Mss141: Sleep and Dream

Reading Questions for Freud, The Interpretation of Dreams

Chapter 3: A Dream is the Fulfillment of a Wish

1. How do so-called "dreams of convenience" fit in with Freud's theory that all dreams represent the fulfillment of a wish?

2. What are the dreams of children like, according to Freud?

Chapter 4: Distortion in Dreams

3. How does Freud support his argument that even anxiety dreams represent the fulfillment of a wish?

4. What does he mean by manifest content and latent content?

5. Early in chapter 4, Freud identifies a problem he intends to unravel: "What is the origin of dream distortion?" What answer does he come to after analyzing his dream about "R."?

6. How does Freud use the metaphor of the censor to explain dream-distortion?

7. Which are the two psychical forces that give a dream its particular shape?

8. As you read Freud's examples (largely drawn from his patients) of dream-distortion, pay attention to how he manages to interpret them as fulfilled wishes. For example, how does he find the fulfillment of a wish in the dream of the failed dinner party? (pp.180-185).

9. How does Freud modify his definition of the nature of dreams by the end of chapter 4?