Preview

The Lady Or The Tiger Ego Or Superego

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
803 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Lady Or The Tiger Ego Or Superego
“The id [the part of personality that identifies wants and needs] doesn’t care about reality, about the needs of anyone else, only it’s own satisfaction.” (Heffner) The id is most prominent in babies and children, although it is possible for it to control a person. For example, people that manipulate others for their own personal gain typically are powered by their id, as it considers only it’s own long-term benefits, ignoring the outcome for anyone else. The princess in the short story, “The Lady or The Tiger” by Frank Stockton embodies the id specifically, with little portrayal of the ego or superego.

The trials are a public event held in an arena with two identical doors, one holding a tiger, the other a lady. If the man on trial, picks the door with the tiger, he is guilty and immediately mauled to death. If he picks the lady however, he is proven innocent and wed to her, despite all potential conflicts. The man had the choice of whichever door he wanted “subject to no guidance or influence” leaving only him responsible for the choice (Stockton, pg 2). This system is flawed when it
…show more content…
This puts her vindictive nature on full display, while showing her selfish side also. She believes that being the cause for the death of another human being is better than her lover having a happy and fulfilling life with another woman. Along the same lines, the princess hates the woman behind the door because she believes she has seen her admiring her lover, and also on more than one occasion has caught the two talking, although of what she does not know. This causes her to allow the id to take full control, while also silencing the ego and any rational thoughts about the situation. The princess attends the trial and suggests to her lover which door to open, causing the trial to go exactly as she

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    counselling theory essay

    • 1682 Words
    • 7 Pages

    “Freud used the terms Id, Ego and Super-ego to illustrate his ‘map’ of the internal relations within the psyche.”…

    • 1682 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the princess’s lover’s situation, she would have sent him to the lady due to her barbarism, love, and grief. There are many cases proving that the semi-barbaric princess chose the lady. "She loved the man with an ardor that kept their love exceedingly warm and strong", therefore she would want to keep him alive no matter what(363). "She had done what no other person had done, and possessed herself the secret of the doors"(363-364). Her obtaining the secret showed that she cared for him very dearly.…

    • 474 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ego, a sense of self, is a conflict that all characters must face in many different genres and literatures. Many people have their own definition of what ego means, however, www.dictionary.com defines ego as the “I or self of any person; a person as thinking, feeling, or willing, and distinguishing itself from the selves of others and from objects of its thought. Many authors use ego as a central theme because it can easily be related to the reader and the audience. Throughout our world today many define others as having an alter ego or a superego. As I grew up I learned that having an ego meant to be yourself, that is how I know to live my life. It is important for us not to fully depend on others, but to have confidence within ourselves. Our society is very unique about our actions, finding our sense of self is difficult because of the changing perspective in the world. Ego is shown through the society, being an individual, and looking towards others for guidance. In the novels Anthem, Life of Pi, Girl in Hyacinth Blue and the play Julius Caesar, along with the essay of Self – Reliance, all similar, but different in the same way, the authors each explore the concept of ego; ultimately, they argue that you can’t have freedom unless you know who your real self is.…

    • 2183 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    He also accustomed to forcing his wishes and views upon others (1). Therefore, during the developing of the voting, Juror Three try to force people to admit his prejudice continuously. If people do not agree his view and vote for not guilty, he is angry and interrupt other Jurors’ discussion. Even though other jurors support appropriate assumption and evidence to prove the murder is not guilty, Juror Three do not believe and keep his prejudice which has logical fallacies. For example, when Juror Nine change his vote in the second voting for not guilty, and want to explain the reason why he change his mind, Juror Three answers, “No, we wouldn’t like to know why”(12). When Juror Eight try to measure how long the old man can walk in 15 minutes, and walk as slowly as the old man who uses canes. However, Juror Three says, “You made it sound like a long walk. It’s not,” (19) and when Juror Eleven thinks Juror Eight’s behavior can be an important point. Juror Three declares, “It’s a ridiculous waste of time”…

    • 653 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Psy/210 Week 5 Assignment

    • 591 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Using Freud’s psychodynamic theory, I learned that my ego is what keeps the id and superego in check and that sometimes the failure of the ego to satisfy both results in my anxiety about certain…

    • 591 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    People whom observe the judicial system from afar can come to the conclusion that justice may be “blind”. However, this is not always true. In Rose’s piece of writing, it becomes the duty of twelve jurors to “try and separate the facts from the fancy” (Rose, 5). This means that the jurors would have to decide whether or not a 16-year-old boy was guilty of allegedly stabbing his father to death and committing “murder in the first degree- premeditated homicide” (Rose, 5).…

    • 813 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Throughout Reginald Rose’s ‘Twelve Angry Men’ the potential dangers of a justice system that depends upon twelve anonymous citizens determining the life of an equally anonymous accused are poignantly illustrated. While ‘Twelve Angry Men’ is in a sense, a tribute to the jury system, Rose predominantly questions the ultimate fairness and reliability of the system. The inharmoniousness of irrational prejudice is evidently placed within Roses’ play, accompanying this Rose brings to light the frailness of justice. The inharmoniousness of irrational prejudice is evidently placed within oses’ play. Rose ultimately accompanies this by bringing to light the frailness of justice and the questioning…

    • 655 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In ancient times there was a semi-barbaric king who lived and ruled by his peculiar rules. He loved to rule with absolute authority and took pleasure in making the crooked walk a straight path. In order to this, the king created his own justice system. When a subject was accused of a crime he or she would be sent to a public arena and their fate would be determined by what lied behind the door he or she chose. If the subject opened the door with the lady, they would be found innocent and will marry the beautiful maiden. However, if the accused opened the second door, a vicious tiger would run out and eat the subject alive. For the king and the village spectators, the event would either be a joyous or sorrowful occasion.…

    • 304 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    It is inevitable that the jurors own personal experiences affect their opinion on the innocence of the defendant. It is these personal experiences, which threaten the defendants right to ‘a fair trial’ at the danger of a juror’s personal bias ‘obscur[ing] the truth.’ Juror 3 is depicted as the juror with the most prejudice throughout the play, consistent with the vote of ‘guilty’ as he relates the defendant to his own son who he describes as a ‘rotten kid.’ This illustrates the danger that personal bias has on the justice system, as the defendant is being adjudicated by juror 3 on his age and gender rather than the merits of the case. Prejudice is also displayed by juror 10 who see’s the accused as ‘trash’ due to his ‘slums’ background, this…

    • 1008 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The different types of characters in the jury decision create many different examples of approaches to conflict. Jury member number two, the quiet man with the glasses, becomes the target of many of the other characters. When the men are all going around and explaining their reasons for why they feel the boy is guilty, Jury member number three interrupts and says, “what about the switch-knife found in the man’s…

    • 639 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    It was one of the fairest and loveliest of the damsels of the court who had been selected as the reward of the accused youth should he proved innocent of the crime of aspiring to one so far about him, and the princess hated her." Regardless of what decision she made, she would meet the same punishment of losing her lover. However, it is my belief that providing the door selection with the fair maiden behind it may still give the couple hope an d a chance to be with each other in the near future.…

    • 471 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The princess has to sacrifice her lover because the king finally discovers the secret love affair of his daughter. She has already lost her lover and now has to choose who to lose him to. She has found out what is behind each door, and lets her lover know. She has the choice to lose him to either another woman or to death, and the author ends the story with the question of what does the reader believe the princess's choice was. In the story author hides little hints,…

    • 352 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Lady or the Tiger

    • 406 Words
    • 2 Pages

    In my opinion I think the princess pointed to the one with the tiger, but hopefully not because I bet you she doesn’t want him dead. In the story it was said that the princess was a jealous person. So, she was really not a fan of the lady who was behind the door, making the princess undefeated. The lady and the princess cannot do a contest or any competition but I’m just saying you know. Anyway I would choose the door with the tiger not trying to be mean.…

    • 406 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The id represents the individual's impulsive desires which are regulated by the superego. The ego acts out the socially desirable behaviour. The id works in keeping with the pleasure principle, which can be understood as a demand to take care of needs immediately (e.g. this could relate to the behaviour of stealing). These demands are innocently explored through childhood - through the four stages of sexual development. Freudian theory believes that criminality is influenced by mental disturbances -which have aroused by a conflict between the id, ego and superego, or it may be the result of improper fixations during one of the stages of development. This mental disturbance often displays itself in the form of behavioural disorders such as social aggression or passiveness.…

    • 1600 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    I believe the semi barbaric princess pushed the young man's life into the door of death because she could never see him happy with some one else. I think the princess looked at the situation from this point of view -- if the young man dies, he just dies. But if he lives -- he lives with someone else and this would haunt the princess for the rest of her…

    • 381 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays

Related Topics