To Kill A Mockingbird Psychoanalytical Analysis

The psychoanalytical lens is a way of understanding the human mind and the characters within a story. Many different theories have contributed to psychology, but “most psychological criticism of the last century lands at the doorstep of Sigmund Freud” (Gillespie 1). Freud was the father of a psychoanalysis, helped explain human behavior, and came up with a way to treat mental illnesses. Freud focused much of his ideas on psychic forces having an influence on human behavior (Gillespie 2). He had ideas that explained the human mind and how it works. Some of the main psychological ideas focused on while reading include why characters do something, fascinations, relationships, personalities, and hidden meanings through different words and phrases. What makes this lens unique is how it improves the …show more content…
Understanding what is being read could be improved when using the psychoanalytical lens although, there are definitely drawbacks. Other parts of the book may be confusing and difficult to comprehend. The lens itself is very confusing, especially when using Freud’s ideas. All things considered, applying the psychoanalytical lens to a book forces the reader to think about the motives and personalities of the characters. Psychoanalytical ideas in To Kill a Mockingbird are mostly directed toward the theme that people are not always who they say they are. The psychoanalytical lens could be applied to the book To Kill a Mockingbird written by Harper Lee. To Kill a Mockingbird is the story about a young girl named Scout and how her brother, Jem, breaks his arm. They hang out with their best friend Dill a lot and talk about the Radleys, who are a secluded family that no one ever sees. Scout and Jem’s father, Atticus, is a lawyer who takes on a case to defend a African American man accused of rape. The trial teaches the kids lessons about who people really are and the