Psychoanalysis on Great Gatsby

The unconscious is important in determining behaviour. A lot of desires, motivations & conflicts are below the level of consciousness. People are driven by: animalistic, instinctual urges, especially lust and aggression Tom choices in his life prove that he’s is driven by lust & aggression& like an animal on cares for his survival.
Gatsby is a bootlegger because he was unhappy about his past about being lower class, & wants daisy back, which drives him to become wealthy.
Daisy is unconscious that the way tom treats her makes her think women are fools, she starts to thing thinks she’s nothing of herself & allows tom to cheat on her
Structure of Mind: separate motivations: Id (irrational and emotional part of the mind); the Ego (rational part); Superego (the moral part). Gatsby is driven by his desire for Daisy on the id level, reinvents his image to a “big shot” on the ego level develops a conflicting personality on the super-ego level, moral and immoral at the same time.
Nick is mainly acting as Gatsby\’s super-ego giving judgments and warnings to him; he also ends his relationship back home before starting a new one with Jordan. Tom is on the id level, cheating on daisy, punches myrtle, and he’s racist and sexist. Daisy is on the id level, she’s only cares about money, and allows Gatsby to take the blame for her killing Myrtle.
Defence Mechanisms: life is essentially too painful for the human being to endure consciously, much of the pain and conflict is diverted via defence mechanisms and kept within the unconscious.
Denial: Gatsby is unable to see his affair with daisy for what it really is, he also represses his past & creates jay. George refuses to believe his wife is having an affair.
Daisy tells tom she’s loves Gatsby, but tom acts like she didn’t say anything important.
Fear of intimacy: Every character goes through great measures to avoid being in a deep relationship
Example: Gatsby goes after daisy although he knows he