Reflection From a LONG Time Ago

In class, many weeks ago, before spring break, the class split up into groups to do different types of critics on The Picture of Dorian Gray. My groups was psychoanalyze the characters in Dorian Gray, along with psychoanalysis of the author, Oscar Wilde. We discovered a whole different way to look at the text. Using Barry's Beginning Theory as a guide, we looked at the quote "Basil Hallward is what I think I am: Lord Henry what the world thinks me: Dorian what I would like to be" Attributing this to Freud, we thought that Lord Henry is the id, that he does anything that he feels good to do and therefore Oscar's id is manifested by the actions of Lord Henry. Lord Henry's way of like and the New Hedonism is extensions of the the id . Next, Dorian is the Ego of Oscar Wilde. He understands the needs of others, trying to satisfy the id, but take experiences and situations into consideration. (Dorian doing trying to appease Lord Henry). Finally, Basil is the Superego of Wilde. He is the moral compass and dictates what is right and wrong in the story by confronting Dorian.

The Lover

This is a reflection on our untraditional class structure and my particular group's work. We looked at the idea of the feminine style of writing and how it changed women's voice in literature. I have never read anything by Maragarite Duras, and I thought that this gave a great introduction to her work! The fragmented way in which she writes gives her the power to have the reader know exactly how she feels in an instance, vividly. For a woman on her deathbed able to conjure up these images and feeling in the reader is truly admirable. While many stories chronologically build up a feeling or instance, Duras is able to catch the reader off guard, which makes the literature much more effective. It gives women a voice for their emotions, but they are legitimate because the emotions are presented so rationally. However, to me, her rationality almost makes her seem crazy, that she exaggerates things. But maybe I just want that to make me feel better about what is happening in the story.