Student 3

Freud and Jung have different psychological theories on the self. Freud sees each person as having three parts. The "id" has urges and animal characteristics. The "ego" is the middle trying to learn how to deal with situations. The "superego" is the conscience and causes the person to feel guilty about making a wrong decision. Freud believes in circumstances people will either repress, regress, or sublime. When a person uses repression, they try to "push down" the problem, instead of dealing with it. When a person deals with the problem of regression, they "curl up" and the "id" comes out of that person. Putting the sexual and aggressive thoughts into action is called sublimation, which is a socially acceptable behavior. When faced with a problem, I try to repress the situation and push it aside. After a while, I realize I am going to have to deal with it and just face the consequences.

Jung believes life is a circle represented in the mandala, balanced and whole. The middle of the mandala contains the self, which is the center of the personality. According to Jung, Christ is the ultimate example of a pure self which represents unity and stability. Jung believed people were either extroverted or introverted. The extroverted person says what is on their mind during a conversation, instead of thinking about they are saying. The introvert takes things in and processes them before sharing what is on their mind. I agree with Jung's approach to life. I believe life is balanced and our self is the center of our personality. I would be considered extroverted because many times, I do not think about what I am saying. Sometimes I say what I am thinking without processing the information or analyzing how others will interpret my thoughts. The introvert, on the other hand, keeps things on the inside that need to be spoken.

Rilke sees the self as having many different "faces." He believes that a person tries to hide their inside until it finally comes out, and people do not want to see that side of the person. Some people do not change their "face," but it eventually wears out and gets dirty. Some people change their "face" constantly until it has holes and the layer they were trying to cover up starts showing. Finally, when a person's true "face" is shown, people become uncomfortable with that and look away. I believe people do have many different "faces" that they show around different people. Most of the time when I am around people, I act happy even if I am having a bad day or going through a rough situation. I believe that if people really saw the "real" me it may scare them away, even though people think they know "me."

Hinduism has many different gods and believes that everyone is a Hindu, just in different stages of life. The atman is the self, or soul that has existed and always will exist. They believe in samsara, or reincarnation, depending on how well you fulfilled your duty during your present life determines what you will be in your next life. Hinduism believes that everyone has a dharma, or duty, to fulfill and once you realize your duty, there is no more self. Once you have figured out what you self is, you will then experience unity with the divine. Similar to the Christian religion, they believe in three persons as one. They believe in Brahma, the creator, Vishnu, the preserver, and Shiva, the destroyer. In Christianity, we believe in the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost as one person. Even though they are three persons in one, we see them as Creator, Savior, and Spirit. We believe Satan is the destroyer, because the Bible says he came to kill, steal, and destroy.

Romanticism saw the self as individuals, getting rid of the old style and introducing a new style. Romanticism in music had irregular rhythms, phrases, and pure emotion. Brahms had a wide range of contrasts, shifting quickly from high to low keys. Brahms music is difficult to play due to the thick texture. Beethoven used a sharp and powerful range of dynamic contrasts. Beethoven's music was known for the coda, or long ending, which also set apart music of the Romantic period. There was also feeling in the music during the Romantic period. Weltschmerz, or world pain, is displayed in the works of Brahms. The art of the Romantic period showed emotion; for example, "Raft of the Medusa" is about heroic struggle, dynamic energy, and nature responding to humans. The "Horse Frightened" shows passion and fear. These are some example of how Romantic ideas were shown in music and art. I do not follow the "trends" because I am my own unique person. I think this would be a characteristic that would follow Romanticism ideas.

My self portrait supports many of the views of self expression mentioned. My self portrait supports Rilke's work about "Faces" because my portrait has an outside that people see easily, but it also has an inside that is shared with only a few people, which is why I have an opaque container. The cotton balls on the outside are used to show that I am a loving, caring person on the outside. I used the color red on my self portrait to show my extroverted personality. The green triangle shows that I am a well-balanced, down-to-earth person, which supports Jung's belief of a balanced life. The circle represents my religious beliefs, which would support the Hindu view of the self. Romanticism is shown by the energy and emotion of the vertical lines. I will be entering the education program in the fall, and it is shown by the spiral shape on the outside. These various features on the outside reveal the part of me that everyone sees.

The inside of my self-portrait reveals a side of me that only a few people really know. On the inside of my "self" is the part of me that is always on the go, represented by the diagonal lines. This would be the introverted side that is always thinking about many different things at one time. Romantic style music with the quick contrasts is an example of this side of me. Staccato lines symbolize nervousness about school, and how I am constantly shaking my leg in nervousness. Not only do I shake my leg, but I bang on tables when I am nervous. My self portrait supports the view of Jung by the circle, Rilke by the opaque container having an inside and outside, and Romanticism by staccato lines to symbolize a quick change from one thought to another. By doing the self portrait and asking people who they thought I was, it showed me that other people see me different from how I see myself. My parents even saw me different, because they think I tell everything, but I rarely share my true feelings and thoughts with others. The project also helped me realize how I am changing and getting rid of old habits and exhibiting new ones. For example, I used to be a proscratinator, but now I am trying to make sure work is done ahead of schedule. My self-portrait reveals to me the realization of who I am.