Exploring the Id in Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises (1926)

This research paper focuses on exploring the id in Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises (1926). From a Freudian perspective, id, ego, and superego are three parts of the human psyche or mind. The id or pleasure principle is dominant throughout the novel. The instinctive and impulsive urges of the id ruin the ego and superego of the characters. As the characters strive to forget the traumatic past of the war, they indulge in excessive pleasure as free sex and excessive alcoholism. The deep trauma of war rooted in the unconscious of the characters makes their lives like a hell. Consequently, the id strives for gratification and pleasure for removing the trauma from their minds. Brett, who is the heroine of the novel, falls to the urges of the id blindly. She recklessly indulges in free sex and excessive drinking. Similarly, Jake, Mike, Bill, and Count always seek excessive pleasure in drinking. The characters' search for pleasure is the unconscious urge for life instinct and psychic energy. The dominant id suppresses ego and superego as a result it creates neurotic anxieties in the characters.