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  • Essay / Impulsive Behavior in Hamlet - 1071

    An examination of this can determine future behavior problems. Hamlet's obvious impulsive reactions are manipulated in order to understand unconscious desires and actions. The mind is divided into three components: the Id, the Ego and the Superego. He compared the conscious and subconscious to an iceberg. This iceberg has both the Superego and the Id engulfed in the water. The id is present at birth and is entirely part of the unconscious, it is animated by the pleasure principle. For example the desire to be cleaned and fed. The Superego is the moral principle that decides the right decision. This iceberg represents the fact that these two are unconscious and not going straight to the surface. In the middle of the iceberg is the Ego, the preconscious, it is the area that we are comfortable showing to the world. The ego is responsible for managing the reality principle, which aims to satisfy the impulses and desires of the Id in a more realistic way. Id is the most prevalent determining factor in Hamlet. At the beginning of the play, Hamlet's Id is waiting for him to commit suicide, as he states "Oh, that this too solid flesh would melt and thaw and dissolve into dew." As the It pushes him to commit suicide, he then decides that killing others would give him greater satisfaction. It is also prevalent in the most famous monologue in English literature “to be or not to be…”. Hamlet struggles to end all his pain through suicide or to escape from it. As stated previously, the Id judges the situation and finds the ideal that will satisfy/please the being. In this case, the satisfying choice is to make him commit suicide and kill those who killed him.