The Freudian Accents In Connie

Raaed Zaman

Fiquis 10108/ 10008

10/26/2020

Psychoanalysis is a concept developed by Sigmund Freud, and he reiterated that the human mind is influenced by different desires such as wishful impulse, conscious and unconscious repression, and resistance. Within Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic personality model, the conscious mind comprises everything inside people’s consciousness. This is the element of people’s psychological processing that they may think and discuss rationally. The conscious mind includes perceptions, sensations, feelings, memories, and fantasies inside people’s current consciousness. Closely linked to the conscious mind is the subconscious that comprises the things that people are not considering but which they may bring into conscious awareness. From this rationale, the paper examines the works of Joyce Carol Oates, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”. The narrative by Joyce Carol Oates is flooded with psychoanalysis concepts that enhance understanding of Freud’s ideas.  Freud created a list of defense mechanisms employed by the human subconscious to cope with issues too deep for the conscious mind. Freud’s elements of the psyche are translated into elements scattered throughout the work expressed through Connie’s character.

The first concept discussed by Freud is denial. This happens once the subconscious cannot cope with an event or issue and compels the person to falsify reality and decline to admit it. The most noticeable case of denial falls within the lap of Connie herself. In Where are you Going, Where Have you Been?, the author illustrates that  Connie is prone to disprove the likelihood of danger during the conflict with Arnold Friend. The above element indicates that Connie was not keen to notice transformations in her life and failed to consider the risks associated with neglecting Arnold.

  Freud also discusses the impacts of impulses on people’s lives. Freud claims that the id ensures that the id’s impulses are expressed in a manner acceptable in the real world. In Connie’s story,  the elements of impulses are seen. In many instances, Oates, through the use of Connie as the significant character, illustrates that her impulses create mental demands that should be satisfied immediately. For instance, she states, “ She makes me want to throw up sometimes” (Oates 45). The above statement indicates that Connie hated her mother, and her wish was that she could die so that she could have the freedom to do whatever she likes. Even though wishful impulse may trigger a wrong decision, the ability to make a rational decision becomes challenging because the mind is already affected. Immediately the conscious mind acquires its desires, individuals tend to experience pleasant and relaxing feelings, but when they get denied the pleasure, the human mind becomes restless.

Moreover, the conscious part of the “wish” is shown through Connie. In Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? It is evident that Connie, through the preconscious mind, wishes that her mother could be dead. Her preconscious mind also directed her to do different elements. For example, in the story, it is evident that Connie had two sides to her. Her characters were different when at home and while away from school. Therefore, having two sides was a means of satisfying her inner id.  Pre-consciousness and consciousness are also reflected where Connie developed a habit of complaining to the mother’s friends. This is also when she could go for outings in the shopping malls with some of her friends despite leaving house chores unattended. In one instance, she states that ,“Who the hell do you think you are.” (Oates 57). The above statement was directed to a driver she knew. The conscious and preconscious mind reminds Connie that whatever she is doing is entirely wrong, but her wish drives the unconscious mind to tell her not to mind anyway.

Within the tale’s heading, the present is absent; however, this is the single condition of mind and the existing state by which Connie seems to be conscious; it is the single section of the human state and humankind knowledge that she comprehends. Despite its employ of past tense, the narrative discloses to the reader wherein Connie is. At all times, she is without concern of what brought her there or wherever the minute will guide to. For Connie, the past is indistinct, while the prospect is of no significance. Certainly, Connie is “an ordinary American adolescent of her place and time” is not alone within this outlook. Like within Connie’s case, it is just the here and current that is relevant. Nevertheless, from what the audience can learn within the tale, being stalled bears dangerous and overwhelming effects. As a result, the heading becomes a sort of serious caution, an indication to look past the space of “now” or else be compelled, possibly by extremely violent ways, as in the case of Connie.

Connie’s desires are mostly present in the narrative. Her desires are exposed through how she stares at herself, her affiliation to her family, and her connection to her associates and other boys. Connie desires that she wishes to accomplish a notice by others and her sexual wants. Within the opening line of the narrative, it is evident she is infatuated with her appearances and the manner she appears to other persons:“…she had a quick, nervous giggle habit of craning her neck to glance into mirrors, or checking other people’s faces to make sure her own was all right” (Oates 312). Connie is examining other people’s faces to ensure that she continually appears better compared to they are. As objected to by her relatives, Connie had a diverse means of clothing, walking, and smiling while in the company of her associates.

Freud’s elements are translated into elements scattered throughout the work expressed through the character of Connie. The first element is that of denial. The most noticeable case of denial falls within the lap of Connie herself. The element of the impulse is consciously evident in the story. The wishful impulse gets generated from the mental demands that one must get satisfied immediately. Within the tale’s heading, the present is absent; however, this is the single condition of mind and the existing state by which Connie seems to be conscious; it is the single section of the humankind state and human knowledge that she comprehends.

Works Cited Page

• Oates, Joyce Carol, and Elaine Showalter. “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”. Rutgers Univ. Press, 1994. 
• Freud, Sigmund. “Sigmund Freud: 5 Lectures about Psychoanalysis.” 1. Lecture , 1915, Worcester, MA, Clark University.