Essay about Oedipus the King and Oedipus Complex - 612 Words

Oedipus Rex, is a Sophocles play, that according to Freud exemplifies a formative stage in a individuals psychosexual development. The psychosexual stages are the age related developmental periods in which sexual impulses are exerted through different bodily zones and then activities are associated with those areas in the bodily zones. These is when a young child will transfer his love object from the breast to the mother. When the child gives up the breast and moves to the mother it is known as the oral phase. The child then has the sexual desire for the opposite sex parent and will usually have hostility towards the same sex parent. During this time, the child will have a secret desire to†¦show more content†¦The boy then feels hostility and jealously towards his father, but then will come to realize that his father is much more powerful then he is. Freud says, â€Å" the boy will then experience castration anxiety which is the fear that his father will punish him by cas tration (Freud, 1993) .† Fixation at a particular stage may result If the developmental conflicts are not successfully resolved. He figured if this feelings were not successfully resolved then they would contribute to neuroses in later life. The only way anyone could resolve the Oedipus Complex and the anxieties from the complex , the boy ultimately will join force with the enemy by resorting to the defense mechanism of identification. Identification is a psychoanalytic theory that involves the ability to reduce the anxiety by imitating the behavior and characteristics of one individual. For instance, he would most likely imitate his fathers values, attitude and mannerisms. Girls are another way in which the Oedipus Complex could be resolved because girls usually identify with the same sex parent and then they develop a strong superego against urges. Freud considered this complex is be the cornerstone of superego and the nucleus of all human relationships. Oedipus in a way had this Oedipus Complex becauseShow MoreRelated##rayal Effect Of Oedipus The King1237 Words   |  5 PagesDid Oedipus suffer from the Oedipal effect? The Oedipus effect is when a son has the desire to have sexual relations with their biological mother. Oedipus did not suffer from the Oedipal effect because the events that occur during the play cause Oedipus to be unaware the man he killed, and the woman he had sexual relations with were his biological parents. Oedipus the King, a play written by Sophocles, tells the story of a man who becomes the new king of Thebes by fulfilling the prophecy of a blindRead MoreOedipus Complex Essay793 Words   |  4 Pagesheavily involved in researching psychology, which lead him to construct many theories such as the Unconscious Mind, the Psyche, and Oedipus Complex. Although the Oedipus Complex was created from the play, Oedipus the King by Sophocles, the Oedipus Complex does not apply to the tragedy of Oedipus because he did not know who his true parents were. The Oedipus Complex is a theory in which children develop sexual feelings for the parent of the opposite sex of them, and a sense of competition towardsRead More No Oedipal Complex Found in Hamlet Essay1150 Words   |  5 Pages No Oedipal Complex Found in Hamlet nbsp; Some scholars have interpreted Hamlets actions throughout Hamlet to be the Oedipus complex.nbsp; According to the story of Oedipus, Laius, his father, learned from an oracle that Oedipus would kill him.nbsp; Laius then left his son to die on a mountain, where he was found and raised by the King of Corinth.nbsp; Oedipus was also told that he would someday kill his own father, and fled Corinth because he believed that the King of Corinth was his realRead More The Oedipus Complex in Oedipus Rex Essay732 Words   |  3 PagesThe Oedipus Complex in Oedipus Rex Thousands of years after Sophocles wrote the story of Oedipus Rex; psychologists named a complex after the behavioral characteristics of Oedipus. For many years psychologists have called a son having a sexual attraction toward his mother the Oedipus Complex. It is common belief that Oedipus Rex did not actually suffer from the Oedipus Complex. The basic support for this theory can be found through Oedipus inherent fear of the prophecy placed upon him,Read More Film Adaptation of Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex Essay971 Words   |  4 Pages â€Å"You are your own enemy† (Guthrie, Oedipus Rex, 22:43). In the film adaptation of Sophocles’ â€Å"Oedipus Rex† (1957), Sir Tyrone Guthrie portrays the characters as truth seekers that are ignorant when trying to find King Laius’ murderer. On the other hand, Sigmund Freud’s hypothesis of Sophocles’ work introduces us to â€Å"The Oedipus Complex† (1899) which states that as we’re young we grow infatuated with our opposite sex parent and feel resentment towards our same-sex parent. 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If a person is one to not get over this stage in his childhood, to detach from his mother and forgive his father, then the conflict of the triangle has not been resolved leading him to be psychoneurotic. In the next paragraphs,Read MoreSigmund Freuds Oedipal Complex731 Words   |  3 PagesFreuds making of the Oedipal Complex is outrageous. Freud’s ideas of a child’s development is very graphic and disturbing to our modern day intellect, but fit the norm of early 1900’s society Oedipus the King, written is 440 B.C., by Sophacles has fascinated audiences for many years. However, Sigmund Freud came up with the ‘Oedipal Complex’ based off of this play that has caused plenty of controversy. He believed that, based of Oedipus the King and the attraction Oedipus had to his mother, that allRead MoreAnalysis Essay: Oedipus the King1017 Words   |  4 Pages Casual Analysis Essay: Oedipus the King Sophocles play Oedipus the King has endured for over two thousand years. The plays lasting appeal may be attributed to the fact it encompasses all the classical elements of tragedy as put forth by Aristotle in Poetics nearly a century before it was written. According to Aristotle, tragedy needs to be an imitation of life according to the law of probability or necessity. Tragedy is serious, complete, and has magnitude. It must have a beginning, middleRead More Sigmund Freud’s Interpretation of Sophocles’ Oedipus Tyrannus1369 Words   |  6 PagesSigmund Freud’s Interpretation of Sophocles’ Oedipus Tyrannus Throughout the years, there have been many interpretations of Sophocles’ Oedipus Tyrannus. However, one of the most interesting interpretations of the play would have to be one that uses the theories of Sigmund Freud to analyze the actions of the characters. The use of various aspects of Freudian theory such as the id, ego, superego, and the Oedipus Complex reveals Oedipus and his behaviors throughout the course of the play. In