Seven Year Itch

In the short allegory “The Birthmark”, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, a newly-wed couple becomes consumed by the existence of a small birthmark on the wife’s face. When the wife, Georgiana, allows her husband Aylmer, a scientist, to remove the birthmark, both realize that Georgiana will inevitably sacrifice her life for the sake of its removal. As the story progresses, so does the confliction of the newlyweds as they realize exactly what the birthmark symbolized to and for each other. Hawthorne’s hallmark use of symbolism also provides a ‘perfect’ glimpse into the mindset of two themes of psychological conflictions: perfectionism and codependency. Hawthorne seems to share this story as a possible moral of the hidden pathos we place upon the ones we love, and the invisible marks or standards we place upon ourselves for the ones we love.

In this book, Dr. Ernest Lash discovers he has a love for psychoanalysis after several years working as a psychopharmacologist. Justin, who has been a patient of Ernest for several years, tells him he left his wife, Carol, for another woman. While Ernest sees this as a good thing since the marriage between Justin and

Many individuals have the power to alter their perception, but many people have disorders to comfort and confront their psychological perspectives. In the film, Silver Linings Playbook, directed by David O. Russell explains how psychological disorders are maintained within Pat and Tiffany, and explaining their theoretical personalities to three sub categories: psychodynamic, biological and trait, and sociocultural. The psychodynamic perspective looks at the topographical and structural model created by Freud. In continuation, the biological perspective is based on the genetic traits, and the Big 5 personality traits. Finally, I'll discuss the sociocultural perspective which a based on the environment factors in one's life. All of these perspectives

This paper analyzes and assesses the personality of the character Felix Unger (played by Jack Lemmon) in the movie, The Odd Couple. The paper starts by offering a synopsis of the movie, which is followed by a description of Mr. Unger, his presenting problem, a mental status examination of him, and a history of Mr. Unger’s background. Next the paper offers a five-axis diagnostic impression of Mr. Unger and rationalization for such diagnoses. The paper develops a case formulation which includes the pathology behind Mr. Unger’s diagnosis and recommendations for treatment. Both the case formulation and recommendations for treatment

Bragg’s dejected tone when addressing his father’s latest demeanor is satirical as the Father’s past behavior is anything but celebratory. The author’s conscious decision to compare his memories of the Father to that of a “man” and a “monster” depicts the two emotions Bragg intended to invoke from his readers through the use of tone: contentment and fear. He wanted his readers to share his contentment with his father’s past demeanor, though distressing. In contrast, Bragg hoped his readers share his fear of his father’s past demeanor, despite his innate urge

For this assignment, our group chose the movie “Sleeping With the Enemy” a terrifying domestic violence experience whose main characters were Laura and Martin Burney. They live in a private section of Cape Cod. Laura is a housewife who endures an abusive and controlling relationship (Ruben, 1991). Martin is her husband who maintains a belief that men control women by providing their wife’s with economic resources and that in return he believes that his wife should be obedient and submissive. Martin displays multiple signs and symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder. He is preoccupied with details, rules, lists, and being organized (Ruben, 1991).

Society’s conventions teach that immoderate desires are unappealing manifestations of basal instincts that individuals must learn to control. However, a certain sense of liberating freedom is also attached to the idea of living in uninhibited by the guidelines that society imposes. “The Jackhammer Syndrome”, a poem by Al Purdy, and Susan Orlean’s The Orchid Thief present two different narratives concerning the pursuit of personal desire and deal with the consequences that ensue from this behavior. Their characters’ experiences suggest that the unchecked pursuit of personal desires, at the expense of conformity within society, does not produce lasting gratification.

Robin Wood, the author of "The American Nightmare: Horror in the 70s" does an extraordinary job in explaining American Horror Films and how it is that they provokes fear to the public. A very important topic in his article is the topic of repression. Wood takes the term repression (a type of holding down) a step further and categorizes it into two different types. One type being basic repression and the second one being surplus repression. Basic repression is described by Wood as "universal, necessary, and inescapable." Robin would argue that basic repression is a process in which all humans have or will go through at some point in their life. Basic repression is what allows us to become distinguishable mammals. It's the ability to remain

When I was told to choose a movie to perform a psychoanalysis on a character. I did not know what movie to choose. After watching the two hour long film on the multiple characters that seemed to be struggling to find their inner happiness: American Beauty. I knew that I should not look any further. One character that especially stood out was, Lester Burnham. A forty-two year old father with a mid-life crisis. In the film, American Beauty Lester Burnham is portrayed as an ordinary man, with a perfect life, but of course that is far from the truth. From the outside, Lester seems to have a perfect salary, and a perfect family who lives in a perfect neighborhood. In reality, things are not

During the second session, the family was provided individual opportunities to relate his or her perceptions of the struggles in the family. Using Claudia as the identified patient, the family related struggles directly associated with Claudia’s behavior (Nichols, 2013, p. 15). Whitaker (1978) conceptualized the issues in a different perspective stating, “sounds like Claudia is in charge of getting Mom and Dad to start fighting, and you and Laura are in charge of helping them stop” (p. 11). Whitaker also indicated the parallels involving Carolyn’s anger at Claudia for hiding in her room and David’s propensity to hide in his study (p. 11). Using the unconscious frame of reference from session one, another conceptualization that was presented was that of Don’s willingness to talk as the reason that the family had not wanted to bring him to the first session (p. 12).

It is easy to get caught up in one’s own world when life picks up the pace and everything seems hectic; along the way decisions are made unconsciously to let go of people who were once held dear. It is easy to be torn between what appears to be important and what is trivial. Amidst the mess that is life, various things contend for one’s attention, and what really matters might not be so clear. In “The Last Rung on the Ladder” the guilt that consumes the narrator over his sister’s suicide becomes an essential part of his identity even as he tries to adjust to her loss. In “Sanctuary” Jim Hammer is in the very first stages of realizing he is guilty of his friend’s death, and the responsibility has not yet taken its toll on him. The history and experiences of one’s identity affect the way an individual reacts to guilt, if one has never understood the impact that relationships have upon past and present selves then it is difficult to fully digest the impact of his/her actions.

Abuse can have a large psychological effect on an individual. Both Monkey Beach by Eden Robinson and The Death of Jayson Porter by Jaime Adoff demonstrate that abuse leads to mental instability within the characters. This is evident through the literary criticism of the psychological lens shown in the behaviour of the characters in relation to many of Freud’s theories. Some of these theories included the Oedipus complex, the interpretation of dreams and the unconscious mind (Britannica Encyclopedia, 2014). Both authors demonstrate this through three types of abuse; substance abuse, verbal abuse and neglect.

Repression of memories is a psychological concept that has haunted modern psychology for years. Repression of memories also known as “rememory” defined by the mind pushing away traumatic or shocking experiences into a dark corner of a person’s unconscious. As this idea developed and began to be studied more thoroughly, slavery became an institution in which researchers saw promise in drawing conclusions about the dangers of repressing memories. In Toni Morrison’s novel, Beloved, the character narratives of Paul D and Sethe exemplify the dangers of repressing memories. Both disconnect from and push away unwanted emotional traumas or experiences from their past. However, this effort doesn’t pay off and their repression of memories is not successful. Through the use of symbols such as Paul D’s tobacco tin and Sethe’s scars and lost child, Morrison demonstrates how repression of the past isn’t effective and how it always comes back to haunt a person who doesn’t correctly cope with their trauma. Paul D and Sethe live unfulfilled lives as a result of repressed memories.

In this character analysis paper the character of Jenny Curran from the award winning movie Forrest Gump will be the subject of discussion. This paper will present an analysis of the Jenny’s personality as it is applicable to Psychodynamic theory. The paper will present my rationale for the choice to use the Psychodynamic theory to describe Jenny Curran’s personality. In addition, this paper will present a description of the psychodynamic theory utilizing the work of Sigmund Freud regarding personality development. The paper will contain a description of Jenny Curran, as well as, an analysis of her personality utilizing Psychodynamic theory

Norman 's behavior can be further analyzed by using Freud 's theory of Infantile Sexuality. In his theory of Infantile Sexuality, Freud explains that a child has sexual instincts. Sigmund Freud 's theory describes the ideas and emotions which exist within the unconscious mind of children concerning their desire to possess their mothers sexually and eliminate the threat of their fathers who they competed with for the attention of their mothers. Norman 's problem is he is stuck in the Phallic Stage. The Phallic Stage is the third stage of child development, occurring between the year of 3 and 6. Between this time, Norman must have been abandoned by his mother. Her lover must have been envied by Norman because all he wants is his mother 's love and attention. He felt that the other man was a threat to the relationship Norman and his mother had. After feeling abandoned by his mother, Norman 's Oedipus complex forced him to have a fight with his mother 's lover, which eventually made him to murder the two of them after finding them in bed together . For Freud, most repressed memories relate to sexuality. However, the killings don 't stop with the mother and her partner. Norman continues to kill women who come to the motel that he finds attractive.