FREE ESSAY ON FREUD'S DREAM SYMBOLISM

FREUD'S DREAM SYMBOLISM

Daniel J. Aversano Dr. Omran
November 23, 2000 Modern Thought
An Analysis of Dreams According to Freud
Dreams are one of the most mysterious facets in life. Freud was intrigued with dreams.
Dreams became Freud's passion. Constantly analyzing and examining dreams, Freud tried to
break dreams down into an exact science. While he did not completely succeed in his goal,
Freud did, however, make many breakthroughs in the study of dreams. 
In Chapter 11 of On Dreams, Freud states that "It is commonly said that sleep is
disturbed by dreams; strangely enough, we are led to a contrary view and must regard
dreams as the guardians of sleep." Many people believed that dreams interrupted sleep.
Freud, however, thought that dreams helped us to get a higher quality of sleep. Freud
explains that, in children, sleep is either imposed upon them or it is brought about by
sensations of fatigue. A child's dreams are somewhat simple. During the coarse of a day a
child has desires or wants. Some of these desires are fulfilled and others are not. The
desires, which are not fulfilled, become the subject matter for the child's dreams. For
instance Freud believed that if during the course of the day a child's desire for a candy
bar is not fulfilled, then the child will dream about getting the piece of candy. Adults
however are different from children in this way. Freud states "Adults have learned to
make this distinction; they have also grasped the uselessness of wishing, and after long
practice know how to postpone their desires until they can find satisfaction by the long
and roundabout path of altering the external world." In order to reach fulfillment adults
to alter the external world. Adults are not all like the children who use their dreams in
order to achieve fulfillment. 
Next Freud claims "-a differentiation has occurred in the psychical material, which was
not present in children. A psychical agency has come into being, which, taught by
experience of life, exercises a dominating and inhibiting influence upon mental impulses
and maintains that influence with jealous severity, and which, owing to its relation to
consciousness and to intentional movement, is armed with the strongest instruments of
psychical power. A portion of the impulses of childhoodhas been suppressed by this agency
as being useless to life, and any material of thought derived from those impulses is in
the state of repression." By this quote Freud argues that adults have formed a "psychic
agency". This agency is formed due to their vast life experiences. This agency helps
suppress childhood impulses of wish fulfillment. 
On page 67 of On Dreams, Freud states "We must in any case suppose that even during sleep
a certain amount of free attention is on duty as a guard against sensory stimuli, and
that this guard may sometimes consider waking more advisable than a continuation of
sleep. Otherwise there would be no explanation of how it is that we can be waked up at
any moment by sensory stimuli of some particular activity." Freud explains that even
during sleep there is a certain amount of conscience thinking that still occurs. This is
the explanation of how certain things can always wake a person up. Freud gives us the
exmple of a mother being woken by the mere wimper of her new-born baby. Freud also states
"This view is not traversed by the fact that there are marginal cases in which the
dream-as happens with anxiety dreams-can no longer perform its function of preventing an
interruption of sleep, but assumes instead the other function of promptly brining sleep
to an end. In doing so it is merely behaving like a night watchman, who first carries out
his duties by suppressing disturbances so that the townsmen may not be waked up, but
afterward continues to do his duty by himself waking the townsmen up, if the causes of
the disturbance seem to him too serious and of a kind that he cannot cope with alone." By
this quote Feud is trying to explain that dreams can also help protect us. They can help
to wake us up when the subject matter of our dreams get too serious too handle. Our
dreams in fact protect us from our nightmares.
Freud's ideas on dreams are very intriguing. Freud helped us to better understand our
dreams. He enlightened us. Dreams are perhaps one of the most captivating parts of life.
They are mysterious and fascinating. Freud helps shed some light into their mystery.
Thanks to Freud we know understand that dreams are actually windows into our minds.