TOW #8: IRB - "Civilization and Its Discontents" by Sigmund Freud (Part II)

Why was civilization needed and created? Freud analyzes what pushes the creation and development of a civilization, whether it be sexual desires, a symbiotic relationship between an individual and a community, or the need to control an evil man. Through the use of anaphora and allusions, Sigmund Freud emphasizes the true nature of man and proves his stance about the true nature of a human and civilization.

Freud believes that man is a creature neither gentle nor desiring of love. Rather, man is aggressive and defensive, which led to the need of a civilization to restrict and control such a person. Freud explains that a man's neighbor is "someone who temps them to satisfy their aggressiveness on him…to seize his possessions, to humiliate him, to cause him pain, to torture and to kill him" (69). The repeated use of "to" emphasizes the evil nature of man. Almost listing the wicked intentions of man, Freud uses anaphora to make a statement of the need for civilization and to convince the audience the true nature of man through the lens of a psychoanalyst.

Many allusions are seen throughout Freud's analysis of civilization and man, specifically biblical and religious allusions. The allusion to Christianity when Freud mentions that "'little children do not like it' when there is talk of the inborn human inclination to 'badness', to aggressiveness and destructiveness, and so to cruelty as well. God has made them in the image of His own perfection" (79). The allusion to Christianity is utilized for Freud to demonstrate how man is unwilling to acknowledge the badness and faults that he has. That man has been made in the image of a perfect God is a belief in Christianity, one that Freud uses to prove his stance that man has created this mentality to not accept the aggressiveness and evil of man.

With a successful usage of anaphora and allusion, Freud emphasizes and supports his radical ideas. In a world full of civilizations and populations of people, one begins to question the world around him and who he is. Because of this, Freud has been successful in leading people to question, to inquire, and to think in ways that are unique.