Subjective Criticism and the Reader’s Response ( Wolfgang Iser )

Exercises

1) For Reader – Response critics, “ purgation ” and
“ purification ” focus upon

a. the audience’s physical processes
b. the audience’s psychological processes
c. the audience’s physiological processes
d. A,B and C

2) For Reader – Response critics, “ purgation ” involves the driving out of

a. wanted emotions b. unwanted emotions c. A and B
d. neither A nor B

3) Hans Robert Jauss has argued that the literary work exists only as
a. an intuitive form of knowledge as distinct from sciebtific reason b. the collective interpretation of successive generations of readers
c. nearly resemble the passions produced by real events
d. none of the above

4) For Jauss, every audience or readership responds to a
literary work through the lenses of a particular

a. horizon of imagination b. horizon of pleseare
c. horizon of expectations d. horizon of thinking

5) Reading is an attempt to bridge a gap between past and
present.

a. Jauss b. Wolfgang Iser c. Gadamer d. none of the above


6) For Reader – Response critics, The text is a totality (whole ) made up of several

a. meanings b. structures c. notes d. strata

7) Wolfgang Iser concentrates on the

a. act of reading b. textual structure
c. psychological concept d. none of the above

According to Iser, the concept of the actual reader is the

a. one who only understands and follows the ideas of the author
b. one who reconsiders the mages presented by the author in a
whole different way
c. none of the above

9) According to Iser, The act of reading is a continuous
process of

a. self - destruction b. self – production c. self inspiration
d. adjustments of viewpoints

10) According to Iser, The implied reader ( passive ) is created by the

a. real events b. ideals c. text’s skeleton d. none of the above

Solutions

1. b 2. b 3. b 4. c 5. c 6. d 7. a 8. b 9. d 10. c

 
Unconscious Process
Sigmund Freud

1. The rational part of the human mind is in contention with passion, imagination or even divine inspiration. The
non – rational forces can be regarded as threatening or beneficent : a dream may be a gift from the gods or an easy opening for Satan.

2. According to Freud, the unconscious is a system of drives.
( very important )

3. According to Freud, childhood wishes are suppressed in the normal course of maturation when the child becomes socialized and accepts the constrains of civilization
( especially the sexual constrains ). The drives try to assert
themselves in indirect forms ; symptoms, jokes, dreams,
when the censorship of the superego is relaxed. (سؤال دورة)

4. Freud finds in Hamlet’s character a conflict between impulse and repression. (سؤال دورة)


5. While Hamlet’s instincts ( his Oedipal feelings ) are repressed he remains “ normal ” but once his drives are forced into consciousness he is flung into a state of neurosis.

6. Neurosis is a mental illness that makes a person feels worried and frightened.

7. According to Freud, Hamlet cannot contemplate the
“ thought of incest and parricide combined ” ( Claudius in
the place of the father ).
8. In The Interpretation of Dreams, Freud contends that dreams play a fundamental role in the psychic economy.
( very important )

9. The mind’s energy, which Freud calls libido and identifies principally with the sexual drive, is a fluid force capable of excessive and disturbing power. Needing to be discharged to ensure pleasure and prevent pain, it seeks whatever outlet might find. If denied gratification ( satisfaction ), libidinal energy could seek its release through mental channels. Or, in the language of The Interpretation of Dreams, a wish can be satisfied by an imaginary wish fulfillment.


10. All dreams, Freud claims, even nightmares manifesting
apparent anxiety, are the fulfillment of such wishes. More
precisely, dreams are the disguised expression of wish
fulfillments. ( very important )

11. Dreams, According to Freud, are the effects of
compromises in the psyche between desires and
prohibitions. ( سؤال دورة )

12. Although sleep can relax the power of he minds
censorship of forbidden desires, such censorship,
nonetheless, persists in existence.

13. Freud formulated a theory indicating that personality is
shaped by fantasies ( happy dreams ) as well as by
traumatic or frustrating events. ( very important )

14. To Freud fantasies are the mental representation of basic
drives ( desires ), among which sex, aggression, and
self – preservation were paramount. These drives, like
jealousy, moreover, require taming as the child matures
into an adult, and the taming process involves blocking out
some of the ideas associated with the expression of those
drives.

15. Oedipus Complex : The complex of emotions aroused in
a young child by an unconscious desire for the parent of
the opposite sex and wish to exclude the parent of the
same sex. ( very important )

16. The term “Oedipus Complex ” was originally applied to
boys, the equivalent in girls being called
“Electra Complex ”. ( very important )

17. Freud attributes the Oedipus complex to children of
about the ages three to five. ( سؤال دورة )


18. Freud says the stage usually ends when the child identifies with the parent of the same sex and repress its ( sexual ) instincts.

19. If previous relationships with the parents were relatively
loving and nontraumatic, and if parental attitudes neither
excessively prohibitive ( restrictive, suppressive ) nor
excessively stimulating ( encouraging ), the stage passed
through harmoniously. In the presence of trauma,
however, there occurs an “ infantile neurosis ” that is an
important for runner which prepares for similar reactions
during the child’s adult life. ( very important )

20. The superego, which represents conscience and the rules
of society, has its role in the process of overcoming the
Oedipus Complex. ( very important )








Exercises

1) According to Freud, the unconscious is a system of

a. forces b. drives c. wishes d. conceptions

2) According to Freud, childhood wishes are

a. encouraged b. suppressed c. A and B d. neither A nor B

3) According to Freud, our drives

a. cannot express themselves at all
b. can express themselves in indirect forms
c. can express themselves freely and directly
d. can express themselves only in writing

4) Freud finds in Hamlet’s character a conflict between

a. two conscious impulse
b. two unconscious impulse
c. a conscious impulse and a repressed one
d. principles and reality

5) According to Freud, neurosis is a mental illness that make person feels

a. worried and frightened b. happy and joy
c. sad and angry d. busy and full of work

6) The Interpretation of Dreams is a book written by

a. Lacan b. Plato c. Aristotle d. Freud

7) According to Freud, libido means

a. body’s energy b. spirit’s energy
c. mind’s energy d. none of the above



“ Libido ” refers to

a. sexual desire
b. psychic drive or energy, especially that which is associated with the
sexual instinct
c. pleasure in general
d. ideals

9) Dreams, According to Freud, are the effects of
compromises in the psyche between

a. desires and expectations b. desires and actions
c. desires and prohibitions d. none of the above

10) According to Freud, fantasies are the mental
representations of

a. basic forces b. basic drives c. basic wishes d. basic ideas

11) The term “Oedipus Complex ” refers to The complex
of emotions aroused in a young child by

a. a conscious desire b. principles and reality
c. an unconscious desire d. none.

12) The term “Oedipus Complex ” applies to

a. boys
b. boys and girls in general
c. boys and girls whose parents are separated
d. all.

13) The term “Electra Complex ” applies to

a. boys and girls whose parents are excessively prohibitive
b. boys and girls in general
c. girls
d. A and C .
14) Freud attributes the Oedipus complex to children of
about the ages

a. 2 to 5 b. 2 to 10 c. 3 to 5 d. 3 to 10