The Oedipus Complex

And other things to blame on your parents.

Vocab • Hubris – Excessive Pride and ambition• Psychoanalytic – the method of understanding mental life• Concomitant – at the same time or directly following something• Rivalry – condition of competiveness • Repressed – blocked from thought• Complex – having many parts• Prohibitive - forbidding or restricting something• Harmoniously – blending pleasantly

Some stuff to remember

Tragedy:

A play in which the protagonist, usually a man of importance and outstanding personal qualities, falls to disaster through the combination of a personal failing and circumstances with which he cannot deal.

Tragic Hero:

A tragic hero is a person with heroic or potentially heroic qualities. This person is fated by the Gods or by some supernatural force to doom and destruction or at least to great suffering.

He is destroyed by his own character flaws

HUBRIS• Pride• Excessive ambition• Character flaw of wanting too much

and thinking you deserve it and should get it.

• “I’m better than you are so nahnahnahnahbooboo.”

Sigmund Freud• 1856-1939• Austrian Psychiatrist and

neurologist best known for his techniques of psychoanalysis.

The overview• Id, ego, and super-ego are the three

parts of the psychic apparatus defined in Sigmund Freud's structural model of the psyche; (human soul or mind ) they are the three hypothetical concepts in terms of whose activity and interaction our mental life is described.

Id• The Id acts according to the “pleasure

principle” —the psychic force that motivates the tendency to seek immediate gratification of any impulse—or seeking to avoid pain or un-pleasure (not 'displeasure') aroused by increases in instinctual tension.

What examples can you think of?

Ego• The Ego  acts according to the reality principle

; i.e. it seeks to please the id's drive in realistic ways that will benefit in the long term rather than bring grief. At the same time, Freud concedes that as the ego "attempts to mediate between id and reality,

• The reality principle is the ability of the mind to assess the reality of the external world, and to act upon it accordingly.

• What do I mean by this? Re-explain this.

Super Ego• The superego reflects the

internalization of cultural rules, mainly taught by parents applying their guidance and influence. Freud developed his concept of the super-ego from an earlier combination of the ego ideal and the "special psychical agency which performs the task of seeing that narcissistic satisfaction from the ego ideal is ensured ... what we call our 'conscience'.”

The Oedipus Complex

• Oedipus complex, in psychoanalytic theory, a desire for sexual involvement with the parent of the opposite sex and a concomitant sense of rivalry with the parent of the same sex; a crucial stage in the normal developmental process.

• Freud introduced the concept in his Interpretation of Dreams (1899). The term derives from the Theban hero Oedipus of Greek legend, who unknowingly slew his father and married his mother.

• Freud attributed the Oedipus complex to children of about the ages three to five. He said the stage usually ended when the child identified with the parent of the same sex and repressed its sexual instincts. If previous relationships with the parents were relatively loving and non-traumatic, and if parental attitudes were neither excessively prohibitive nor excessively stimulating, the stage is passed through harmoniously.

• In the presence of trauma, however, there occurs an “infantile neurosis” that is an important forerunner of similar reactions during the child’s adult life.

• Freud considered the reactions against the Oedipus complex the most important social achievements of the human mind.

The Dr Zeus Show

For Tuesday!!

What if (in a good way)

• What if the House of Thebes could have a family therapy session and work out all of their issues without ya know, having a total Greek tragedy?

• What if they had someone caring and comforting, like Dr. Phil or Jerry Springer to guide them and help them?

• Let’s find out how that would work!

Objective• Create thought provoking, critical thinking

questions to ask the “cast” of the story. • Create biographical narratives for the character

you are playing.• Step into the characters’ shoes to better

understand the story and psychological theories inspired by it. (Costumes help!!)

• And what would Dr. Freud say about his theories if he met the actual characters he had based his hypothesis?

Cast• The students playing the characters on The Dr.

Zeus Show will create short bios about who they are.

• Use multiple note cards to have 10 bio points and inferences from any of the texts we have discussed to be able to support your role playing. (quotes from the myth and from the Freud video

• Costumes and props will help you get into character and definitely get you a higher grade!

• The studio audience will each write 5 questions.  These must be critical thinking questions. They should contain inferences from the texts and your own research.• The questions can be to specific guests or to the entire group.

• All questions and bios will be turned in to The producer of the Dr. Zeus Show (Ms. Levine)for a grade.

• At the end of class and there will be a written reflection of the day after the “show’ to see what you have learned.

Characters – Per. 1• Dr. Zeus - Sarahi• Oedipus – Jacob R• Jocasta - Angie• Creon - Marco• The Sphinx – Joseph M• Teiresias – Jennifer• King Laius - Orimar

• The Oracle of Apollo – Joseph H• King Polybus - Katia• Antigone - Jasmin• Ismene – Carolina• Polyneices – Mark• Eteocles – Josue• Sigmund Freud - John

Charactrer – Per. 6• Dr. Zeus - Dulce• Oedipus -William• Jocasta -Priscilla• Creon – Jose M• The Sphinx –Jose N• Teiresias –Daisy

• King Laius -Steve• The Oracle of Apollo –Elva• King Polybus -Juan• Antigone -GIGI• Ismene – Ruth• Polyneices –Mr Jose• Eteocles –Kevin• Sigmund Freud -Tomas

More info on Freud• http://www.biography.com/people/

sigmund-freud-9302400/videos/sigmund-freud-full-biography-9577539960