Student 29

The view of the self is perceived in a variety of ways and there are numerous ways to express the different perceptions. The views can be expressed through paintings, music, religious practice, and literary works. The period of the Romantics, the psychological thoughts of Jung, Freud, and Rilke, and the religious practice of Hinduism all have the perceptions of how to view the self. Although when studied the teachings of the how to view the self are entirely different, some of them share similarities. The study of the views of the self is intended to help one's mind grow and open to view the self in a new manner.

Carl Jung and Freud's psychological thoughts are, in my opinion, the most practical. I can relate to the theories of these two Jung and Freud. Jung's thoughts are that a person is either an introvert or an extrovert. An introvert takes thoughts in and is more closed emotion and extroverts have no problem sharing out loud exactly what they think and feel. For the most part I am an extrovert because I am outspoken, however I do have a sensitive, secret side that can be interpreted as introversion.

Freud's thoughts differ in that he has a theory that there are three component that make up the self. There is the id, ego, and superego. The id represents the animal instincts and the sexual drives that people experience. The ego is the realistic perception of things and thinks clearly to keep the self-view balanced. The superego handles the morals, conscience and guilt that one can feel. The ego balances between the "devil" id and the "angel" superego and helps to bring everything together as a whole. Jung agrees partially with Freud by expressing his thought that we are always suffering a constant struggle between our id, ego, and superego. Freud's way of coping with these three components of the self is through repression, suppression, and sublimation. Repression is the way of pushing things out of the mind and act as if they are nonexistent. Suppression is the pushing things out of the way to think about them later. Suppression leaves the things to weigh on the mind, which is something that I can strongly identify. Lastly, sublimation puts sexual, erotic thoughts into a creative acceptable manner. I believe that through these ideas and ways of coping that most people, including myself, can find some way to relate the psychological theories of Jung and Freud.

Rilke expresses himself through Jung's ideas. Rilke shows his personality as an introvert through the literary works he produces. In his article, "Faces," he says that people adapt to the situation in which they are confronted and that they change faces for different occasions. Rilke also implies that we cannot hide for too long until our real face begins to shine and is revealed. I agree with Rilke that people can only hide for so long before their true colors start to shine, so everyone should reveal himself or herself from the beginning and be happy with their true self.

A contrasting view from Jung and Freud would be that of Romanticism. Romantics express the self through paintings and music. The Romantic period could be described as the revolutionary period. Views of art and music changed dramatically from the traditional forms. Walter Pater explains that " Romanticism is 'the addition of strangeness to beauty'." Pater's quote can be explained by looking at the art and listening to the music during this era. The paintings used more diagonal lines, such as the painting the "Raft of the Medusa." While still beautiful, the painting was strange and eerie. On the other hand of painting, there was music done by the Romantics. The music "broke the classical mold" of the Sonata Allegro Form and became more expansive and irregular. A primary example of one composer that was expansive and irregular would be Brahms and his many pieces that keep people clawing the seats as they listened to his works. It was commented that the Romantic's music was "with more of an expression of feeling than painting." It is obvious that the Romantic Era is filled with emotion and great works came out of this revolution of art to give everyone a different view.

The Asians, unlike the Romantics perceived the self through religion. Hinduism originated in India and no on person created Hinduism. Hinduism is a way of life rather than a practiced set of thoughts. I believe this is the reason the religion is most tolerated. Hinduism allows individuality even thought there is a supreme God, Brahman. Hindu's give the freedom of choosing individual paths, or lifestyles, because everyone knows the consequences of their actions, or karma. The karma then predicts what kind of life that will be lead in the samara, or reincarnation, of the life that was lead on earth. I personally cannot relate to the thoughts of Hinduism because I do not believe in reincarnation. There is a similarity; however, in that the Hindus do believe that one has to be good on earth in order to have a good life in the reincarnation, much like I believe that one has to lead a good life to go to heaven.

My self-portrait has color, texture and lines. My main color is red, which would represent my passion for everything that I do. I also am a redhead and can be tempered at times. The texture, for the most part, is smooth, signifying that I am not moody unless pushed to react in an ill manner. I am easy person to get along with and, regardless of hair color, nice too. The rough texture is only around the edges, which proves that I am not moody, but I can get mad. My main shape in my project is the circle, which when explained by Jung, means unity of the self. I picked this shape because the self is the central midpoint of the personality and the self holds all other systems together with stability and equilibrium. The circle represents every aspect of my personality the best. Another shape that I used is the spiral, which exemplifies that I am strong and my life is fluid. I feel that all of the aspects of Freud's ideas are balanced through the flow of my spiral. The last shape on my project that is small but extremely significant is the square. I have stability in my life and am independent. I believe that I have achieved this by following Jung's thoughts of being myself and becoming comfortable with which I am on the inside and out. I used the views of the Romantics by representing my personality through nature. I used a flower to represent my growth through college and life. I also used the a beach theme to signify my personality because it is at the beach where I feel myself and the most free, which besides the Romantics, would also carry out the thoughts of Jung.