Student 14

Throughout the course, we have studied various theories of the self. We have studied Freud and Jung psychological theories. We have also studied Hinduism and self-expression in the Romantic period and the literary view of Rilke. There are many similarities as well as differences in these various theories.

According to Freud's theory, there are three basic elements of the personality. The three types are the id, the superego, and the ego. The Freudian theory considers the id to be instinctual drives. The id is basically sexual in nature. The id is also thought of as the unconscious. The superego is thought of as moral instincts. According to Freud, the superego is the positive side of the ego. The ego is considered to be the balance between the id and the superego. The ego is the part of the personality that deals with reality and social force.

Another psychological theory is one produced by Jung. The Jungian self is expressed through various symbols. The main symbol is the mandale which represents unity. Jung believes the self is one's goal in life. Jung believes that the goal of self may never be reached, but he believes the goal motivates us and our behavior to find wholeness. Jung believes that a good way to find wholeness is through a spiritual journey. He believes wholeness is finding the perfect balance between extroversion and introversion. Extroversion is when one is concerned more with the outside world than with one's own feelings. Introversion is the exact opposite. Jung also believes another way one can find the perfect balance of unity is through sensing and intuiting, and thinking and feeling.

About seven present of the world's population believe in Hinduism. Hinduism is the Asian view of the self. The main goal in Hinduism is to realize there is not you, but there is Brahman. Hinduism is a way of life. The Hindu believe after death the soul leaves the body and is reborn in the body of another person, animal, vegetable, or mineral. This process is called Samara. They believe you are reborn as different things depending on your good or bad actions, also known as karma. The Hindu also believe in the cast system. The cast system is people the different levels of society. The Hindu also believe in the Upanishads which is the mystical writing grouped in the aranyakes. Hindus believe the universe is a great enclosed sphere, a comic egg with India at the center.

Self expression can be seen in the art and music of the romantic period. Art and music during the romantic period did not have a single style or technique. The paintings were usually imaginative and emotionally intense. The various literary views of Rilke can be seen throughout his journals. The different journals express his emotions feelings, and a struggling soul. His journal shows the struggle of a character to find a balance. All the views of self and self-expression are similar because they all have the same goal of finding a balance. All the views of self and self-expression fit into the cosmos. The cosmos is the universe as a harmonious system. The differences that I have found in the theories of finding one's self is how one should approach the way of becoming balanced.

My self-portrait reflects many of the views of self. My portrait reflects the Freudian theory because one side off me is very moral while the other side is not so moral. The self portrait reflects the Jung theory because one side of me lets people get to know me while the other side just shows my surface. I think I agree less with the theory of Hinduism, but I can see how we are all on the same path even though we get to the path of balance in different ways.

I use line, shape, color, and texture to represent different items in my personality. For example I use line to show emotions to express good feelings as well as bad. Shape was use in my portrait to symbolize different beliefs and obstacles in my life. Color was used to represent the different sides of my personality. For example I use a opaque color to represent a side of me that I rarely show. Texture was used to represent the soft and ruff sides of my personality.