APPENDICES
I. Biography and Works Of Stephen Chbosky
Stephen Chbosky is an American novelist, screenwriter, and director who was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on January 25, 1970. Chbosky is the son of
Lea (née Meyer), a tax preparer, and Fred G. Chbosky, a steel company executive and consultant to CFOs. Chbosky has a sister, Stacy, who is married to director
J.D. Salinger's novel High School he met Stewart Stern, the screenwriter of Rebel Without a Cause, and
the two became close friends. After writing Chbosky revealed that the character Bill, a literature teacher, was based on Stern and
reflected the positive influence of Stern on his own development.
In 1992, Chbosky graduated from the screenwriting program. He wrote, directed, and acted in the 1995 independent film
the
screenplays, including ones titled Audrey Hepburn's Neck and Schoolhouse Rock. Following this initial success, Chbosky spent the 1990s writing screenplays that went
unpublished. In 1994, Chbosky was working on a "very different type of book" than
stopped. And realized that somewhere in that [sentence] was the kid I was really trying to find." After several years of gestation, Chbosky began researching and
writing The Perks of Being a Wallflower, a intellectual and emotional maturation of a teenager who uses the alias Charlie over the course of his first year of high school. The book is semi-autobiographical;
Chbosky has said that he "relate[s] to Charlie[...] But my life in high school was in many ways different."
In a 2001 interview with Ann Beisch of LA Youth, Chbosky described the initial stages of the project: "I was writing a very different type of book than Perks, but then I wrote the line, 'I guess that's just one of the perks of being a wallflower.'
And I stopped. I realized that somewhere in that sentence was the boy I was really trying to find." After five years of research and composition, Chbosky published the
novel in 1999; the book became a bestseller. Chbosky went on to tell Beisch that he wrote the book "for very personal reasons," and was happy that people had been able to relate to it in such a positive way.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower was Chbosky's first novel, as well as his
most successful, but Chbosky's talents extend beyond his role as a novelist. The book
was publishe teenage readers; by 2000, the novel was MTV Books' best-selling title, a
from adolescent to adolescent like a hot potato". As of May 2013, the number of copies in print reached over two million. Wallflower also stirred up controversy due
Association's 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009 lists of the 10 most frequently challenged books. As of July 2013, The Perks of Being a Wallflower has spent over a
year on the New York Times Bestseller list, and is published in 31 languages.
In 2000, Chbosky edited Pieces, an anthology of short stories. The same year, he worked with directo
novel Chbosky wrote the screenplay for the
writing a film adaptation of The Perks of Being a Wallflower. Chbosky wrote the screenplay and directed the film
novel. Production took place in mid-2011, and the film was released in fall 2012. It starr
the Best Adapted Screenplay category for the film won the 2013 Independent Spirit Awards for Best First Feature, as well as the 2013 People's Choice Award for Best Dramatic Movie.
In the mid-2000s, Chbosky decided, on the advice of his agent, to begin looking for work in television in addition to film. Finding he "enjoyed the people [he
met who were working] in television", Chbosky agreed to serve as co-creator, executive producer, and writer of the premiered in September 2006. The series revolves around the inhabitants of the
fictional small town of Chbosky has said the relationship between Jake Green, the main character, and his
campaign to revive the series convinced CBS to renew the series for a second season, which premiered on February 12, 2008, before being canceled once more in March
2008.
In 2005, Chbosky wrote the screenplay for the film version of the Broadway hit Rent, though this adaptation was met by mixed reviews from critics. In 2012,
Chbosky went back into the field of film, serving as the screenwriter and director of the movie version of The Perks of Being a Wallflower. In a 2012 interview after the
film was released, Chbosky revealed that he had always hoped his novel would become a film, and that he was thrilled to be so heavily involved in the production. This time, his film efforts were met with great praise: the 2012 film earned $33
million worldwide as well as numerous awards.
In addition to film and literature, Chbosky has worked in television; he wrote
for the TV drama Jericho, which premiered in September of 2006 but was cancelled in 2008. The series follows the aftermath of a nuclear attack in a small Kansas town; at present, there are rumors that Netflix is interested in resurrecting the CBS series.
Currently, Chbosky lives in Los Angeles, California, and continues to write, although little is known about the project he is working on at the moment. He is an active
supporter of gay rights and continues to be employed as a film consultant.
In 2014 it was announced that a live-action reboot of Disney's
Chbosky's screenplay is being directed by Bill Condon with a familiar cast, such as Emma Watson (as Belle) whom Stephen developed a close relationship with during
revision that is faithful to the original 1991 animated film all the original musical numbers included. In addition, Condon pitched an idea to the
studio about adding some of the songs from the has a current release date of March 17, 2017.
Chbosky currently resides in Los Angeles, California.
II. Summary Of The Novel THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER
The story begins with a quiet, sensitive, 15-year-old boy named Charlie writing letters about his life to an unknown recipient. Charlie chooses that person because he said that he heard he was nice and thought that this person would not be
judgmental. He discusses his first year at high school, grappling with two traumatic experiences from his past: the suicide of his only middle-school friend, Michael, a
year before, and the death of his favorite aunt, Helen, during his early childhood.
His English teacher, Mr. Anderson, notices Charlie's passion for reading and writing, and acts as a mentor by assigning him extracurricular books and reports.
Although he is a Patrick is secretly dating Brad,
stepsister. Charlie quickly develops a crush on Sam and subsequently admits his feelings to her. It is revealed that Sam was sexually abused as a child, and she kisses Charlie to ensure that his first kiss is from someone who truly loves him.
Mr. Anderson, who tells Charlie's parents about it. Charlie's relationship with his sister rapidly deteriorates and she continues to see her boyfriend against her parents'
wishes. Eventually, he discovers that his sister is pregnant and agrees to bring her to an abortion clinic without telling anyone. His sister breaks up with her boyfriend, after which her and Charlie's relationship begins to improve significantly.
Charlie is accepted by Sam and Patrick's group of friends and begins experimenting with tobacco, alcohol and other drugs. As Charlie engages with his
new friends he can control his flashbacks of Aunt Helen, who died in a car crash on her way to buy him a birthday gift. Eventually, Mary Elizabeth, a member of the group, invites Charlie to the school's
relationship. During a game of the room he kisses Sam; Mary Elizabeth storms out, the rest of the group shuns him
and Patrick suggests that Charlie stay away from Sam for a while. His flashbacks return.
Patrick and Brad's relationship is discovered by Brad's abusive father, and
Brad disappears from school for a few days. Upon returning, Brad is cold and incommunicative towards Patrick, while Patrick attempts to reconnect with him.
However, when Brad derogatorily attacks Patrick's sexuality in public, Patrick physically attacks Brad until other football players join in and gang up on Patrick. Charlie breaks up the fight, regaining the respect of Sam and her friends. Patrick
begins spending much of his time with Charlie and Patrick kisses Charlie impulsively and then apologizes, but Charlie understands that he is recovering from
As the school year ends, Charlie is anxious about losing his older friends— especially Sam, who is leaving for a summer college-preparatory program and has
learned that her boyfriend cheated on her. When Charlie helps her pack, they talk about his feelings for her; she is angry that he never acted on them. They begin to engage sexually, but Charlie suddenly grows inexplicably uncomfortable and stops
Sam. Charlie begins to realize that his sexual contact with Sam has stirred up repressed memories of having be
In an epilogue, Charlie is discovered by his parents in a does not show any movement despite being hit reluctantly by his father. After being admitted to a mental hospital, it emerges that Helen sexually abused him when he
was young, and his love for her (and empathy for her troubled youth) caused him to repress his traumatic memories. This psychological damage explains his flashbacks
a Sam and Patrick visit him. In the epilogue, Sam, Patrick and Charlie go through the tunnel again and Charlie stands up and exclaims that he felt infinite.
He comes to terms with his past: "Even if we don't have the power to choose where we come from, we can still choose where we go from there". Charlie decides
to "participate" in life, and his letter-writing ends.
REFERENCES
Agustiani, Hendrianti. 2006. Psikologi Perkembangan, Bandung: PT. Refika Aditama.
Arlow, Brenner. 1964. Psychoanalytic Concepts and the Structural Theory,
NY: International Universities Press.
Boundless. “Freudian Psychoanalytic Theory of Personality.” Boundless Psychology. Boundless. Retrieved from:
Chbosky, Stephen. 1999. The perks of being a wallflower. 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020. POCKET BOOKS, Simon and
Schuster Inc. Retrieved from:
https://www.google.com/search?q=the+perks+of+being+a+wallflower+p df&ie=utf8&oe=utf8#q=the+perks+of+being+a+wallflower+book+pdf+
download. (13 April 2015)
Feist, Jess and Gregory J. Feist. 2010. Teori Kepribadian, Edisi 7. Jakarta: Penerbit Salemba Humanika.
Fielman, S. Roberts. 1947. Social Psychology. London: Prentice Hall.
Haryanto. 2011. Perkembangan Psikologi Remaja. Retrieved from:
(16 Januari 2016)
Jahja, Yudrik. 2011. Psikologi Perkembangan, Jakarta: Fajar Interpratama
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Janko, Richard, trans. 1987. Poetics with Tractatus Coislinianus, Reconstruction of Poetics II and the Fragments of the On Poets. By
Kennedy, X. J, Literature. 1991. An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry and
Drama, Fifth Edition, Harper Collins.
Langley, Dr. Travis. Psychology in Literature. Accessed on February 17th,
2010. Retreived from:
Llyod J. Hubenka and Reloy Garcia. 1973. The Design of Drama: an Intorduction, New York: DAVID McKAY COMPANY, INC.
McGovern, Una, ed. 2004. Dictionary of Literary Characters. Edinburgh: Chambers.
Mischel, W., Shoda, Y., & Smith, R. E. 2004. Introduction to personality:
Toward an integration. New York: John Wiley&Sons.
Webster, Richard. December 2004. Freud, Charcot and hysteria: lost in the
labyrinth. Retrieved from:
Wellek, Rene and Austin Warren. 1956. Theory of Literature. Third Edition. New York: Harcourt, Brace, and World, inc.
CHAPTER III
METHOD OF RESEARCH
3.1. Research Design
The method of research that is used to collect the data is
descriptive-qualitative methdod. A method is required to set the procedures to control the writer in doing the reasearch. Descriptive-qualitative method is a method to reveal the facts,
circumstances, phenomena, variables and circumstances that occurred while running the research and presenting what it is. Interpret qualitative descriptive study and said that the data is concerned with the current situation, attitudes, and opinions that occur
in society, the relationship between the variables, the difference between fact, the effect of the condition, and others.
In qualitative research "problem" and "title" brought by researchers still tentative and holistic, so that qualitative researchers would not specify the problem was simply based on study variables, but the overall social situation under study that
includes place, actors, activity that interact in synergy.
All the information in this analysis is collected from internet, books, and any
other sources. The source data of this research is the novel The Perks of Being A Wallflower written by Stephen Chbosky. This novel was published in 1999 in New
York, USA. The data of this research is texts which refer to the Personality through
the leading character.
Subsequent to the whole data that the writer has been collected and analyzed
final step is the conclusion and suggestion gained from the study as the result. A Research Design is a picture of the planning and the implementation of this study in
order to back up the researcer in completing this analysis in accordance with the correct elements. So, the writer makes the chart to help the readers in understanding the research method, and here is the chart that has been arranged below.
3.2. Data Collection
The data that taken in this study is from several sources, and some steps
which are made in analyzing the problems of the research. To determine the personality of the leading character in the novel, first step is read the whole story of the novel, The Perks of Being A Wallfower to get the comprehension deeply. Then
RESEARCHER
SOURCE DATA: Novel The Perks Of Being A Wallflower by
Stephen Chbosky
DATA SELECTION: QUOTATIONS
INTERPRETATION
CONCLUSION Analysis
the writer chooses and find the problems in the novel to discussed in the analysis as the research. Then the writer also finds some informations about character and
connecting it to the context of the novel, which is the personality of the leading character. The last is, the writer makes interpretation based on the novel which already read before.
The writer takes two kinds of research which can be applied. The two types of data collection in doing this research are the primary data and the secondary data.
The primary data in this research is the novel that will be the source data in making this analysis. And the secondary data is the library research, and some other online research which are related to the object and help the writer to complete the analysis.
The whole data that have been collected is related to the topic of the analysis and the research that has been done by some experts from their respective fields. And
as the source data of this analysis came from novel The Perks Of Being A Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky that determine the personality of leading character towards his Id, Ego, and SuperEgo. This analysis is aimed to reveal as the psychology
comprehension about personality that every people got since childhood.
3.3. Data Analysis
The writer takes the psychoanalysis theory developed by Sigmund Freud to support the process in doing this analysis. By using the theory, the writer takes a
deep topic about the character personality which related to the Id, Ego, and SuperEgo of the leading character. It derives to the psychological development which has
thing, the writer interests to understanding about leading character’s Id, Ego, and SuperEgo which are portrayed in the novel. This theory, known as Freud's structural
CHAPTER IV
ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS
4.1. Charlie’s Id.
The Id of Charlie raises from his anger to a boy named Sean. Charlie is faced
with the new situation at the first year of high school. He uses his Id to satisfy the desire to strike hard Sean who intends to hit Charlie first. Then he gets an action
when he suddenly remembers the self-defense that his brother has taught him before, by showing how his brother told him “Go for the knees, throat, and eyes.” From that statement, the writer can take the point that when Charlie is faced by the bad
situation and if there is someone who wants to hurt him, Charlie can do self-defense by attacking someone’s knees first, then hitting the throat, and going to the eyes to
demolish his enemy. This shows that when he remembers about the self-defense, he suddenly really hurts Sean.
As the quoting below:
I keep quiet most of the time, and only one kid named Sean really seemed to notice me . . . Then, he got mad and started hitting me, and I just did the things my brother taught me to do. My brother is a very good fighter.
"Go for the knees, throat, and eyes." And I did. And I really hurt Sean. (Stephen Chbosky, 1999: 6-7)
The quotation above clearly explains that the action that has been taken by
situation speeds up his libido to seek the freedom to release his mind from all the bad situation. His Id makes him want to feel the pleasure that he does not want anyone
else hurts him for no apparent reason. The Id re-mastered Charlie into thinking that what he just did is something that has to be done by him without any remorse that appeared again in his mind unconsciously, this is merely for the sake of defending
himself from a bad intention of Sean to Charlie.
As follows:
But I guess Sean didn't know I could fight. The truth is I could have hurt him a lot worse. And maybe I should have.
(Stephen Chbosky, 1999: 7)
The anger of Charlie is culminating when he is forced by the complicated
situation to hit Sean really hard. This case pushes Charlie for rebelling and releasing himself from the impulse that is burdened on his mind. Charlie then gathers all his
courage to hit Sean who is willing to hit Charlie first. From the quoting above, it shows that the libido is controling Charlie’s personality. But for someone who is in a good psychology, Charlie could just decide to not hitting Sean because realitically
the fact is he can understand the consequence of his action.
The impacts can be really happening to Charlie because of this incident.
Viewed from the psychology side, it can be said that what has been done by Charlie is the act of brutal and harsh, even immoral to cause others can get hurt. As it has been explained by the author, that Charlie is described as a freshman in a high school
and situation, his psychology is in the period and situation of experiencing the peak of emotionality, a high-level of emotional development. It causes a sensitive nature,
reactive strong, negative emotions and temper (irritability, anger, sadness, and melancholy). That is why it can be said that Charlie has been using his Id in doing brutal and harsh. It also can be the impacts of Charlie afterwards, or even for the
people around him when he is faced with a similar situation. It can cause to Charlie himself for becoming very brutal to be rude and selfish, it is not only to Sean that is
already happened as shown in the quotes above, but also can produce the impact to other people around Charlie in the future. Such as his friends, or even his other family members. Some other things that could happen to Charlie if he is still not able
to control the Id well is to be angry and may cause Charlie becomes violent, raging, resentful, irritated, and annoyed. Then the impact of sadness that makes Charlie can
be sad, somber, gloomy, melancholy, and despair.
So basically, the incident that has been done by Charlie is something that can be considered as a problem that may against the law, intentionally and consciously.
Although Charlie has reason to hurt Sean, but Charlie seems like the person who has the attitude of an unstable and erratic emotions. Such behavior is called unlawful
because Charlie is fully using his Id which can cause physical casualties on others.
The libido has brought the Id of Charlie to the anger that can not be controlled by Charlie himself. But Charlie still uses his Id in the other incident that
shows his selfishess that will be described as follows.
Charlie faces all the new situations since he turns in the first-year of high
to be honest to his friends about his feeling towards Sam. He is asked by Patrick to kiss the prettiest girl in the room on the lips. It makes Charlie can not avoid his Id’s
desires to kiss Sam in front of Mary Elizabeth (his girlfriend) in the room.
It can be seen as follows:
That's when I chose to be honest. In retrospect, I probably could not have picked a worse time. The silence started after I stood up (since Mary Elizabeth was sitting right next to me). By the time I had knelt down in front of Sam and kissed her, the silence was unbearable.
(Stephen Chbosky, 1999: 140)
The libido brings his Id to kiss Sam in front of Mary Elizabeth which is
realitically immediately greeted by his Ego. The desire of Charlie when he gets the challange from Patrick is the action of being selfish because it raises an impact for
Mary Elizabeth as his girlfriend gets a heartbroken. The incident makes Charlie turn into a serious problem for himself. From the statement above, it can be said that Charlie does not care about the feelings of Mary Elizabeth which would be very
angry with him, this is because of something he does unconsciously, and is being unrealistic and illogical. He just wants to satisfy his fears if he has to lie to everyone,
so that eventually all become chaotic. At first, Charlie feels really bad because he can not handle his emotional love to Sam, that is why Charlie tries to be honest to people around him. Then, he recalls and feels that the decision he just made should not have
been picked by him, because it could be a worse time.
The incident makes Charlie realize that what he does unrealistically is the act
for Charlie himself. The desire of Charlie to kissing Sam is such a bad thing, which he can not understand why he does that. But, it seems like Charlie is unwilling to
understand what the effect of the thing he has done. Charlie has made himself to be in the worse situation for the future of his life since then. Because this does not just can hurt Mary Elizabeth’s feeling on him (which is his girlfriend), but this also can
aggravate his friendship with his other friends of group. It shows that his selfish attitude to kiss Sam shows his indifference feeling towards Mary Elizabeth, and also
the feeling of Sam towards her own boyfriend, Craig. It really damaged his relationship with others.
Psychologically, the incident also had the huge impacts on Charlie. Charlie
becomes more selfish afterwards, he has made poor judgements within making decisions. In fact of psychologically, selfishness is likely to choose a favorable action
for himself. From this side, it can be concluded that what Charlie is trying to do is to put himself in the middle of the goal and does not care about the suffering of others, including his love or who is considered a close friend. It is also due to the impulse of
Id that is directly greeted by his Ego, while the Ego is supposed to work as a arbiter to make the Id becomes unreasonable. Therefore the Id mastered Ego in full here,
and the instinct in the Id is embodied vividly. Charlie as a leading character in the novel is under pressure of the libido to use his Id, with the Id is finding a new way out under the limitation of the SuperEgo. The selfishness of Charlie through his Id
can easily be affected by the bad influences that ultimately greeted very strong by the reality principle (Ego). So that eventually the feeling and soul of Charlie still are in a
From all the situations, the writer can take the conclusion that the Id portrayed in Charlie’s personality in the novel, is raised by the desires to satisfy Charlie’s
feeling because of angers, and also a sense of selfishness all this time. This is because the Id is driven by the gratification of all desires, wants, and needs. If these needs are not satisfied
immediately, the result is a state anxiety or tension. Briefly, Id is the primitive area, chaotic, and unreachable by the conscious mind. Id is unwilling to be changed,
immoral, illogical, messy, and full of energy that come from basic impulses and devoted solely to satisfy the pleasure principle. The desire to the high aspirations eventually make the Id, the Ego, and the SuperEgo intertwined with each other in the
conflict and contradiction.
4.2. Charlie’s Ego.
The Ego of Charlie shows up when he is faced with the bad situation by
hurting Sean in his first year of high school. The libido drives the Ego when Charlie suddenly realizes that what he does is something that he really needs to do. The Ego
of Charlie has brought him into a reality feeling after he hit Sean in front of the crowds in his school. The libido brings Charlie into an anxiety feeling at that time, and the Ego directly receives the impulse which before has been brought by the Id
without any thinking the impacts that can happened for Charlie himself or even for anybody.
I just don't understand why Sean wanted to hurt me. I didn't do anything to him. I am very small. That's true.
(Stephen Chbosky, 1999: 7)
The incident actually happens for any reasons. This is because Charlie as a freshman has been queit most of the time, where that attitude has extracted Sean’s attention to Charlie. The bad intention of Sean is the reason why Charlie decides to
start hurting Sean first before the boy does that. This can be said that here, the libido has controlled the Id and the Ego of Charlie. Eventhough the libido has controlled
Charlie’s SuperEgo to feel sorry by crying after he hit Sean, but the fact and the reality principle of the Ego comes along to make Charlie feels that Sean deserves to get hurt because Charlie is being pretty emosional and angry.
It shows as follows:
Some kids look at me strange in the hallways because I don't decorate my locker, and I'm the one who beat up Sean and couldn't stop crying after he did it. I guess I'm pretty emotional.
(Stephen Chbosky, 1999: 7)
The Ego of Charlie accesses himself according to the SuperEgo, trying to think morally by using the SuperEgo to be satisfied. From the quoting above, it
shows that the SuperEgo of Charlie comes to bring Charlie’s mind into the moral feeling, he realizes that this is not the real him, but the situation makes him must do it, he really needs to hit Sean for the sake of defending himself from Sean who
Because of the incident, Charlie causes Sean gets hurt. The impacts for Charlie himself is he could just be suspended from his school.
The Ego here is being so realistic of the incident, eventhough he feels sorry by crying a lot, but he eventually feels that it must be done. The self-defense actually makes Charlie’s Ego does this. The incident makes Charlie who is using the Ego is
under the ethical standards of his SuperEgo, makes this kind of nature be destroyed completely under the conscious state of SuperEgo that is full of sorry and ideal, and
also makes the Id, Ego and SuperEgo intertwine with each other again in conflict and contradiction. Charlie’s resistance can only be a manifestation of the Ego, and repression puts into practice at the beginning. It makes the Ego be reflected from the
Id, and SuperEgo is involved in Ego, this is because they still want to keep being suppressed. These three factors interact with each other to make Charlie depressed,
and becomes a person who seem radical and rude because of his anger.
Related to the Ego which indicates a neutral side and seeing facts to demonstrate the facts in every action and decision made by Charlie as reflected in the
novel, this is something that Charlie must do to balancing between pleasure in the negativity side of Id and pleasure in positive side of the SuperEgo. Then the Ego of
Charlie still looks so clear in the next incident that shows his selfishness.
Charlie is faced by the reality and the fact that he is in love with Sam, nobody and nothing can change his feeling towards Sam. When he decides to kiss Sam in
front of Mary Elizabeth on a truth or dare game that Patrick has set. Charlie consciously decides to choose dare, that is when Patrick asks Charlie to kiss the
situation. The incident then brings Charlie to use his Ego because of the willing to be honest toward his love to Sam.
It shows in the following statement:
I could also say that I had forgotten the time Mary Elizabeth asked me if I thought she was pretty. But I would be lying. The truth is that when Patrick dared me, I knew that if I kissed Mary Elizabeth, I would be lying to everyone. Including Sam. Including Patrick. Including Mary Elizabeth. And I just couldn't do it anymore. Even if it was part of a game.
(Stephen Chbosky, 1999: 140-141)
The quoting above shows that the fact of being in love to Sam brings Charlie tries to think neutrally in taking the decision in this situation. Eventhough it can
impact to someone gets hurt, which here is Mary Elizabeth as his girlfriend, but also can be the impact for Charlie. The original desire is vented with in a way of anxiety. The anxiety is in the Ego which drives Charlie to seek a way out by being honest and
kiss Sam although he knows that it is not a good idea to do. In a number of factors, Charlie chooses empathy of being honest, and this instinctive sense of empathy
comes from the unconscious state of the Ego. From the pshychology side, it can be said that Charlie is being careless but also neutral in the same time. Because he thinks that being honest is better than hold lies inside, where it will torture from
inner. Lie is lie, but it will never be good if we still keep the lies inside without express the lies into the truth, which it can hurt ourselves or even others.
And after all of the processes that have been explained by the writer, it can be
said that the Ego has been relieved slightly at this time and it entered the SuperEgo state of Charlie. So it can take the concluison that Ego is the only region of the mind
communicate with the outside world. When running as the cognitive and intellectual function, the Ego must considers between several of Id’s pleasure impulses and the
moral impulses of the SuperEgo. Although the Ego here may sounds like the decision – maker, or the executive of personality, but the Ego is weaker than the metaphor of executive implies.
Charlie begins to understand and overcome his anxiety with bad things, then he should try to learn to know that in taking the decision, we can not just merely
follow the desires and impulses that are coming from the negative side (pleasure principle), but should also see it from the positive side (moral principle).
4.3. Charlie’s SuperEgo.
After all the passion that comes from the encouragement of the libido, the SuperEgo of Charlie also comes from the basis demands of the libido itself. When Charlie is faced with the reality to hit Sean so hard, then his Ego also has to accept
the pressure of his SuperEgo to feel guilty for his action. The moral principle brings Charlie into the regret feelings at that time, this is because the reality principle
belongs to his Ego has brought Charlie into this situation. When he is being angry to Sean because of the willing to satify the desire that comes from the Id, Charlie then finds the reality from his Ego to feel that the action that he takes is the good thing to
do. His SuperEgo does not care about the Ego’s willing which here is working as the arbiter between Id and SuperEgo. So in this case, the SuperEgo of Charlie is trying to
As the statement follows:
And then I started crying. . . .
I am the one who beat up Sean and couldn’t stop crying after he did it.
(Stephen Chbosky, 1999: 6)
Charlie has tried to oppose the efforts to feel regret that is aided by an
impulse in libido through Id-minded that it was mandatory and should be done by Charlie to protect himself from Sean who tries to hurt him first. The SuperEgo
attempts to regret his actions which here Charlie tries to cope and reduce the urge of the Ego and the Id to think only for the happiness, and think realitically. This is because the SuperEgo of Charlie tries to dominate his personality by feeling guilty
and regret. The incident shows that Charlie has been using his SuperEgo to feeling regrets. The libido pushes his SuperEgo to think about this moralistic and ego-ideal
principle because it clearly and commonly comes from experiences of getting punishment for an inappropriate behavior and teach him about the decision that should be taken by Charlie without must to using the harshness attitude.
The impacts can be really important for feeling guilty and regret, Charlie can be a moral person and be better in making the decisions. Other impact for Charlie
can be more clear, because the incident can be used by Charlie as a lesson for the future. It can be said that in facing people like Sean who intends to hurt people like Charlie, he can be better to think, and be more mature in his psychology.
demanding the SuperEgo to do something that supports the moral principles. As follows.
In this part, the moralistic principle belongs to Charlie’s SuperEgo comes along with the impulse of the libido that willing to apologize to Sam and Mary Elizabeth, eventhough it doesn’t change the situation for a little while. So, when
Charlie that has been controlled by the libido to do some moral things by wanting to apologize to them, it shows that he is using the moralistic principle belongs to his
SuperEgo in this situation.
As the quoting below:
It suddenly made everything seem like it really was. I felt terrible. Just terrible. Patrick immediately stood up and took me out of Craig's apartment. We walked to the street, and the only thing I was aware of was the cold. I said that I should go back inside and apologize. Patrick said,
"No. I'll get our coats. Just stay here." (Stephen Chbosky, 1999, 141)
Charlie’s intention to apologize to Sam and Mary Elizabeth that has been rejected by Patrick makes Charlie feel terrible about the incident. He feels confused,
panick, and starts to cry because of that. But, the libido comes along again into his mind to use the SuperEgo consciously by trying to come inside and apologize again.
As follows:
When Patrick left me outside, I started to cry. It was real and panicky, and I couldn't stop it. When Patrick came back, I said, really crying,
"I really think I should go apologize."
Patrick shook his head. "Believe me. You don't want to go in there."
The incident shows that Charlie uses his moral principle (SuperEgo) to feel sorry for what he has done. It shows that the Ego changes into the SuperEgo and then
the ego-ideal is also achieved. But, Charlie’s efforts to apologize is not only that, he continues to try to repair his relationship with Sam and Mary Elizabeth. This is demonstrated when Charlie tries to call Mary with the intention of apologizing,
which here Charlie is driven again by the libido through his SuperEgo. As the quotation below:
I did call Mary Elizabeth, and I told her that I'd been listening to the record every night and reading the every. every. Cummings book.
She just said, "It's too late, Charlie." . . .
I just said, "I'm sorry." And I really was sorry.
(Stephen Chbosky, 1999: 143)
The quotation above shows that Charlie really uses his moral minds in an effort to apologize, especially to Mary Elizabeth who was his girlfriend. His
moralistic princple that has brought by his SuperEgo makes him feel sorry to Mary Elizabeth. But in addition of willing to have an effort to apologize, it can be said that
all the means of Charlie by trying to get an apology from Sam and Mary Elizabeth seem enough to make him worth be respected and appreciated in dealing with different things. Finally, Charlie gets apology over time. This proves that moral
principle which is owned by Charlie makes him hopeless to keep trying to apologize, so that his SuperEgo is satisfied with "self-esteem needs".
himself. It also can cause to the friednship between Sam and Mary Elizabeth which here they are closest friends. And also can cause to the bad friendship among them
for a little while due to the incident. Charlie’s effort to apologize is the dignity that needs to be maintained quality because in this position, if there is no sense of remorse from Charlie for what he has done, then everything would be meaningless.
Charlie’s character here is stick to the prospects in life, values, love, and self-control. The overcoming of Id, the realization of Ego, and the satisfaction of SuperEgo
intertwine with each other which makes the protagonist Charlie acceded to the final, happy life by having his friends back.
And the effort is not only there, when Charlie tries to defend Patrick who at
that time Patrick is in a big problem with his same-sex lover. The incident of defending his friend, Patrick, creates a relationship of Sam and Charlie is back to
improving, which Partick is a half-brother of Sam, and Sam is very grateful to Charlie.
As the quoting below:
So, she said that when I kissed her instead of Mary Elizabeth, I really hurt their friendship for a while. Because I guess Mary Elizabeth really liked me a lot. That made me feel sad because I didn't know that she liked me that much.
. . .
Then, she said that Mary Elizabeth and she got over it, and she thanked me for taking Patrick's advice and staying away for as long as I did because it made things easier. So, then I said,
"So, we can be friends now?" "Of course," was all she said. "And Patrick?"
"And Patrick."
That's when I started crying. But Sam told me to shush.
(Stephen Chbosky, 1999: 158)
The impact of Charlie’s efforts to apologize to Mary and his efforts to repair their friendship is a good impact resulting from the impulse of SuperEgo. All the
impacts of good and bad that Charlie has done is a good impact in the end, because in this position, the Ego of Charlie can control the impulse that try out the desires of
the pleasure principle which is owned by the Id. However the efforts of SuperEgo are trying to push the Ego with various regrets can make everything is well.
The SuperEgo of Charlie here is trying to represents the moral aspects and
ideal of personality, and controlled by the principles of morality and idealism, which is different from the pleasure principle of Id and realistic principles of Ego. The Id
and SuperEgo are evolved from the Ego, they have no energy sources of their own, and do not have contact with the outside world (reality principle) belongs to Ego, so that the demands of the SuperEgo and the Id can also be a realistic perfection through
the Ego's role in personality of Charlie portrayed in the novel.
4.4. Findings
All the three components of Id, Ego, and SuperEgo of Charlie need to be well-balanced in order to have good amount of psychological energy available and to
have reasonable mental health. However, sometimes his Ego has a difficult time in dealing with the competing demands of the SuperEgo and the Id belong to Charlie.
pervasive part of human experience. The conflict between the Id and SuperEgo, negotiated by the Ego, is one of the fundamental psychological battles all people
face.
Relating to the anaylsis of Charlie’s personality in the Perks Of Being A Wallflower novel written by Stephen Chbosky, the writer concludes that, it is strong
to attest that the Id, Ego, and SuperEgo of Charlie are intertwined with each other without separately. The libido is the determinant of any desire that brings the Id, Ego,
and SuperEgo into a unity that can not be separated in the personality of every human being. It can be said that in the end, the character of Charlie as depicted in the novel, remains to satisfy the pleasure principle of the Id which is basically too
powerful to be avoided. No matter how strong the Ego tries to balance the desires of the Id and also the SuperEgo, but eventually the Id always dominates every human
personality. So is the SuperEgo that always tries to bring the pleasure principle owned by Id into the moral principle, and the Ego is trying to survive on the reality principle, but both Ego and SuperEgo still rely on the basic of pleasure principle (Id)
that more dominant driven by libido of every human being either conscious, subconscious, and unconscious.
But in use, the three structures of personality are interrelated one each other. In character of Charlie, the writer sees how closely the relationship among the Id, Ego and SuperEgo are. Eventually, despite the writer has found that all of the events
and circumstances that occur because there is a relationship of the three structures. But it can be said that the initial incidents and events that are caused by the impulse
are driven by moral principles that comes from his SuperEgo well that cured all the amoral that is caused by the impulse of the Id.
Because of the impulses of the Id that influence Charlie’s personality in taking any decisions, so it can be said that his Charlie is reflected as the melancholic person. The defining feature of a melancholic attitude is perfectionism. Melancholics
are the most introverted of the personality in that they crave time alone, and are most at ease in their own company. In this analysis, Charlie can be seen as selfish, because
he prefers to be alone with his thoughts, to have his own things, rather than sharing time or possessions socially with others. He prefers to have a few close friends to many acquaintances. He is very emotional, and is easily hurt, because of his
CHAPTER V
CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION
5.1. Conclusion
After analyzing Charlie’s personality in Stephen Chbosky’s novel The Perks
of Being A Wallflower, by using Sigmund Freud’s Theory with the three structures:
the Id, the Ego, and the SuperEgo, the writer takes some conclusions that:
1. The Id tends to legally all ways just to reach what it wants without seeing
negative side which occur other people. Which in this case, the Id of Charlie is described in order to hit Sean that shows his anger, and kiss Sam that shows his
selfishness. It is also due to the pleasure principle performed by Charlie slightly unrealistic and did not realize it. Because of the unrealistic nature, Charlie is no
longer able to think logically to satisfy thoughts that contradict one another. 2. While the Ego tends to stand between Id and SuperEgo. The Ego is a control of
balancing and neutralizing the strength of Id’s driving and the strength of
SuperEgo’s driving. His Ego stands to defending himself from Sean who intends to hit Charlie first that shows the anger, and trying to be honest to other people
about his love feeling to Sam that shows the selfishness. It also basically shows that the Ego is partly conscious, partly subconscious and partly unconscious, then the Ego can make a decision in three levels.
3. Then, the SuperEgo tends to bring the moral principle to the front. Charlie’s
selfishess of Charlie have been defeated by his SuperEgo to have the moral aspects and ideal of personality.
The writer also concludes that in this analysis, Charlie is described as the melancholic person. This is caused by the libido that has brought Charlie to use his
Id dominantly in taking any decisions, until the two incidents that exist in the analysis happened.
5.2. Suggestion
Based on the conclusion that the writer has explained above, the writer would
like to suggest that the readers will be motivated to use this analysis as their review on making another analysis about the personality of a character with the psychology
approach in a poem, short story, or even the other novel.
The writer also expects that this thesis can provide the additional knowledge about analyzing the personality of a character portrayed in the novel by using
Sigmund Freud’s theory. This is because, the writer realizes that the personality as the part of human being’s life that needed to be learned by the readers and the other
CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
In this part, the writer discusses about the related theories in literature that has been chosen. There are some important books and other sources related to the
psychology of literature and the related to the personality of a character in a literary work. The books and sources are talking about the theory which related to the
psychological elements in literary work, such as the problems of leading character’s personality which include the “Id, Ego, and SuperEgo”, the impact of the leading character’s psychology problems to be a moral person in living the life without
having bad feeling to face people arround himself. The writer introduces the relation between literature and psychology, and also explains about the problems of the
leading character’s personality in the novel The Perks of Being A Wallflower.
2.1. Psychology of Literature
Literature and Psychology is one of the literature’s extrinsic approaches out of the other two, which are: Literature and Biography, and Literature and Society.
Psychology of literature is the analysis of the text by considering the relevance and role of psychological studies. In the other words, psychology played a role in analyzing a literary work, the author's psyche from the elements, characters and
readers of literary works. Psychology is also an important role in analyzing a literary work based on the elements of the author, the characters, and the readers. There is a
study of observable patterns of human’s behavior, and Literature exhibits how human beings behave in dealing with their problems and environmet.
Literary works are no longer considered only as a mere entertainment, but also to invites the readers to understand about the characters in the story. In literary work, the character also has problems in living a life, have the same emotional
fluctuation with other humans in real life. This is possibly to learn a literary work by connecting literature with the science. And novel is one of the literary work written
by the literary worker. A novel discusses something that describes the human life, although for something fictious, but it becomes as something that people may understand with the same principle in daily life, such as psychological truth or
holding the mirror up to nature, a consciousnes of moral values and many more.
Wellek and Warren consider analysis of characters the only legitimate
application of psychological analysis in literary study. Such an analysis, however, they find lacking on its own merits: individual characters do not fit psychological theories of the time they are written. Works which are true to certain psychological
theories, meanwhile, are not necessarily better. (Theory of Literature, 1956).
According to Harjana (1991: 60) : The psychology literature can be
interpreted as a way of analysis based on the viewpoint of psychology and proceed from the assumption that literature always discuss the events of human life which is emitted in living and dealing with life. Here the function of psychology itself is
conducting exploration conducted into the inner soul of the figures contained in literary works and to learn more about the intricacies of human action and its
Psychology of literature is not only focused to solve the psychological problems of character, but also to understand psychological aspects contained in a
literary work. Psychology itself was made to learn about the human pysche, which is human becomes the object of the psychology study. And Literature was based on the social problem, which means the authors as the human being are the social people
who create the literary work. Psychology Literature is the analysis of the text by considering the relevance and role of psychological studies. That is, psychology
played an important role in analyzing a literary work by working from the corner of the psychiatric literature both elements of the author, the characters, and readers. By paying attention to the figures, it will be analyzed the inner conflict inherent in
literature.
It is obvious enough that psychology, being the study of psychic processes,
can be brought to bear upon the study of literature, for the human psyche is the womb of all the sciences and arts. We may expect psychological research, on the one hand, to explain the formation of a work of art, and on the other to reveal the factors
that make a person artistically creative. The psychologist is thus faced with two separate and distinct tasks, and must approach them in radically different ways.
Psychoanalysis is the term to discuss about the relation between human and psychology, which are definitely have a close relation to talked about. According to the study, Psychoanalysis is a branch of science was developed by Sigmund Freud as
a psychological study of human behavior. Freud said that our personality develops from the interactions among what he proposed as the three fundamental structures of
and our efforts to find balance among what each of them “desires”, determines how we behave and approach the world.
With the assumption, the characters that appearing in a literary work in considered alive and real in the mind of the author like human beings generaly. Conflict is based on the existence of the characters, and the psychological conflict is
described through literary texts that will be considered as a reflection of the author’s conflict. Because, accidentally, the author actually writes his own personal
experiences into a literary work.
According to the psychology approach, the literary works of some authors are expressed to represent the confusion and the inner turmoil of human being through
their works. What they have seen is not necessarily the same as the reality that occurs in them because people often try to covering it. Honesty, loves, hypocrisy, and the
other terms we have always seen all this time are in the human mind itself. Therefore, the study of character must be a priority on the psychiatric aspects and certainly can not be separated from the psychological theory.
There are three theories of literature which can be called imitative (mimetic theory), expressive theory (theory of expression) and pragmatic or (affective theory).
However, here the writer just explains about mimetic theory, which have related to the analysis. The theory of imitation mimetic theory is revealed or goes back to Plato and Aristotle.
Plato introduces this concept in his works and when he describes poetry ( or literature in general ) and painting in derogatory terms as imitation from reality,
imitation of an action that is serious and complete. Actually in Aristotle, the process of imitation we called it mimesis.
For Aristotle, mimesis describes a process involving the use by different art forms of different means of representation, different manners of communicating that representation to the audience, and different levels of moral and ethical behavior as
objects of the artistic representation. Thus, Aristotle distinguishes between tragedy and comedy essentially because of the fact that the former represents "noble" or
"morally good" agents, while the latter portrays "ignoble" or "morally defective" characters. All forms of mimesis, however, including tragedy and comedy, come into existence because of a fundamental intellectual impulse felt by all human beings.
Aristotle specifies that the function of literary mimesis is to represent a complete and unified action consisting of a beginning, middle, and linked by necessary and
probable causes. However, Plato, he does not regard this world as a mere of shadow of another. Moreover, he believes that the instinct of imitation is an important one.
One genre of literary work is the novel. Novel is a long narrative which
describes about the story. The writer thought that novel also as a mirror of our life, because the entire
story in the novel took from the real life of human by the professional authors or a people who have a talent to write novel, it can be called novelist or authors.
One statement that the novel’s primary impulse is a mimetic one, we must
add the qualification that the reality imitated is not general nature or the world of ideas but the concrete and temporal reality of modern empirical thought. The novel
exist alongside of, and often in disharmony with, the concrete, “serious problematic“ representation of life. Some novels are profoundly concerned with both character and
society; others focus primarily on social or on psychological reality. However, realistic fiction is more concerned with mimesis than it is with the theme and forms the latter are, nonetheless, very important elements in the majority of novels. Indeed,
one of the basis problems of the novel as a genre is that it attempts to integrate impulses, which are disparate and often in conflict. As Northrop Frye observes, the
realistic writer soon finds that the requirements of literary form and plausible content always fight against each other. Novels with more life than pattern, or in which life and pattern are not integrated, are wanting in the quality of their perception.
So talking about novel, the writer tries to see the informing structure; the society and characters that are in some ways at odds with the society itself. And it is
true that the novelists are moralists, they examine the relation between individuals and society and put their ideas about human and its behavior, but that would be more simple to say that the important thing about novel is the message to be preached out
as the literary work.
2.2. Definition of Character
Character is an evaluation of a particular individual's stable and Character is one of the important parts in prose fiction. A character (or fictional
character) i
χαρακτήρ, the English word
Character, particularly when enacted by an actor in the "the illusion of being a human person." In literature, characters guide readers through
their stories, helping them to understand plots and ponder themes. Since the end of the 18th century, the phrase "in character" has been used to describe an effective
practiced by actors or writers, has been call
The study of a character requires an analysis of its relations with all of the
other characters in the work. The individual status of a character is defined through the network of oppositions (proairetic with the other characters. The relation between characters and the action of the story
shifts historically, ofte
The one of six qualitative parts of
quality of the person acting in the story and reacting to its situations. Aristotle defines character as "that which reveals decision, of whatever sort". To Aristotle,
"[W]ithout action, a tragedy cannot exist, but without characters it may. Aristotle argues for the primacy of
Aristotle claims that character develops over time as one acquires habits from
parents and community, first through reward and punishment. One acquires a good character much as one may learn to play a musical instrument: initially, one may be
he thereby raises the question whether one freely chooses one’s character. A person of good character does choose freely, however, and is able to frame complex
situations accurately. The full development of character requires rational reflection: Aristotle argues that dialectic, to which Rawls’s reflective equilibrium bears some resemblance, generates principles that can guide us, though they do not serve as
unexceptionable rules.
There are some fields, which are included in Psychology; they are
developmental, physiological, experimental social and personality psychology. Developmental psychology studies about human mental and physical growth from the prenatal period through childhood, adolescence, adulthood and old age,
physiological psychology investigate the biological basic of human behavior, thoughts and emotions; experimental psychology studies about basic psychological
process, including learning, memory, sensation, perception, cognition, motivation and emotion. Personality psychology studies the differences among individuals in such traits as anxiety, sociability, self – esteem, need for achievement, and
aggressiveness, and social psychology studies about how people influence one another.
As the writer explained above, this analysis derives to character’s personality in a novel, so the concern of the research is the personality of a leading character. As we know, character as the important structure in a literary work has something to do
2. 3. Definition of Personality
Personality, etymologies come from the word Latin “persona” means that
“disguise”. This disguise is usually used by the people who act the drama in ancient time, to act one type of behaviors and character and it also come from the word “ personare “. To express one type of human picture, such as, the pictures of the
people, who act sad, happy, and selfish. Therefore, the personality is not only the actor itself but he or she want to describe one type of human. Sometimes, people
pretend to be nice and do some different acts from the characteristic. Therefore, personality has function as the setter to set free the disguise in human being and understand the characteristic.
Philosophers teach us that if one wants to know what a word provides, the other one should see how the word is used (Wittgenstein, 1953) different people use
the word personality in different ways. The public often uses the term to represent a value judgment: if you like someone, it is because he or she has a good personality or because of lose the personality. Personality scientist, however, use the word
differently. The scientist is not trying to provide subjective value judgments about people. A scientific definition of personality tells us what areas are to be studied and
suggests how we might best study them. For the present, let us use the following working definition of personality: personality refers to those characteristics of the person that account for consistent pattern of feeling, thinking, and behaving. This
very broad definition allows us to focus on many different aspects of the person. At the same time, it suggests that we attend to consistent patterns of behavior and to
(observable) behaviors of people. Of particular interest to us is how these thoughts, feelings, and overt behaviors relate to one another, or cohere, to form the unique,
distinctive individual. Although one of definitions has been suggested here, others are possible.
Theory of personality sees the human as a total subject with the spesific
aspect, the theory is appeared because of the needs in human life. There is always the stimulate to know more about the other individual, and some desires in every human
being mind to reach what they want with the characteristics and the psyches in life. As the writer has explained about some of the elements under this discussion, and as the problems about personality of a leading character in doing this analysis,
the writer connects the Psychology of Literature with the Psychoanalysis theory from the expert, Sigmund Freud which developed his idea about psychoanalysis theory
from work with mental patients.
2.4. Psychoanalysis Theory
Psychoanalysis Theory is the theory of personality organization and the dynamics of personality development that guides
for treat the late 19th century, psychoanalysis theory has undergone many refinements since his work. Psychoanalysis theory came to full prominence in the last third of the
twentieth century as part of the flow of critical discourse regarding psychological treatments after the 1960s, long after Freud's death in 1939, and its validity is now
and the phenomena of childhood events that could potentially influence the mental functioning of adults.
His examination of the genetic and then the developmental aspects gave the psychoanalytic theory its characteristics. Starting with his publication of
Freud first began his studies on psychoanalysis and in collaboration with Dr.
colleague’s patients, the celebrated ‘Anna O.’ whom Breuer had begun to treat in 1880. Anna O. was a girl of twenty-one, of high intellectual gifts. Her illness lasted for over two years, and in the course of it she developed a series of physical and
psychological disturbances which decidedly deserved to be taken seriously. She suffered from a rigid paralysis, accompanied by loss of sensation, of both extremities
on the right side of her body; and the same trouble from time to time affected her on her left side. Her eye movements were disturbed and her power of vision was subject to numerous restrictions. She had difficulties over the posture of her head; she had a
severe nerveous cough. She had an aversion to taking nourishment, and on one occasion she was for several weeks unable to drink in spite of a tormenting thirst.
Her powers of speech were reduced, even to the point of her being unable to speak or understand her native language. Finally, she was subject to conditions of 'absence' of confusion, of delirium, and of alteration of her whole personality, to which we
shall have presently to turn our attention.
Breuer diagnosed Anna O.’s illness as a case of hysteria and gradually
during the evening the content of her daytime hallucinations, she became calm and tranquil. Breuer himself saw this as a way of ‘disposing’ of the ‘products’ of Anna
O.’s ‘bad self’ and understood it as a process of emotional catharsis. The patient herself described it as ‘chimney sweeping’, and as her ‘talking cure’. This is why, Freud’s understanding of human personality is built on his experience with some
patients, the analysis of his own dream, and everything he read in science and humanities.
When analyzing literary texts, the psychoanalysis theory could be utilized to decipher or interpret the concealed meaning within a text, or to better understand the author’s intentions. Through the analysis of motives, Freud’s theory can be used to
help clarify the meaning of the writing as well as the actions of the characters within the text.
Sigmund Freud determined that the personality consists of three different elements, the and reality in order to maintain a healthy state of consciousness. It thus reacts to
protect the individual from any stressors and anxiety by distorting reality. This prevents threatening unconscious thoughts and material from entering the
consciousness. The different types of
In discussing the Id, Ego, and SuperEgo, these are not only three separate entities with sharply defined boundaries, but rather a variety of different processes,
German personal pronouns, das Es, Das Ich, and das uber-Ich. Literally translated they mean "the it," "the I," and "the above-I." The Strachey translation into Latin
pronouns has made them less personal, raising the issue of the desirability of attempting a new translation." (Engler, 2009).
2.4.1. The Id
The Id is the aspect of personality that is driven by internal and basic drives
and needs. Due to the instinctual quality of the Id, it is impulsive and often unaware of implications of actions.
• The Id is the only component of personality that is present from birth.
• This aspect of personality is entirely unconscious and includes of the
instinctive and primitive behaviors.
• According to Freud, the Id is the source of all psychic energy, making it
the primary component of personality.
The Id is also driven by the
gratification of all desires, wants, and needs. If these needs are not satisfied immediately, the result is a state anxiety or tension. For example, an increase in hunger or thirst should produce an immediate attempt to eat or drink. The Id is very
important early in life, because it ensures that an infant's needs are met. If the infant is hungry or uncomfortable, he or she will cry until the demands of the Id are met.
However, immediately satisfying these needs are not always realistic or even possible. If we are ruled entirely by the pleasure principle, we might find ourselves
grabbing things we want out of other people's hands to satisfy our own cravings. This sort of behavior would be both disruptive and socially unacceptable. According to Freud, the Id tries to resolve the tension created by the pleasure principle through the
way of satisfying the need.
2.4.2. The Ego
The
and SuperEgo. In order to balance these, it works to achieve the Id's drive in the most realistic ways. It seeks to rationalize the Id's instinct and please the drives that will
benefit the individual in the long term. It helps separate what is real, and realistic of our drives as well as being realistic about the standards that the SuperEgo sets for the individual.
• The Ego is the component of personality that is responsible for
dealing with reality.
• According to Freud, the Ego develops from the Id and ensures that the
impulses of the Id can be expressed in a manner acceptable in the real world.
• The Ego functions in both the
The reality principle weighs the costs and benefits of an action before deciding to act upon or abandon impulses. In many cases, the Id's impulses can be
satisfied through a process of delayed gratification--the Ego will eventually allow the behavior, but only in the appropriate time and place. The Ego also discharges tension created by unmet impulses through the
find an object in the real world that matches the mental image created by the Id's primary process.
According to Freud (1964), The Ego becomes differentiated from the Id when a baby learns to distinguish himself or herself from the outer world. While the Id remains unchanged, the Ego continous to develop; while the Id insist on unrealistic
and unrelenting demands for pleasure, the Ego must furnish the control. Similarly, the Ego checks and inhibits Id impulses, but it is more or less constantly at the mercy
of the stronger but more poorly organized Id. The Ego has no strength of its own but borrows energy from the Id. In spite of this dependence on the Id, the Ego sometimes comes close to gaining complete control, for instance, during the prime of life of a
psychologically mature person.
2.4.3. The SuperEgo
The morality of higher thought and action. Instead of instinctively acting like the Id, the
• The SuperEgo is the aspect of personality that holds all of our internalized
moral standards and ideals that we acquire from both parents and society -
our sense of right and wrong.
• The SuperEgo provides guidelines for making judgments.
• According to Freud, the SuperEgo begins to emerge at around age five.
There are two parts of the SuperEgo:
1.
behaviors include those which are approved of by parental and other authority figures. Obeying these rules leads to feelings of pride, value and accomplishment.
2.
parents and society. These behaviors are often forbidden and lead to bad
consequences, punishments or feelings of guilt and remorse.
The SuperEgo acts to perfect and civilize our behavior. It works to suppress all unacceptable urges of the Id and struggles to make the Ego act upon idealistic
standards rather that upon realistic principles. The SuperEgo is presented in the conscious, subconscious and unconscious.
The three elements of the mind are continously interacting one into another. The Ego is formed by the Id and the SuperEgo is formed by the Ego. Human behaviour is determined by their dynamics. If the biggest part of energy is controlled
by the SuperEgo, so the behaviour will be realistic but if restrained by the Id, the behaviour will be impulsive. If the Id is dominant, the individual will have a disorder
contrast, if the SuperEgo is dominant, the individual is over inhibited and unable to experience sensual pleasure without feelings guilty.
Remember that Freud considered personality to be like an iceberg; most of personality exists below our level of awareness, just as the massive part of an iceberg is beneath the surface of the water. Freud believed that most of the important
personality processes occur below the level of conscious awareness. In examining people’s conscious thoughts about their personality, we can see some reflections of
the Ego and the SuperEgo. Whereas the Ego and SuperEgo are partly conscious and unconscious, the primitive Id is the unconscious, the totally submerged part of the iceberg.
With so many competing forces, it is easy to see how conflict might arise between the Id, Ego and SuperEgo. Freud used the term
Ego's ability to function despite these dueling forces. A person with good Ego strength is able to effectively manage these pressures, while those with too much or too little Ego strength can become too unyielding or too disrupting. According to
Freud, the key to a healthy personality is a balance between the Id, the Ego, and the SuperEgo.
Despite the criticisms of the theory, Freudian personality has had an enormous impact on the field of psychology. The idea of the unconscious and the elements of perso
