Edgar Huntly's Coping Mechanism: Sleep Walking
William Wilson's Coping Mechanism: Eliminating his Conscience
The Minister's Black Veil's Coping Mechanism: Avoidance
Tentative Works Cited:
Freud, Sigmund. Psychopathology of Everyday Life. London: T. Fisher Unwin, 1901
-used to summarize Freud's theory about the Id, Ego, and Super-Ego
Neill, James. “Structure of Mind: Freud’s Id, Ego, and Superego.” Personality and Individual
Differences: An Undergraduate Psychology Course. 2004. 18 Nov. 2008
<http://wilderdom.com/personality/L8-4StructureMindIdEgoSuperego.html>
-shows how the three parts of the mind interact with each-other and what they are for
Shakespeare, William. “Hamlet.” The Complete Pelican Shakespeare. Eds. Stephen Orgel and A.R. Braunmuller. New York: Penguin Putnam Inc., 2002.
-comparing Edgar Huntly to the revenge tragedy of Hamlet (tragedy and coping mechanisms - result is unpleasant, instant gratification = long-term suffering)
Cassuto, Leonard. "[Un]consciousness Itself is the Malady: Edgar Huntly and the Discourse of the Other."
Modern Language Studies 4 (1993): 118-130
-uses Freud to analyze Edgar's behavior and how sleep walking is the manifestation of his warring mind/conscience
Cochrane, Robert W. "Hawthorne's Choice: The Veil or the Jaundiced Eye." College English 23 (1962): 342-346
-talks about the difference between the Minister's acceptance and display of his sin vs. the hidden and unacknowledged sin of others.
*I have yet to find a serious academic source for my paper in terms of Poe's William Wilson, but I do have several ideas regarding what each side of William Wilson represents (Id- earthly William Wilson, Super-Ego- soul) and how killing his better half is a coping mechanism.
Ok - I can get behind this in general but it's a little brief for me to offer any real guidance or (more importantly) ask questions that push on what you're trying to do. One thing I'd definitely like to make sure is in your paper is the "so what" -- so there's crap that we go through and we have different coping mechanisms...so what? What is the argument that moves this beyond a summary of three chunks of story? I'm assuming it's in the "create the twisted plots and interesting outcomes" statement, but you could almost put anything in place of "coping mechanisms" and argue that it creates twisted plots and interesting outcomes (e.g. terror, guilt, genre, etc). So, focus on discovering that, I'd say. It might not come until you've worked through your examples and know what you want to present, but it should be there.
ReplyDeleteActually, I thought it was clear when I said, "More importantly, I want to illustrate how our mind's have evolved to deal with the atrocities we commit by developing the 'coping strategies' shown in Edgar Huntly, William Wilson, and The Minister's Black Veil." But I guess it needs a little bit more development? It's hard for me to be specific until I start writing and working with the ideas more. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteYes, that statement is clear, but it is not an argument. As written, it sets up a framework for a summary, as in "and now I will point out some things in different texts that look like this." My point about it being too brief for me to offer anything of real use still stands; take a look around at some of the other posts for examples of the length and depth presented.
ReplyDelete