AnalysisofDean’sMoriarty’sid.docVIP

Analysis of Dean’s Moriarty’s id, ego and superego in the novel on the road On the Road is a masterpiece written by Jack Kerouac, which evocates the Beat Generation. The Central elements of Beat culture included experimentation with drugs, alternative forms of sexuality, and an interest in Eastern religion, a rejection of materialism, and the idealizing of exuberant, unexpurgated means of expression and being. It is a simple story of two young men searching for good times and inner calm. Dean’s Moriarty is one of the leading characters in the novel. According to Freud’s tripartite model, id means the unconscious natural and original desires or impetus, such as sex, hunger and anger and so on; ego refers to the reality, in which all desires and impetus are postponed or stopped; superego is opposite to id, which is restrained by morality and conscience. In the novel, Dean’s Moriarty’s id, ego and superego are respectively reflected on the three following aspects: searching for body pleasure, living for the present, searching for the soul and inner calm. Searching for body pleasure shows us Dean’s id. For Dean Moriarty, his soul “is wrapped up in a fast car, a coast to reach, and a woman at the end of the road”(Q) What Dean searches in his road life is the deeper part of the soul, the ecstasy and meaning of life which is driven by his id. He looks for the physical ecstasy, that is, the body pleasure; he tries every means to express his eagerness to the necessary need of pleasure. Living for the present shows us Dean’s ego. In reality, Dean Moriarty’s behavior and personality show us the detailed characteristics of his ego, which can also map on his id. Though Dean is living for the present and searching for good times, his original desires was restricted by the world he lives in. He is a wild man; he steals cars and spends as much time as possible naked. But to Dean, people are to be used; his friends are seen only through the lens of what Dean can