We have finally begun studying our first book in English class and so far it has been interesting. We have had strong discussions in class about Winesburg, Ohio, by Sherwood Anderson. Much of our discussion has been about psychoanalysis of the character in the stories. This is very easy to do because Sherwood Anderson is one of the first writers to consciously use Freudian psychology as symbolism in literature. You could have a theory that Hamlet had issues with his oedipal complex, but Sherwood Anderson 100 percent intended to put the oedipal complex in with any characters that reference their parents. You must read the stories with notes on defense mechanisms and psychoanalysis by your side to understand the way these characters are acting.
For example, I was confused why Wing Biddlebaum would always pound his hands against walls and tree stumps while talking to George. I thought it would make sense that Wing would be comfortable enough to rest his hands while talking to the one person in town that he feels remotely comfortable with. When looking at the pounding of his hands as the defense mechanism displacement, you see that he pounds his hands because he cares about George. Though he will not hurt George by touching him, Wing thinks that his hands touching him is wrong, so he displaces the want and anger about touching by pounding his hands against anything in sight.
I think it's very interesting to look for the Freudian ideas in Winesburg, Ohio, but I am also intrigued by how they are incorporated in works that were published way before Freudian theory. As you said, you can find the Oedipal complex in Hamlet, which was written 300 years before Freud introduced the Odeipal complex. I think it is cool that these ideas are so inscripted into us that we subconsciously write about them.
ReplyDeleteIt's pretty neat to think that every minute action can be explained using Freudian psychology. What's more neat is that these ideas were not only new, but also controversial at the time that Sherwood Anderson wrote Winesburg, Ohio. Despite this controversy, he went ahead and spun these newfangled ideas into a Modernist masterpiece.
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