Three Little Pigs - Four Interpretations in Terms of Psychoanalysis - Essay Example

The paper “Three Little Pigs - Four Interpretations in Terms of Psychoanalysis" is a spectacular example of an essay on psychology. History is filled with numerous examples of lonely and sad tyrants who are not able to get to grips with themselves, society and community. The world could have been a better place if Saddam Hussein and Genghis Kahn had found a psychiatrist worth their salt, and willing to aid them in moving past their childhood pain. Biographers over time have managed to expose the miserable existence of many a despot throughout history. Normally, these individuals are men and their sadness cries out from their insides and is waiting to be exposed. What exactly is it that acts as motivation for these tyrants.

In the story, the 3 little pigs, the reader cannot be sure of the wolf’s history. For this particular instance, we shall assume that, among the litter, he was considered an outcast and was forced away by his brothers and by his mother. This led him to live a needy and miserable existence. Banished from the pack, the wolf sought nourishment in any manner possible. Feeling unloved, he was constantly looking for his female archetype (Scieszka et al, 2006). Growing up, he received neither respect nor trust. His parents, at worst, taught him the wolf’s way as selfish, drooling, snarling, and bounty hunters, acting as landed crows and not giving much thought to what they would eat. Today, maybe he would eat a sheep, the next day tear into a pig. However, each time he killed left him with a feeling of less satisfaction. He continues to kill, unable to articulate the needs inherent in his inner self, by looking for comfort, in the mayhem and terror he unleashes. His inner self-weakness is not challenged by anyone.

The bullying, over time, almost literally feeds on itself (Scieszka et al, 2006). His success in doing in the first pig shows him to be powerful. The first kill satiates his physical appetite. However, the wolf is bursting with loneliness and self-hatred and thus needs his psychic hunger fulfilled. He devours the second pig using a similar ruse to the first and continues his insatiable gluttony.

At this point, he cannot seem to restrain himself. Seemingly psychopathic, he is not stopped by anything in his quest to eat the 3rd pig. It is possible that he knew that the pig was outsmarting him, but he continues on his bloody quest anyway. Going on like a kidnaper with suicide on his mind, knowing what his final fate will be, he is not stopped by a thing. The scene conjures up a mental image of the wolf screaming to the third pig, “Please—defeat me and put me out of my misery” (Scieszka et al, 2006). Sadly enough for the wolf, the third little pig is willing and ready to abide by his wishes.

The interpretations by Gomez, Amdur, and Fazio all compare the wolf to a tyrant. Gomez refers to the wolf as a lonely and sad tyrant, Gomez as a capitalist, bullying tyrant, and Fazio refers tom the wolf as a satanic tyrant wreaking havoc on a God-fearing people (Scieszka et al, 2006). That pigs, foxes, and wolves are the craftiest creatures on earth are, in popular culture, legendary. The reputations in the interpretations range from harmless to harmful. In a confrontation, Amdur suggests that while the literature suggests that they are much stronger than their adversaries are, they eventually end up as the victims of greed. Pigs, while unruly and greedy, are viewed by the interpretations as underdogs and victims.