Analysis of a Dream and Freud's Techniques

This paper is an analysis of a dream, using the techniques developed by Sigmund Freud in his groundbreaking book, The Interpretation of Dreams, first published in 1900. Freud argued that dreams provide a direct view of the workings of the subconscious mind by showing the problems with which the individual is currently dealing, as well as the suppressed desires and emotions that are affecting current decisions about those problems. Intensive investigation of the imagery and symbols represented by the dream can clarify those aspects of the individual's life which may be preventing him or her from dealing effectively with life. Freud's dream work emphasized sexual interpretations of many dream images, as he believed that unresolved sexual issues are at the root of many other psychological problems. His work was important and influential, and many psychologists have subsequently built on his methods, expanded his explanations, and broadened his insights.

Freud was the first modern writer to argue that dreams provide invaluable tools for understanding the unconscious mind. He (1931) contends, "Every dream will reveal itself as a psychological structure, full of significance, and one which may be assigned to a specific place in the psychic activities of the waking state" (p. 137). Freud's book was filled with examples of dreams recounted by his patients, as well as his own dreams.

Freud acknowledged that each dream included in the book was recorded as it had been remember

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me with his father while attending college. He is in the process of deciding the rest of his undergraduate plans, as well as what he wants to do for his graduate studies. This is his account of his dream: I was constructing an endless series of walls. I was using a fireproof material which felt smooth and looked like glass. Each time I finished a wall, I started on the next one. In the middle of my work, I walked outside the building, where I saw the White House under construction across the street. As I walked closer to the building, I saw that it was being constructed entirely out of plastic Lego building blocks. I realized that I was 11 or 12 years old. I did not see anyone else in my dream. I felt happy. The dream ended with the realization that the White House was being built out of toy blocks. I was constructing an endless series of walls. The son has spent his life, at least since his mother's departure, being industrious and constructive. The walls could represent this lifelong drive to be useful and "do something" with his life. However, they also indicate the barriers that being so constantly productive have raised in his life. He admits that he has few friends his own age, since he skipped several grad

Category: Psychology - A