Cat in the Hat

Cat in the hat essay

The Cat in the Hat movie is about Conrad, a twelve-year-old boy, who has two problems: he is constantly doing the exact opposite of what he is supposed to do and causing trouble, and Sally, Conrad's eight-year-old little sister, tries to stop his trouble making and is being rather bossy and perfect. This also relates to Freud’s Theory of the Mind, which states that our mind has 3 different aspects which influence the way we think, act and feel. They are: ego, superego and id. Conrad displays all three aspects throughout the movie that interfere with his mind.

The first aspect which Conrad displays in the movie is id. In the beginning of the movie Conrad does what he wants and doesn’t listen to his mom to keep the house clean. When the mother comes home from work she says: “I asked you to do one thing today, Conrad, keep the house clean. Do you know how frustrating it is that you're always doing the exact opposite of what I say?” Conrad is found sliding down the stairs and wrecking the house which is the opposite of what his mother told him to do. Another example of how Conrad displays id throughout the movie is when the cat arrives and checks their brain the “phunometer,” Conrad is shown as a rule breaker. “Just as I suspected, you guys are both out of whack. You're a control freak, and you're a rule-breaker” this shows that Conrad breaks all the rules that are set for him. The third example of Conrad displaying id throughout the movie is when they sign the contract not thinking about what their mother said. Conrad says: “What about it? We signed the contract” This shows Conrad is not thinking about the consequences of the outcome and is basing his decision of his selfish desires. A fourth example of Conrad displaying id is when the cat tells him not to open the crate. I'm not usually a rules guy, but this is a biggie. “No opening the crate.” This shows that even thought the cat told Conrad not to open the crate; Conrad went ahead and did it anyway without thinking about what will happen. Therefore, Conrad displays several examples of id, which is what the mind wants without thinking about the consequences later and taking into consideration for reality. The second aspect of the mind Conrad displays throughout the movie is ego. In the middle of the movie after the house is ruined because of thing 1 and thing 2, Conrad decides to help get their dog back because it has the crate lock on it and without out, the whole house will be ruined. Conrad says: “We've gotta go out and find Nevins.” This shows that Conrad is making rational decisions to meet the needs of the id. A second example of Conrad displaying ego is when Conrad, Sally and the Cat set out to get their dog back and Conrad is driving, he says, “Wait! Two people can't drive at the same time.” This shows Conrad is making the decision not to drive even though he wanted to he knew he is only 12 years old and is too young to drive and that two people cannot drive at the same time. A third example of Conrad displaying ego is when the mothers’ boyfriend goes to her office and tells her everything that has been happening while she was at work. Conrad says “we’re dead. This is all my fault. I'm such an idiot. Why do I always have to do the opposite of what I'm supposed to?” this shows that Conrad is taking into consideration his actions and is recognizing that he does the opposite of what he is told. Therefore, Conrad displays ego continuously throughout the movie, he makes decisions but yet still attempts to meet the needs of the id while also taking into consideration the reality of the situation. The third and last aspect of the mind Conrad displays at the end of the movie is superego. An example of this would be when the cat tells Conrad and Sally that he planned the whole day. Both kids get upset and Conrad says Cat, “you need to get out. I don't know that game.” It's not a game. None of this is a game!” this is showing that Conrad is listening to his conscience and telling him that enough is enough. A second example of Conrad showing superego is when Conrad takes the blame for his actions at the end of the movie by saying “No. This was my fault. I'll take the blame.” This shows Conrad making an internal judgement by finally listening to his conscience and coming clean for his actions. A third and final example of Conrad displaying superego is when Sally and Conrad learn from their mistakes the cat comes back and says, “if Sally and Conrad should learn from their mistakes, the contract shall be reinstated." This shows that Conrad listened to his conscience by doing what was right and helped clean up the house in time for his mothers’ party. Therefore, Conrad displayed superego at the end of the movie by trusting his conscience and his internal judgment and doing what was right for a change and changed from a “rule breaker” to “just right.” Finally, Conrad displayed id by not listening to his mother and doing the exact opposite of what he was told, he displayed ego by making decisions to fix things and superego by listening to his conscience and doing what was right. Conrad displayed all three aspects of Freud’s theory of the mind throughout the movie that lead him to becoming the hero in the end.