"The First Rule About Fight Club is: You Don't Talk About Fight Club"

Essay by rcheer8302University, Bachelor'sA+, November 2004

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At first glance, Fight Club seems to be a rather screwy movie about a man with Schizophrenia or some type of Multiple Personality Disorder. But looking at the movie with an open mind and a bit more in depth, it is likely that one might notice that the main characters in the film resemble Sigmund Freud's structure of personality. The Id and the Superego are plainly noted in the actions, thoughts, and words of the two main characters: Tyler Durden, played by Brad Pitt, and "the narrator" ( or Jack) played by Edward Norton. Many examples can be noted in reference to the different aspects of the personality along with references to different defense techniques from anxiety throughout the film.

When taking a closer look, Jack can easily be noted as the superego side of the personality. Freud saw the superego as the side of the personality that inflicted guilt onto a person, the conscience, the "perfection principle."

The superego is like Jiminy Cricket in the classic Disney film Pinocchio. It is like the little angel that appears on a cartoon's shoulder when they are trying to make a critical decision. The superego does not take risks, it does not seek fun, exciting, and adventurous times, and it does not look at pain as any type of a gain. Itcounteracts the Id with a primitive and unconscious sense of morality . The Superego, Freud stated, is the moral agent that links both our conscious and unconscious minds. The Superego stands in opposition to the desires of the Id. The Superego is itself part of the unconscious mind. As the conscience, it is a primitive or child based knowledge of right and wrong. Jack is just that. He lives a simple life ordering furniture from catalogs. Knowing that if he...