1. Cacian

    Cacian Banned

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    Three Perfectly Tailored Characters the Freudian Style

    Discussion in 'Character Development' started by Cacian, Nov 13, 2011.

    I was just reading something about Freud and I came across
    Id, Ego and SuperEgo
    the ID is the set of uncoordinated instinctual trends.
    the EGO is the organized, realistic part.
    the SUPER EGO plays the critical and moralizing role.
    these are three descriptions that could wellfit three of my characters.

    can you think of other descriptive ways to creatign new characters?
     
  2. mammamaia

    mammamaia nit-picker-in-chief Contributor

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    it would seem you misunderstood their meaning, or didn't read far enough to get it...

    those are supposedly the three functions of the human mind, not individual character types...
     
  3. Cacian

    Cacian Banned

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    I am sure it is all relative as we know it.
    but it is not possible to case three worded definition to describe one being, I think it is slightly misleading to think that we humans boil down to those three criteria.
    someone somewhere said we were apparently born unique, and I think this totally contradicts Freud.
    the reason why I put these three categories into three different characters was because I could not see how I am or could be all of these three ideas.
    nothing in Id, Ego and SuperHego describes me for I know who I am, and Freud I am afraid does not.
    I could easily rely on this to make up few characters.
     
  4. James Berkley

    James Berkley Banned

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    You know Freud is like Keynes. Entertaining, occasionally makes a good sounding or maybe correct observation about something, but wrong in overall principle.
     
  5. Cacian

    Cacian Banned

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    hehe...reading Freud can be a chain reaction to thousands of stories to be soon written and so I wouldsay nothing is gone to waste.
    for a writer any source is better then none.
    so I do find it greatly enjoyable to find Freud amongst others giving me ideas to write about.
    such is the ingenuity of any writer and that is of taking it one step further.
     
  6. Quezacotl

    Quezacotl New Member

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    If anything, Freud's concepts can be comedic gold. I could imagine a hilarious story with this Trio.

    As for an idea I have run with - four 'what if's that I had my Senior year going into college. What if I go in headstrong with the wrong major? What if I have no idea what to do and my life is pressuring me to go down one path? What if I do find what I want to do? What if I end up with a major I despise?
    I turned these four worries into four characters - its a hell of a fun time writing them.
     
  7. Cacian

    Cacian Banned

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    humm....sounds like a lot of work there...I would quantify to the word WhatIf and make it out to be a character like this:

    Mr WHATIF
    then introduce Mrs ANSWER as my second charcater
    and then Mr PROPABILITY would be my third.

    then proceed to write a story using these comical yet conceptual characters.
    that is what I do as a writer to relax.:p
     
  8. FoxPaw

    FoxPaw New Member

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    But that's exactly what Freud is saying. He's saying these three are always combating one another and affecting our thoughts and decisions.

    FWI: I'm not a fan of Freudian thought. With some of the things he said, he annoyed me, and with many others, I was amused.
     
  9. Mckk

    Mckk Member Supporter Contributor

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    Well, it's a framework of the human mind - of course there will be loads of other things that can be put into different categories, I'm sure. But what Freund got there is the most basic framework - it's basically saying whatever thought processes you're having could boil down in one of those 3. It doesn't describe your personality - we've got different measures of each, one would be stronger than another in different people - but it describes the basic human mind, that's all.

    Mind you, that's at least how I understood it. Unfortunately I'm not interested enough to really study it and see what it says specifically :D
     
  10. Cacian

    Cacian Banned

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    what things did he say that annoyed you?
     
  11. Cacian

    Cacian Banned

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    neither am I.
    I study others around me myself so to read about it too would greatly confuse.
    but since his ideas where suggested I thought maybe they would the perfect trio for an emeging story of sorts.
     
  12. FoxPaw

    FoxPaw New Member

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    I think the answer to that is, "What didn't he say?" I'm sorry I can't narrow it down because honestly I can't. You can look up some of the things he claims and see for yourself. If I had to name one, though, "penis envy" immediately comes to mind. =/ I mean, really?
     
  13. Cacian

    Cacian Banned

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    LOL oh wait a minute...LOL I can't stop laughing..
     
  14. Ixloriana

    Ixloriana New Member

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    Freud's theories pretty much boil down to:
    • Everything is about sex. Everything.
    • Women are inferior to men because they are preoccupied with the fact that they don't have a penis.
    • Crack cures everything.

    I agree that the OP may have misunderstood the meaning (or at least, the meaning that the OP understood isn't exactly clear.) However, what I think the OP is talking about is a group dynamic seen in many three-character groups. (Like Star Trek's Kirk, Spock, and McCoy.)

    The idea is that each character in this "golden trio" fills one of those roles.
    • The id, who is passionate and instinctive; "Screw the rules, do what you think is right."
    • The ego, who is cold and logical; "Think carefully about this, don't be hasty, follow the rules."
    • The super-ego, usually the leader, who acts as a balance between them and makes the ultimate decision about what they should do.
     
  15. art

    art Contributor Contributor

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    Yeah, so one might use the branches of government as a model:

    - One character, all action but stupid and bent.
    - The second, thoughtful and bent.
    - The third, vain, stupid and bent.

    Parts of the body might prove fruitful too.
     
  16. Cacian

    Cacian Banned

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    art and why not.
    anything goes.;)
     
  17. Cacian

    Cacian Banned

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    how about the one that doesn't give a kick about anyhting..that would be the fourth one.
    how come he deos not get a mention?
     
  18. Cacian

    Cacian Banned

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    apparently these trio ideas were not Freud's but James Strachey (whoever he is):

    so now we are confronted with:

    the IT
    the I (not to be confused with EYE)
    OVER_I

    but as I was saying at the beginning, there could be three characters made out of these Freudian slots.
    I found this

    which conclude I was not far out with my idea.
     
  19. architectus

    architectus Banned

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    Characters tend to create themselves in my head, deep in my subconscious or something, then just pop out fully formed.

    If I artifically create a character, I based it on different people or different actors, or different movie characters, or a mix of all that.
     
  20. shadowwalker

    shadowwalker Contributor Contributor

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    That's more like the Id.

    "The id is driven by the pleasure principle, which strives for immediate gratification of all desires, wants, and needs."

    "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 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."

    All quotes from http://psychology.about.com/od/theoriesofpersonality/a/personalityelem.htm

    Individual's personality develops depending on how strong each of these 'components' is in relation to the others.

    And yes, Freud had a lot of things wrong - but considering the times... The study of the mind and its proclivities is constantly changing, and theories clash just as constantly.
     

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