopped having that dream!
Not much going on up here
My dream last night was a bit weird, it was basically a day at QC. I can't remember it all but I basically remember being in a class I registered for next semester and just really hating the concept of the class. And what was even more weird was the professor was a this guy from my math class. After we left the class I remember them asking us to come into this seminar like thing and this lady started speaking. Unfortunately that was when my 4 a.m. wake up call came and ended all dreams.
But from what I can piece togther there were also a couple more dreams before that, which I can only remember vaguely.
Sorry !
But from what I can piece togther there were also a couple more dreams before that, which I can only remember vaguely.
Sorry !
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
sweet dreams are made of these
I remember this one dream I had during the summer. It involved this girl from Florida I had met online. For six months we had been in contact with each other (still are) and she would send photos of herself to me. I reached this point where I just couldn’t stop thinking about her. One night last July, I dreamt that I was out on my front lawn (not sure what I was doing). The atmosphere was strange. It was orange everywhere, like in an old 1970’s photo. Suddenly I felt someone’s hand brush up against my shoulder. I turned around and there she was. I was just stunned. I mean literally, I couldn’t move. I just couldn’t believe she was right there in front of me. Suddenly, before I could do or say anything, like a second later, she’s ten blocks away and turning the corner. I follow her as fast as I could but when I turn that corner, the setting changes from my neighborhood to this weird nighttime Manhattan-like street scene. I look everywhere but she’s nowhere to be seen, just a bunch of faceless people covered in torn coats and jackets, walking quickly left and right. They pretty much creep me out, so, to get away from them I run into this building (the sign indicated that it was a comic book store) figuring that maybe the girl might have done the same. The inside looked like an old abandoned subway station. It gets kind of weird at this part. The scene started to look like something out of a horror-based video game. I started to freak out. I just wanted to get the hell out of there and find her. Then I go through this door and I find myself in this huge room. It looked like a bedroom but it was just bigger then normal. I turned around and there she was. I had finally found her. But the thing is, she was now gigantic (or I had shrunk). I was speechless. It was like my greatest fantasy. She was a giantess lying down in front of me and it seemed so real… and then the damn alarm clock woke me up. I hate that alarm clock.
Showgirls. Best. Movie. Ever.
Sorry I just had to quote that. Anyway as far as dreams go I don't get them much. The dream I can remember however happened way back when I was very little, I would say around the age of five. The dream I had happened the same way every night for about two weeks straight. What would happen is me getting out of my bed in the middle of the night. After I get up and walk out of my room I would make a right and go into my formal dining room. At this point I knew what would happen. As soon as I enterned the dining room I would be blocked by the big table we had. I knew that as soon as I walked into the carpeted pink pathway that Chuckie the little doll would come out and kill me. I'm not making this up and I'm not joking. There was one dream I remember where one of my parents came out and asked me whats the matter. Being right across from my room the entrance to the Chuckie then proceeded to kill the parent and then me. I was horrified I couldn't sleep for those couple of weeks. Then one day the dream went away.
Hail Mary
It may sound semi crazy, but the dream I’m going to discuss turned out to be a premonition. I usually don’t talk about this dream because usually when I tell people about it they look at me like I’m crazy, but any way’s here goes! (Keep in mind I had this dream 2 weeks before the person died) I was at this 2PAC concert, everything was normal people are everywhere. Before he performs he signs autographs. So I ask him for an autograph and end up having to stand on a milk carton because I’m short. (I was older, but still short) So I get the autograph everything seems to be going fine. He’s in the middle of one of his songs and people are singing along. All of a sudden as hes on stage the grim reaper swoops in and pulls his spirit out his body just leaving the body there, the concert is still going on, he’s still rapping and people are acting like nothing is wrong. I’m the only person who has noticed that he’s dead at this point so I stand there screaming and there’s no sound coming out of my mouth. Two weeks later 2PAC dies. Was it a coincidence? I don’t know. I have had dreams like this one before, but they involved family members. I had a similar dream before my Uncle died in 2003. My entire family was at an open casket funeral and everyone was crying. When I got to the casket I could see that it was a man in a suit but the face was blacked out. A couple months later my uncle had a brain aneurism. I’m usually able to remember my dreams pretty clearly, about 80 percent of the time they’re like this and tell me about something that has happened or will happen.
Never ending Meadow
It was quite hard to recall a past dream. I do not dream that often and when I do, they tend to be very short. They occasionally tend to associate with events that occurred during that day or week. They usually lack meaning until I tell them to my mom. She then tries to interpret them, since she is a big believer of dreams and what they might represent.
My most recent dream consisted of a meadow. I remember a bright, green, fresh, and vibrant looking meadow. The sun was beaming brightly. I was wearing a light blue dress. I was not wearing shoes and could actually feel the grass. I kept walking and walking and hoping that the meadow would end at some point and that I would eventually reach civilization. I eventually came across an old man and asked him for directions. He remained quite and ignored my presence. I decided to walk some more and hoping that I would reach the end of the meadow. However, this never occurred and as far as I can remember the meadow never ended. I felt lost and hopeless.
My most recent dream consisted of a meadow. I remember a bright, green, fresh, and vibrant looking meadow. The sun was beaming brightly. I was wearing a light blue dress. I was not wearing shoes and could actually feel the grass. I kept walking and walking and hoping that the meadow would end at some point and that I would eventually reach civilization. I eventually came across an old man and asked him for directions. He remained quite and ignored my presence. I decided to walk some more and hoping that I would reach the end of the meadow. However, this never occurred and as far as I can remember the meadow never ended. I felt lost and hopeless.
A recurring motif in my dreams
Within my dreams, there have been several various settings; a classroom, out with my friends, in my own home with my family and the list goes on. But in each of these dreams, I am the center of attention. Everyone seems to be trying to speak to me, and only me, regardless of who is there. It could be my best friend, a professor, or even an attractive girl asking me question after question. But, in each dream, I cannot come to a response. I can't even process what these people are saying to me. I'm just sitting there, doing nothing, not able to move or even breathe. I can't walk or talk or feel anything emotional or physical. Just a bag of meat with eyes.
However, I do have a form of conscious within these dreams of mine, as I can seemingly understand (within the dream) the concept that someone is trying to communicate with me. But I am still completely non-responsive. I cannot do anything at all. It's almost as if I am comatose or at least heavily opiated. I don't really understand the cause of this, as these dreams aren't usually vivid enough to remember in detail (perhaps that plays into the dream in and of itself), but I can only see what happens in the dream. It's as if you're watching your own surgery while it happens, but you don't even know it, if that is pertinent analogy.
However, I do have a form of conscious within these dreams of mine, as I can seemingly understand (within the dream) the concept that someone is trying to communicate with me. But I am still completely non-responsive. I cannot do anything at all. It's almost as if I am comatose or at least heavily opiated. I don't really understand the cause of this, as these dreams aren't usually vivid enough to remember in detail (perhaps that plays into the dream in and of itself), but I can only see what happens in the dream. It's as if you're watching your own surgery while it happens, but you don't even know it, if that is pertinent analogy.
Wierd, but understandable
I remember two dreams I've had this and last week. In onc of them, I was playing soccer with a very close friend of mine, whom I haven't seen for years ever since I came to States. In another, I was kissing this fat chick, thankfully not a french. The good thing is that I haven't had a nightmare in more than 10 years, if I remember it correctly.
According to Freud readings I've done, these manifest dreams just represent my desire to meet my old friend (playing soccer may not have any meaning at all) and another desire to, well, have a romantic relationship with someone which I think is in the unconscious level (because I won't admit it).
According to Freud readings I've done, these manifest dreams just represent my desire to meet my old friend (playing soccer may not have any meaning at all) and another desire to, well, have a romantic relationship with someone which I think is in the unconscious level (because I won't admit it).
A Recurring Dream..
I actually have been dreaming alot lately but I either don't remember it when I wake up or I only remember a certain part. Often, someone will say something to me throughout the day and bits and pieces of my dream will pop up and I will remember some more. This morning I had one of those deep sleep, long dreams and unfortunately can't remember a single thing. Sooo, I figured I would pick this dream that I have had two times which I thought was a little weird. I'm not sure of every detail but here it goes. I am in my town which is in this house on the beach (I live by the beach) and I know exactly what block it is. I am in this dark brown, possibly black house which is black and red on the inside. It seems very gloomy and almost "vampirish" if that makes any sense. I am trapped inside and can't get out although I am free to roam around. There is an eagle in it that I think comes after me or something. It's just a very scary place and although I am in the house I can see that the town is isolated and no one is to be found. This is really all I can remember but I had this dream twice and it was almost the same both times. When I wake up I am petrified and can't go back to sleep, so good thing I don't have it often.
Weird party
I don't know about other people but I don't have dreams that often and if I do have them it is difficult to recall every single detail. I forgot where I heard or read it from but I remember someone saying that after someone wakes up from a dream they tend to forget it. I forgot the reason for it but it probably has something to do with the the unconscious part of our brain since our dreams come from there.
As for my dream the most recent dream that I can think of is one that I had maybe two days ago. I was at a some sort of party somewhere with my friends. There were a lot of people I didn't know but they were good looking girls so I didn't mind. I might have been at a club or something because the music was blaring and many people were dancing. The people were drinking and just having fun. I was dancing with these two girls that were cute but I don't know their names. I think I bought them some drinks and I drank with them until we got tipsy. After that I think I was making out with the skinnier one who I thought was hotter then the other one. The other girl disappeared into thin air somehow. When I started kissing one girl I lost sight of the other one. This was a weird dream because I was watching myself. I didn't imagine myself being there. I was like a ghost or something. It was like one of those cliche out of the body experiences that people have to look at the past or future to change them. I have no idea what to make of this dream because I woke up while I was kissing her. I wonder what would have happened if I hadn't woken up. That's one of the funny things about dreams you can't continue them. I guess that is a good thing if you were having a nightmare.
As for my dream the most recent dream that I can think of is one that I had maybe two days ago. I was at a some sort of party somewhere with my friends. There were a lot of people I didn't know but they were good looking girls so I didn't mind. I might have been at a club or something because the music was blaring and many people were dancing. The people were drinking and just having fun. I was dancing with these two girls that were cute but I don't know their names. I think I bought them some drinks and I drank with them until we got tipsy. After that I think I was making out with the skinnier one who I thought was hotter then the other one. The other girl disappeared into thin air somehow. When I started kissing one girl I lost sight of the other one. This was a weird dream because I was watching myself. I didn't imagine myself being there. I was like a ghost or something. It was like one of those cliche out of the body experiences that people have to look at the past or future to change them. I have no idea what to make of this dream because I woke up while I was kissing her. I wonder what would have happened if I hadn't woken up. That's one of the funny things about dreams you can't continue them. I guess that is a good thing if you were having a nightmare.
Sorry, no zombies
I’m in my grandparent’s house. They live on a farm in upstate New York. It’s very green acres. It is the middle of the night and I’m standing in the kitchen and hear the door to the outside open behind me. I turn around and my friend Tommy (whom I haven’t seen for years) comes bounding in with a whole group of friends I no longer keep in touch with. Tommy let’s me know that they all followed me as I drove up, as per the plan, we are to have a party. In the dream I remember specifically reflecting on and recalling making no such plans to party at my grandparents home of all places. This also strikes me as odd (whilst still in the dream) because Tommy is exuberant and energetic. He never behaves this way, he smoked his brain to a semi-catatonic mush several years ago. At this moment from the back of the house there erupts the tremendous thunder of engine noise, like a muscle car show. I race through the house to the field in back. Along the way my grandmother tells be she’s going to bed and she’ll see me in the morning. When I reach the sun porch with its floor to ceiling windows and gaze through them I see a trail of cars, not a part of the party of friends these people driving are strangers, dragging miscellaneous chunks of cars behind them. The car parts are weathered and rusted as if they were towed from a junkyard.
I return through the house toward the kitchen but make it half way before Tommy stops me and assures me he can get rid of these people. He disappears from sight, at the same time there is a huge boom from the field and this next part is difficult to describe so hang in there, I’ll do my best.
A dream certainty comes to me. I become aware that my father is dead, he has gone out to the back, I’m not sure what for or how but at this point in the dream I am sure he is dead. He had not appeared in this dream yet at all but just the same I become secure in the knowledge in the way only dreams can assert things for you. It’s not a fear I experience in the dream but a certainty of knowledge.
I race through the house once more, running back toward the sun porch. This time when I look through the windows I see a line of cars. It’s still the middle of the night so I don’t see them so much as a nearly endless trail of headlights. Not unlike the end of the movie field of dreams, a tremendous line of headlights zig-zaging it’s way across the countryside into infinity. Then I wake up.
Just for context: This dream occurred on the night before the one-year anniversary of my grandfather’s death, October 24th. I haven’t been to that house since a year ago when I buried him. He never had a muscle car and my father is alive and well.
I return through the house toward the kitchen but make it half way before Tommy stops me and assures me he can get rid of these people. He disappears from sight, at the same time there is a huge boom from the field and this next part is difficult to describe so hang in there, I’ll do my best.
A dream certainty comes to me. I become aware that my father is dead, he has gone out to the back, I’m not sure what for or how but at this point in the dream I am sure he is dead. He had not appeared in this dream yet at all but just the same I become secure in the knowledge in the way only dreams can assert things for you. It’s not a fear I experience in the dream but a certainty of knowledge.
I race through the house once more, running back toward the sun porch. This time when I look through the windows I see a line of cars. It’s still the middle of the night so I don’t see them so much as a nearly endless trail of headlights. Not unlike the end of the movie field of dreams, a tremendous line of headlights zig-zaging it’s way across the countryside into infinity. Then I wake up.
Just for context: This dream occurred on the night before the one-year anniversary of my grandfather’s death, October 24th. I haven’t been to that house since a year ago when I buried him. He never had a muscle car and my father is alive and well.
Short Boring Pointless Dreams
I am a person who does not remember many dreams, but the last one I remember consisted of me hanging out with an old friend of mine, the friend being a female. And throughout the whole dream I kept feeling like it was forbidden to hang out with this girl. There was no special significance about the girl and all we were doing was watching T.V. on a bed. Look wise she was pretty. We used to be friends but nothing serious or personal. But I just kept feeling like I was doing something wrong when I really wasn't. It was short and boring and just woke up confused. I wonder what Freud would make of this.
My latest dream...
I wasn't in class on Monday, so I don't really know what's going on, but as far as the instructions go, all I have to do is write about a dream I've had. Unlike Kasey, my dreams are super short and I barely remember anything in the morning, so this will be really undescriptive and lack lots of detail. Here goes.
I actually dreamt this last night (or this morning rather) and this is what happened: My boyfriend and I were in his parking garage and I was driving his car, which is brand new and he seems to love more than me. It's a stick shift, so I was practicing how to park it into his spot, #23 to be exact. I remember that he was in the back seat, someone else (no clue who) was in the passenger seat, and we were all listening to music while I ATTEMPTED to park the vehicle. I do remember that it took me a really long time to park it but I finally did it successfully, and surprisingly, no one was impatient and anxious for it to get done, we were all just happy and singing along to the tunes.
That's really it...hope you enjoy.
I actually dreamt this last night (or this morning rather) and this is what happened: My boyfriend and I were in his parking garage and I was driving his car, which is brand new and he seems to love more than me. It's a stick shift, so I was practicing how to park it into his spot, #23 to be exact. I remember that he was in the back seat, someone else (no clue who) was in the passenger seat, and we were all listening to music while I ATTEMPTED to park the vehicle. I do remember that it took me a really long time to park it but I finally did it successfully, and surprisingly, no one was impatient and anxious for it to get done, we were all just happy and singing along to the tunes.
That's really it...hope you enjoy.
I dont really have long dreams. My dreams are very short. Even my nightmares, i only wake up if i get stabbed or something. Then i eventually force my self to sleep, and i am aware that my mind has created this nightmare, and i resolve the problem by going to sleep by pretending to dream in a non-REM sleep environment. But this time i have weapons of mass destruction, or become NEO from Matrix and kill all the bad guys while some hot chick is watching. I the end she end up sleeping with me....
I had a dream recently. I looked a little older, maybe 24 or something. I was playing Poker in some place i cant recall, and i was playing with these Rich folks who had a lot of money. I felt
honored at first, but then realized that they couldnt play. They sucked. I remember betting 45,000 $ pre-flop and some famous basketball player called me all in with 2,6, off suit. He took me out of the game in two hands. Then got up and made a scene of it "Yeah, Thats whats up, who's getting out next". At this point i remember saying to myself who calls 45,000 $ on a 2,6, off suit. For christ sake he won with a pair of 2's. Then i couldnt sleep for hours.
-
This was the shortest dream ever.
I had a dream recently. I looked a little older, maybe 24 or something. I was playing Poker in some place i cant recall, and i was playing with these Rich folks who had a lot of money. I felt
honored at first, but then realized that they couldnt play. They sucked. I remember betting 45,000 $ pre-flop and some famous basketball player called me all in with 2,6, off suit. He took me out of the game in two hands. Then got up and made a scene of it "Yeah, Thats whats up, who's getting out next". At this point i remember saying to myself who calls 45,000 $ on a 2,6, off suit. For christ sake he won with a pair of 2's. Then i couldnt sleep for hours.
-
This was the shortest dream ever.
To sleep, perchance to dream
Since you've all already heard about my morning "false starts", so to speak, I'm going just a bit further back in my search more the most bizarre dream I have in recent memory, and here it is. Good luck going Freud on this monster.
There is a massive yellow water slide stretching comically into a cel-shaded sky (like from The Legend of Zelda : Windwaker). I'm sliding down this massive water slide at a breakneck pace. I know this because the pattern on the slide is going by very quickly. I hear somebody say something behind me and I turn around to look. Perryn (a friend of mine) is sliding down right behind me. She keeps on asking me questions but I cannot hear her so I keep screaming "WHAT?". We get to the bottom of the slide and land with an epic splash in the middle of a very large lake. I lose track of her during the splash. I start swimming towards the end of the lake opposite the water slide, which fades from view (I glance over my shoulder) as I swim. I eventually reach the wooded shoreline and climb out of the water. I am dry instantly. Also, I'm on a dirt road in the middle of the woods, without having taken a step. I am accompanied by several people, of whom I am the leader. We reach an old style roofed, wooden bridge and pause. There is another group of people, in an almost mirror-image arrangement from my own group. They are led by a man in black armour wielding a glowing translucent red sword. My group and his group start to fight using medieval style weapons. He and I walk towards each other in the middle of the fray. I am armed with naught but a plastic knife, like from the Student Union Cafe. I duck under the first swing of his sword and plunge the knife deep into his face. While he reels back I pick up a rock off the ground and smash it full force into the side of his head. It squishes like an over-ripe tomato. My group seems the have either finished off or chased away his, as they aren't fighting anymore. I pick up his sword and it glows a fierce blue as soon as my fingers touch the hilt. My group cheers. They break into groups and start talking with one another. I walk amongst the groups, speaking to each one in turn. I look up the path and Matt (another... I don't want to say friend, but somebody I know) is walking towards me. He is dressed in black goth pants and a fishnet shirt (which he actually owns so that's not my idea) and has a pair of nun-chucks hanging off either hip. He talks to me about how he has spend the last 16 years in training to be worthy of wielding the crystal-sword that I got from the bad guy. I ask him if he's ready. He says yes. I hand him the sword and it's colour changes. It is now a pale blue with a some red at the bottom. I tell him that he was not mastered his emotions yet, which is indicated by the red on the blade. It glows fiercer as I tell him this, as if proving my point. He says, in a very low voice, that the Crystal-sword WILL be his and that he will not rest until he possesses it. I tell him, in a light joking voice, "better luck next time, kid." He stalks off down the path from whence he came. The dream ends.
*let it be noted that my perceptions during this dream change from first person to third person from scene to scene, I would indicate the changes here if I remembered them*
*please also note that this dream was had on a saturday night after much activity, so to speak, so that may account for some of it's... interesting themes*
There is a massive yellow water slide stretching comically into a cel-shaded sky (like from The Legend of Zelda : Windwaker). I'm sliding down this massive water slide at a breakneck pace. I know this because the pattern on the slide is going by very quickly. I hear somebody say something behind me and I turn around to look. Perryn (a friend of mine) is sliding down right behind me. She keeps on asking me questions but I cannot hear her so I keep screaming "WHAT?". We get to the bottom of the slide and land with an epic splash in the middle of a very large lake. I lose track of her during the splash. I start swimming towards the end of the lake opposite the water slide, which fades from view (I glance over my shoulder) as I swim. I eventually reach the wooded shoreline and climb out of the water. I am dry instantly. Also, I'm on a dirt road in the middle of the woods, without having taken a step. I am accompanied by several people, of whom I am the leader. We reach an old style roofed, wooden bridge and pause. There is another group of people, in an almost mirror-image arrangement from my own group. They are led by a man in black armour wielding a glowing translucent red sword. My group and his group start to fight using medieval style weapons. He and I walk towards each other in the middle of the fray. I am armed with naught but a plastic knife, like from the Student Union Cafe. I duck under the first swing of his sword and plunge the knife deep into his face. While he reels back I pick up a rock off the ground and smash it full force into the side of his head. It squishes like an over-ripe tomato. My group seems the have either finished off or chased away his, as they aren't fighting anymore. I pick up his sword and it glows a fierce blue as soon as my fingers touch the hilt. My group cheers. They break into groups and start talking with one another. I walk amongst the groups, speaking to each one in turn. I look up the path and Matt (another... I don't want to say friend, but somebody I know) is walking towards me. He is dressed in black goth pants and a fishnet shirt (which he actually owns so that's not my idea) and has a pair of nun-chucks hanging off either hip. He talks to me about how he has spend the last 16 years in training to be worthy of wielding the crystal-sword that I got from the bad guy. I ask him if he's ready. He says yes. I hand him the sword and it's colour changes. It is now a pale blue with a some red at the bottom. I tell him that he was not mastered his emotions yet, which is indicated by the red on the blade. It glows fiercer as I tell him this, as if proving my point. He says, in a very low voice, that the Crystal-sword WILL be his and that he will not rest until he possesses it. I tell him, in a light joking voice, "better luck next time, kid." He stalks off down the path from whence he came. The dream ends.
*let it be noted that my perceptions during this dream change from first person to third person from scene to scene, I would indicate the changes here if I remembered them*
*please also note that this dream was had on a saturday night after much activity, so to speak, so that may account for some of it's... interesting themes*
Freud in dreams and literature (better late than ever)
I've been having connection issues back home which is why I'm posting monday's post today.
When it compared to literature, Sigmund Freud's analysis on dreams, specifically his theories on "transforming thoughts into visual images", is very much appropriately relevant. When writing a story, we usually tend to picture it in our heads as it unfolds. We then process these mental images into writing in order to transmit the thoughts to others. Dreams are technically subconscious thoughts, those driven by suppressed desires, as Freud would probably put it. So, of course, the story that they unfold to us is displayed with vivid images.
"But your difficulties will begin when you come to the representation of abstract words and all those parts of speech which indicate relations between words- such as particles, conjunctions and so on." This means that one will not be able to translate the least tangible objects into visual imagery without having to put up with some struggling. And even with there stands certain impossibility. Writers face the reverse to this problem. They often find it a challenge to have their thoughts understood while trying to come up with the words that might best do the job. It's all about details really. The deeper dreams get, the more detailed they become. In the same way, the further we get to writing a tale, the more we feel we need to enhance it with vivid descriptions which, more often then not, forces us to face a sort of obstacle trying to determine how to achieve this.
When it compared to literature, Sigmund Freud's analysis on dreams, specifically his theories on "transforming thoughts into visual images", is very much appropriately relevant. When writing a story, we usually tend to picture it in our heads as it unfolds. We then process these mental images into writing in order to transmit the thoughts to others. Dreams are technically subconscious thoughts, those driven by suppressed desires, as Freud would probably put it. So, of course, the story that they unfold to us is displayed with vivid images.
"But your difficulties will begin when you come to the representation of abstract words and all those parts of speech which indicate relations between words- such as particles, conjunctions and so on." This means that one will not be able to translate the least tangible objects into visual imagery without having to put up with some struggling. And even with there stands certain impossibility. Writers face the reverse to this problem. They often find it a challenge to have their thoughts understood while trying to come up with the words that might best do the job. It's all about details really. The deeper dreams get, the more detailed they become. In the same way, the further we get to writing a tale, the more we feel we need to enhance it with vivid descriptions which, more often then not, forces us to face a sort of obstacle trying to determine how to achieve this.
Monday, November 26, 2007
11/26
For Wednesday, read the Jacques Lacan excerpt 'The Mirror Stage...' an unbelievably influential concept and text in critical theory. Think, as with the Freud (with whom we aren't finished, as you probably can guess), how it might fit into the study of literature.
But for Wednesday, let's try something else for a response--simply transcribe a dream that you've had. We'll let someone else play Freud for you over the weekend.
But for Wednesday, let's try something else for a response--simply transcribe a dream that you've had. We'll let someone else play Freud for you over the weekend.
Freud and literature
When trying to figure out the revelance to Freud and Literature, I first thought about his whole theory about dreams and the idea of dream-works, and interpretating what is not relality and wanting it to be real. Now when trying to relate this idea to Literature I looked at how fiction can be seen as somewhat as a dream, in that it is a made up idea or story from many ideas. We know fictions is not true an not reality, same thing dreams. But when putting the two together they both send messages about ourselves personally. When an author writes fictionI believe in his mind he is writing about a dream or fantasy he might have, or a nightmare. Now relating this to Shakespere, he has written many fiction plays containing nightmares, and personal fantasy's becoming true, individuals doing anything by all means to fulfull their enjoyment which happens in dreams. Using literature he turns his plays into amazing stories containing dream like attributes that we can all relate too. When taking a look at the story of Oedipus you recongnize right away that this was a fantasy gone wrong, and this literature can be seen as a dream that one may have if one son feels for his mother the way he did. And using literature the dream is expressed. Literature allows you to play with words however you would like, and create anything thing out of it, and an author can use it to express a dream or fantasy he might have using fiction and a character that might not be him but have characteristics of the author. An author is able to live it without really living it, like a dream.
Freud and Literature
Freud's theories on dreams and their meanings definitely correlate to our study of literature.
"We laid down four main relations of the kind: the relation of a part to the whole, approximation
or allusion, the symbolic relation and the plastic representation of words." When I read this quote of Freud's, it is very clear to me that this can not only deal with the interpretation of dreams, but also literature, and how we write it, read it and understand it as well. A writer, uses words to symbolize things and meanings, and writer's also try to create allusions in their story.
This idea is especially true when reading Shakespeare because most all of his plays, are filled with allusions and dreams themselves, where the character's spend most of their tormented time trying to figure out exaclty what they mean. Shakespeare is also a genius when it comes to "play" on words and their symbolic meanings. One can clearly see the correlation here between Freud and literature because of this example.
"We laid down four main relations of the kind: the relation of a part to the whole, approximation
or allusion, the symbolic relation and the plastic representation of words." When I read this quote of Freud's, it is very clear to me that this can not only deal with the interpretation of dreams, but also literature, and how we write it, read it and understand it as well. A writer, uses words to symbolize things and meanings, and writer's also try to create allusions in their story.
This idea is especially true when reading Shakespeare because most all of his plays, are filled with allusions and dreams themselves, where the character's spend most of their tormented time trying to figure out exaclty what they mean. Shakespeare is also a genius when it comes to "play" on words and their symbolic meanings. One can clearly see the correlation here between Freud and literature because of this example.
Imitation
There are many ideas that can be derive to what a dream is, but the result is that the dream is a mental picture waiting to be turned real. Although, many times is made into a fictional memory, where the mind plays a kind of 'invention' to what a dream is seen, and what will really happen. All will be left with is a illusion to what a dream is in real life. In the end, a dream is like a scene in a fiction movie hoped to be turned into a scene in ones life.
I think the quote that best represents the whole theme of this reading is,"The 'creative' imamgination, indeed, is quite incapable of inventing anything; it can only combine components that are strange to one another." Therefore, this means that the sense of creativity plays a major role in what to see in a work of literature, or in a dream. In a work of literature the best example can be fiction stories, that are based on made believed stories of mythological creatures, or worlds. In the other hand there are dreams that can be seen as moments in life that are made up to what one wishes or really wants to what can really happen and is going on. In this writing 'The Dream Work' by Sigmund Freud, talk about all the different ways a dream can be interpreted from the illusions to what really happens. Although, the main problem is 'Imitation', which plays and will continue to be a problem in trying to develope new ideas. The problem is that stories that where popular in the past, written by great minds, start to be developed into new versions of the same or simular story but with different time settings. As a result, history is repeating itself by learning things that where already taught in the past, and will not give way to new ideas and new minds to write new stories. If by any means new stories come to be seen, they must be interpreted wth a great amout of intelligence, that in a way attracts people's interests. In the end, in order to for each dream to be turned from the creative-illusion, to the real life, the mind needs to focuse on real memories that are alive in present times, in order to have a dream be a memory of what might happen or what did happen in real life. The dream should be like an experience that has happen recently or will happen, to the extent that one is aware of what is true in real life and what is just an illusion.
I think the quote that best represents the whole theme of this reading is,"The 'creative' imamgination, indeed, is quite incapable of inventing anything; it can only combine components that are strange to one another." Therefore, this means that the sense of creativity plays a major role in what to see in a work of literature, or in a dream. In a work of literature the best example can be fiction stories, that are based on made believed stories of mythological creatures, or worlds. In the other hand there are dreams that can be seen as moments in life that are made up to what one wishes or really wants to what can really happen and is going on. In this writing 'The Dream Work' by Sigmund Freud, talk about all the different ways a dream can be interpreted from the illusions to what really happens. Although, the main problem is 'Imitation', which plays and will continue to be a problem in trying to develope new ideas. The problem is that stories that where popular in the past, written by great minds, start to be developed into new versions of the same or simular story but with different time settings. As a result, history is repeating itself by learning things that where already taught in the past, and will not give way to new ideas and new minds to write new stories. If by any means new stories come to be seen, they must be interpreted wth a great amout of intelligence, that in a way attracts people's interests. In the end, in order to for each dream to be turned from the creative-illusion, to the real life, the mind needs to focuse on real memories that are alive in present times, in order to have a dream be a memory of what might happen or what did happen in real life. The dream should be like an experience that has happen recently or will happen, to the extent that one is aware of what is true in real life and what is just an illusion.
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Freud
I think the parallel that is trying to be drawn here is that literature and dream-work as Freud puts it are two things that are a lot alike. He writes “It is possible, naturally, to make a composite structure out of things and places in the same way as out of people, provided that the various things or places have in common something which is emphasized by the latent dream.” Here I think it refers to what writers use as symbols. Freud here basically tells you how to make a character in a story. You take a bunch of things you want the character to be and put them together. This character then takes on those qualities. Then you get to the next level where the character is then equal to those attributes. For instance you could say Superman stands for justice, courage, and strength which he then becomes. He also writes that “You will only be able to form an idea of the further significance of these discoveries when you learn that the mechanisms of dream construction are the model of the manner in which neurotic symptoms arise.” I think that if you parallel dream sequencing with literature you get insight into what makes people tick. Now being that stories were around way before psychoanalysis this is saying that stories give insight into the human condition (which Freud goes into trying to explain it with the unconsciousness) and tell us about how people as a collective function (for lack of a better word).
Freud argues that the foundation of all dream content is the fullfillment of wishes, whether one is conscious or not. The unsconscious wants to show the wish fulfilled but the preconscious won't allow it which then only an understanding of the dream-work can explpain the dream.
The first few lines caught my attention after reading them a few times. "When you have thoroughly grasped the dreamcensorship and representation by symbols, you will not yet, it is true, have completely mastered the distortion in dreams, but you will nevertheless be in a position to understand most dreams". When one is reading literature, they may interpret it according to what they know. The "symbols" in the story may make sense and provide a storyline but the reader may not have grasped the entire concept of the story that the author was trying to make. In other words, the reader will interpret what they are reading according to what they know and believe and the author could be aiming for a totally different concept.
The first few lines caught my attention after reading them a few times. "When you have thoroughly grasped the dreamcensorship and representation by symbols, you will not yet, it is true, have completely mastered the distortion in dreams, but you will nevertheless be in a position to understand most dreams". When one is reading literature, they may interpret it according to what they know. The "symbols" in the story may make sense and provide a storyline but the reader may not have grasped the entire concept of the story that the author was trying to make. In other words, the reader will interpret what they are reading according to what they know and believe and the author could be aiming for a totally different concept.
Some thoughts
The first paragraph of the passage made me think a lot especially the line that goes “In doing so you will make use of both of the two complementary techniques: calling up ideas that occur to the dreamer till you have penetrated from the substitute to the genuine thing and on the ground of your own knowledge, replacing the symbols by what they mean.” For some reason I thought about dreams being fiction writing and non fiction writing to being awake or whatever because of “dream-distortion.” Freud basically says that we have to decipher and understand our dreams. That is a lot like fiction because in fiction there is a lot of things that we have to interpret and figure out what something means. There is also the part where he says that dreams are fulfillments of wishes that haven’t been experienced. It made me think that maybe the only way that people can tell other people things is through fiction because it has to be interpreted and understood. You can’t just tell people facts like in a nonfiction book because they wouldn’t really connect with it because it is just raw information that is thrown at them. You need to get through to them by writing fiction so that readers can see things for themselves. Freud then goes and breaks down the whole idea of dreams. But that is just the gist of things on how I thought it related to literature. Most of what Freud was saying is just things related to our dreams and how they are constructed.
Freud..
After reading excerpts from Freud’s ‘The Dream Work’ of 1916, I couldn’t help to think about the relationship between the writer and its reader. The writer/artist produces a work, and the readers/audience makes sense of it. The question is: where do we fit in Freud? Does Freud allow or help us (the audience) make sense of the message put forward by the author/artist? Through interpretation, can we truly seek to translate the symbols put forward in front of out eyes, where in the end all we see is the truth about the author/artist?
In any case Freud has a lot to do with literature and literary theory. For the most part, whenever anyone thinks of the word psychology, they begin to ponder about Freud. A great example that demonstrates the significance of Freud (psychology) in literary theory is our own very class and assignments. The professor asks us to do a Marxist reading of a short story, or a novel. ‘Read A, and B like a Feminist would’. It is a great task, and it encourages an individual to really get into the psyche of that person. How are we supposed to do that? What is really left of that person(s) (Marx, Cixous…)? Oh yeah, it makes great sense now. We should study the work they left behind. The solution to the assignment would entail a heavy reading of all the works produced by some famous author/artist, and only then can we truly read another work from a different perspective. – (one can write a dissertation about this…).
In any case Freud has a lot to do with literature and literary theory. For the most part, whenever anyone thinks of the word psychology, they begin to ponder about Freud. A great example that demonstrates the significance of Freud (psychology) in literary theory is our own very class and assignments. The professor asks us to do a Marxist reading of a short story, or a novel. ‘Read A, and B like a Feminist would’. It is a great task, and it encourages an individual to really get into the psyche of that person. How are we supposed to do that? What is really left of that person(s) (Marx, Cixous…)? Oh yeah, it makes great sense now. We should study the work they left behind. The solution to the assignment would entail a heavy reading of all the works produced by some famous author/artist, and only then can we truly read another work from a different perspective. – (one can write a dissertation about this…).
Freud and literature
From the reading, I've learned that the latent dream reflects our wish and desire, and they're projected onto manifest dream. Therefore, trying to make a connect manifest dream to latent dream would be interpreting the dream. Freud notes that most of the time, what's manifested in dreams may not seem related to the latent dream thoughts at all:
"just so does the dream-work succeed in expressing some of the contect of the latent dream-thoughts by peculiarities in the form of the manifest dream - by its clarity or obscurity, by its division into several pieces, and so on" (I think he calls this "dream distortion")
Also, Freud defines the work of interpretation as follows:
"The work which proceeds in the contrary direction, which endeavours to arrive at the latent dream from the manifest one"
To me, this really sounds like what we did in class when we were reading Waiting, (or when we read novels in general) like why did magistrate do this and do that? Trying to find out the motive of a character's actions, I find it very similar to dream interpretation. It is so in the sense that sometimes the motive is very clear, and sometimes it's not, so we need to investigate.
"just so does the dream-work succeed in expressing some of the contect of the latent dream-thoughts by peculiarities in the form of the manifest dream - by its clarity or obscurity, by its division into several pieces, and so on" (I think he calls this "dream distortion")
Also, Freud defines the work of interpretation as follows:
"The work which proceeds in the contrary direction, which endeavours to arrive at the latent dream from the manifest one"
To me, this really sounds like what we did in class when we were reading Waiting, (or when we read novels in general) like why did magistrate do this and do that? Trying to find out the motive of a character's actions, I find it very similar to dream interpretation. It is so in the sense that sometimes the motive is very clear, and sometimes it's not, so we need to investigate.
Freudian Concepts? In My Literature?
There is one excerpt from the Sigmund Freud reading that provided some food for thought: "The achievements of condensation can be quite extraordinary. It is sometimes possible by its help to combine two different latent trains of thought into one manifest dream, so that one can arrive at what appears to be a sufficient interpretation of a dream and yet doing so can fail to notice a possible 'over-interpretation'." With this in mind, I think of several works of literature that fall in perfectly with this notion that Freud presents in this passage; the notion that literary characters can create two different images of themselves and portray them accordingly throughout the story, creating the ultimate reality of that one character within the story.
I feel that this idea of "two trains of thought arriving at one manifest dream" is prevalent not only to the relationship between fictional characters within a story, but to the relationship between the reader and the writer that is developed through the power of imagery. The writer develops an image of their very own, based upon their own reality even if that particular story to be is a complete fantasy piece. The writer then takes these images and transcribes them to the written word, which is then read by another party and said party develops their own image of the vision that the writer initially had. This image could be completely different amongst the writer and the reader.
This seems like the idea that Freud tried to express in his work. Two ideas, no matter how similar or different they could be, could combine to create a reality.
I feel that this idea of "two trains of thought arriving at one manifest dream" is prevalent not only to the relationship between fictional characters within a story, but to the relationship between the reader and the writer that is developed through the power of imagery. The writer develops an image of their very own, based upon their own reality even if that particular story to be is a complete fantasy piece. The writer then takes these images and transcribes them to the written word, which is then read by another party and said party develops their own image of the vision that the writer initially had. This image could be completely different amongst the writer and the reader.
This seems like the idea that Freud tried to express in his work. Two ideas, no matter how similar or different they could be, could combine to create a reality.
Freud
“The material offered to the dream-work consists of thoughts- a few of which may be objectionable and unacceptable, but which are correctly constructed and expressed. The dream-work puts these thoughts into another form, and it is a strange and incomprehensible fact that in making this translation (this rendering, as it were, into another script or language) these methods of merging or combining are brought into use. After all, a translation normally endeavors to preserve the distinctions made in the text and particularly to keep things that are similar separate. The dream-work, quite the contrary, tries to condense two different thoughts by seeking out (like a joke) an ambiguous word in which the two thoughts may come together” (pg 26).
Freud, in general, was more interested in the sub-conscious and unconscious state of mind. He attempted to search for the true meaning that lies behind an individual’s deepest thoughts and beliefs. Dreams occur in our unconscious state of mind, hence there must be a deeper interpretation to them. An individual can interpret a dream in numerous ways and yet all of them can be “correctly constructed and expressed”. An individual is granted the right to interpret a dream according to their wishes and beliefs. They can also relate their dreams to other unrelated aspects.
In reading literature, although in a conscious state of mind, we are granted the same rights. We, as readers, can interpret most literary works according to our beliefs and ideologies. We are also granted the privilege to combine and condense “two different thoughts”. This task has been accomplished through out the course of our class. For example, we have related Marx’s readings and “Sara Cole” to feminist writers. At first glance, these literary works did not illustrate similarity but once dwelled into they demonstrated common thoughts and ideas. Additionally, we used ambiguous terms, such as feminism and Marxism, to draw correlations between them.
Freud, in general, was more interested in the sub-conscious and unconscious state of mind. He attempted to search for the true meaning that lies behind an individual’s deepest thoughts and beliefs. Dreams occur in our unconscious state of mind, hence there must be a deeper interpretation to them. An individual can interpret a dream in numerous ways and yet all of them can be “correctly constructed and expressed”. An individual is granted the right to interpret a dream according to their wishes and beliefs. They can also relate their dreams to other unrelated aspects.
In reading literature, although in a conscious state of mind, we are granted the same rights. We, as readers, can interpret most literary works according to our beliefs and ideologies. We are also granted the privilege to combine and condense “two different thoughts”. This task has been accomplished through out the course of our class. For example, we have related Marx’s readings and “Sara Cole” to feminist writers. At first glance, these literary works did not illustrate similarity but once dwelled into they demonstrated common thoughts and ideas. Additionally, we used ambiguous terms, such as feminism and Marxism, to draw correlations between them.
Watch your language
I too, found Freud's statement about the mind being unable to create anything on its own very compelling. He states "The 'creative' imagination, indeed, is quite incapable of inventing anything; it can only combine components that are strange to one another. But the remarkable thing about the procedure of the dream-work lies in what follows. The material offered to the dream-work consists of thoughts-a few of which may be objectionable and unacceptable, but which are correctly constructed and expressed. The dream-work puts these thoughts into another form, and it is a strange and incomprehensible fact that in making this translation (this rendering, as it were, into another script or language) these methods of merging or combining are brought into use." Freud believes that the use of language, the choice of words used is a reflection of the writer in that it is also an "account of representation", and about what isn't written down, but is being read. I think the saying is "reading between the lines". Theorist Edward Said had also discussed language and its effectual use. He points out the inability of language to accurately represent reality. “In any instance of at least written language, there is no such thing as a delivered presence, but a represence, or a representation.” (Orientalism 21), (http://www.theatlantic.com/unbound/interviews/ba990922.htm Freud also believed that the development of language played an important role in the inference, "intonation", physicality of the spoken word, and with writing, an accompaniment such as a picture to get the story across to someone.
On Freud
In our class discussions we spoke often about contributing to genres. One part of the Freud reading struck me as particularly useful when considering genre theory. Freud writes: “The ‘creative’ imagination, indeed, is quite incapable of inventing anything; it can only combine components that are strange to one another.”
It is useful to consider this phrase in terms of the creation, or as Freud would claim “combination”, of fiction. It seems to me that in terms of fiction Freud might contend that the entirety of fiction has already been written and it is the practice of “new” writers to do nothing more than combine or manipulate elements of past works and massage them into a contemporary format, thus creating a “new” but entirely un-original prose.
The question that this leads me to is the same paradox, the same which came first; the chicken or the egg, question that we’ve followed since the beginning discussions on genre theory. If one was to claim that every new thing is just a sum of previous parts, a conglomerate of some ancient original then, by design, they are admitting to the establishment of some “original” thing at some point. Before we can contribute to the genre it must be established and defined. In order for an original to be imitated it must first be created or introduced. If Freud is accurate in his claim that imagination cannot invent anything then how was the “original” form conceived of in the first place? Then my curiosity forces me to wonder if we understand the original creative process is it possible to ever get back there and create something truly new. Or by investigating the original and attempting to redo it, are we merely falling prey to imitation once again?
-Okay, I’ve given myself a headache, I’ll see you in class.
It is useful to consider this phrase in terms of the creation, or as Freud would claim “combination”, of fiction. It seems to me that in terms of fiction Freud might contend that the entirety of fiction has already been written and it is the practice of “new” writers to do nothing more than combine or manipulate elements of past works and massage them into a contemporary format, thus creating a “new” but entirely un-original prose.
The question that this leads me to is the same paradox, the same which came first; the chicken or the egg, question that we’ve followed since the beginning discussions on genre theory. If one was to claim that every new thing is just a sum of previous parts, a conglomerate of some ancient original then, by design, they are admitting to the establishment of some “original” thing at some point. Before we can contribute to the genre it must be established and defined. In order for an original to be imitated it must first be created or introduced. If Freud is accurate in his claim that imagination cannot invent anything then how was the “original” form conceived of in the first place? Then my curiosity forces me to wonder if we understand the original creative process is it possible to ever get back there and create something truly new. Or by investigating the original and attempting to redo it, are we merely falling prey to imitation once again?
-Okay, I’ve given myself a headache, I’ll see you in class.
11.26
Freud's all about reading into the meaning behind dreams and stuff like that (or at least that's what I've gleaned from the reading, I know close to nothing about Freud otherwise), so would learning his techniques not be useful in picking out the hidden meanings and subtle nuances within the very works we've already read? Be showing us what to look for and what those things mean, Freudian (<-is that a word? yeah, right?) techniques would be extremely useful in the study of not just literature, but literary theory. Now that we've learned WHAT these theorists are looking for, Freud can help us figure out WHY that is, and WHAT it means. Or, at least, that's the theory.
Besides, even if we were to completely ignore the work we've done so far (unlikely), Freud would be very useful in analyzing the authors of the next few pieces we work on. It is because fiction is so like a dream, both within our control and just barely beyond it. What somebody writes (as opposed to what may have been said in previous classes) DOES have some basis in how they think, or what they believe, or what they've been through. Cut back to the beginning of the term, with the car chases. If we read a story with a very realistic and believable car chase Freud, or rather, somebody with Freudian ideas, would conclude that the author has had some experience with car chases. I know that this methodology is flawed, at best. Just look at A Million Little Pieces, the author didn't go through that, but god damn it if it's not believable.
I thought this passage, about the difference between latent and manifest dreams, was relevant to my interests:
Besides, even if we were to completely ignore the work we've done so far (unlikely), Freud would be very useful in analyzing the authors of the next few pieces we work on. It is because fiction is so like a dream, both within our control and just barely beyond it. What somebody writes (as opposed to what may have been said in previous classes) DOES have some basis in how they think, or what they believe, or what they've been through. Cut back to the beginning of the term, with the car chases. If we read a story with a very realistic and believable car chase Freud, or rather, somebody with Freudian ideas, would conclude that the author has had some experience with car chases. I know that this methodology is flawed, at best. Just look at A Million Little Pieces, the author didn't go through that, but god damn it if it's not believable.
I thought this passage, about the difference between latent and manifest dreams, was relevant to my interests:
"Among the most surprising findings is the way in which the dream-work treats contraries that occur in the latent dream. We know already [...] that conformities in the latent material are replaced by condensations in the manifest dream. Well, contraries are treated in the same way as conformities, and there is a special preference for expressing them by the same manifest element. Thus an element in the manifest dream which is capable of having a contrary may equally well be expressing either itself or its contrary or both together: only the sense can decide which translation is to be chosen."
Feminism, Colonialism, now this? Oh My!
After everything we have learned up to this point I am left to wonder why were were given this specific reading. However after what we did this past Tuesday with the Shakesphere the reading makes some sense. Sigmund Freud's "Dream Work" exerpt was difficult to pick though but after looking it over over the break I decided to do the following paragraph:
When asked what this specific paragraph may have to do with the idea of literature and Freud I had to really sit down with this. First I decided to examine the word condensation. Condensation is defined as, when something ie: a thought or something physical is made smaller or summed up. The other definition of condensation I recall based on my on my outside knowledge is what occur es when a room is too hot and the inside walls sweat. However keeping in mind the idea of condensation according to Freud he defines this as "a manifest dream that has smaller content than the latent one" Latent dreams already exist but have not yet been realized.Tying Frueds thinking in with what we did on Tuesday, could this be saying that the fathers visit to Hamlet or Hamlet's mother committing suicide was forshadowed, based on what we learned so far? I think Freud's Ideas concerning literature and the general idea of Dream-works is correct to some extent but not completely. I usually wouldn't agree with his thories but this one actually holds up in the discussion. He also mentions that condensed dreams cannot be changed into the reverse I disagree with this. Not to be entirely off topic here, but generally speaking about dreams, what's to say that just because you have a small idea or dream it cant become something bigger. Yes it is true that bigger dremas can become small over time because of distraction or loss of interest but this doesnt make them any less important. Going back to the idea of condensation, in terms of literature this idea can be compared to the novel and the short story. One is obviously longer than the other so you are going to have more time to say more and develoup more, whereas short stories force you to flush out your ideas and characters early. Freud's Idea of dream-work leads back to this. Condensation and expanding of dreams even if it is done on purpose or unconsciously still means that the person involved has to on some level acknolege what they want or desire eventually.
The first achivement of the dream-work is condensation By that way we understand the fact that the manifest dream has a smaller content than the latent one, and is thus an abbreviated translation of it. Condensation can be on occasion be absent; as a rule it is present, and very often is enormous. It is never changed into the reverse; that is to say, we never find that the manifest dream is greater in extent or content than the latent one. Condensation is brought about (1) by the total omission of certain latent elements (2)by only a fragment of some complexes in the latent dream passing over into the manifest one and(3) By latent elements which have something in common being combined and fused into a single unity in the manifest dream
When asked what this specific paragraph may have to do with the idea of literature and Freud I had to really sit down with this. First I decided to examine the word condensation. Condensation is defined as, when something ie: a thought or something physical is made smaller or summed up. The other definition of condensation I recall based on my on my outside knowledge is what occur es when a room is too hot and the inside walls sweat. However keeping in mind the idea of condensation according to Freud he defines this as "a manifest dream that has smaller content than the latent one" Latent dreams already exist but have not yet been realized.Tying Frueds thinking in with what we did on Tuesday, could this be saying that the fathers visit to Hamlet or Hamlet's mother committing suicide was forshadowed, based on what we learned so far? I think Freud's Ideas concerning literature and the general idea of Dream-works is correct to some extent but not completely. I usually wouldn't agree with his thories but this one actually holds up in the discussion. He also mentions that condensed dreams cannot be changed into the reverse I disagree with this. Not to be entirely off topic here, but generally speaking about dreams, what's to say that just because you have a small idea or dream it cant become something bigger. Yes it is true that bigger dremas can become small over time because of distraction or loss of interest but this doesnt make them any less important. Going back to the idea of condensation, in terms of literature this idea can be compared to the novel and the short story. One is obviously longer than the other so you are going to have more time to say more and develoup more, whereas short stories force you to flush out your ideas and characters early. Freud's Idea of dream-work leads back to this. Condensation and expanding of dreams even if it is done on purpose or unconsciously still means that the person involved has to on some level acknolege what they want or desire eventually.
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