James Dickeys Deliverance Connection to Sigmund Freud

Fear and Instinct
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Institution of Affiliation
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How Ed's Fear and Instinctive Nature Helps him Survive their Adventure
James Dickey's Deliverance makes Ed as the main driving figure where he shapes himself into being the hero, after the experiences he faces together with his group during their adventure. His instinctive impulses and character driven by fear turn out to be the driving forces towards his survival. How does Gentry use fear and impulse to survive through his adventure in the shooting scene? This essay is going to analyze how the ego and animal instinct affect Ed's turnover towards achieving the unexpected.
Sigmund (1962) says that we are usually inclined to use defense mechanisms and impulsive instincts to look for protection against feelings of anxiety or guilt, arising when we feel threatened, or when our id or superego is too demanding since we do not control them voluntarily. But with the ego, our unconscious uses one or more of the feelings to protect us when we encounter a stressful situation during our lives. He goes ahead to say that egoistic defense mechanisms are natural, and when they are out of proportion, disorders develop, for instance, phobias, anxiety states, obsessions, or hysteria (p82). We, therefore, see Ed Gentry argue and lash out at Bobby saying, "you didn't start on time; you did everything wrong. I ought to take this rifle and shoot the hell out of you, Bobby, you incompetent asshole, you soft city country-club man. You'd have been dead; you should've been dead, right about exactly now. You're right in line, you're going slowly, and you're just sitting there." (p171) This shows that instinct and impulse have given power to Gentry through a cathartic purge of anger directed towards Bobby. It is because he fears for the life and safety of his friend Lewis. Later he also threatens Bobby: "You help me with this, or I'll kill you, just as you sit there on your useless ass…" (p183) Stabbing himself with his arrow constitutes both ritual and a show of submissiveness and masochistic sexual fantasies? Dickey's nature has included predatory beasts; adding to them, humans (Dickey, 1970).
In addition to that, the forces of animal instinct and human skill have prepared Ed for the climax when he shoots dead the second rapist. Although Ed has had the feeling of fear throughout his healthy life, it is in the woods where he experiences first hand, true life or death fear. ...