IndexIntroductionThe mother-child relationship in "Where the Wild Things Are"ConclusionReferencesIntroductionWhere the Wild Things Are (Sendak, 1963) portrays the story of young Max, who comes presented to the reader as warlike, and his "journey" to a place where his "wild" spirit can roam free without being punished by his mother is a place where he meets creatures that reflect the qualities found in him and is made king. However, this story holds a much deeper and more symbolic meaning than parent-child relationships, which is the topic of this analysis essay "Where the Wild Things Are" Examining Max's character and comparing his journey to the transition from childhood to young adolescence, it can be argued that the story is, more specifically, symbolic of the mother-child relationship and the process of overcoming the power struggle between parent and child through fantasy and imaginative play. Furthermore, the internal mechanisms of the child's mind and how the feelings of ambivalence and the qualities of the id are overcome, referring to the work of Freud (1927), to rectify the relationship with the maternal figure. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay on the mother-son relationship in "Where the Wild Things Are" At the beginning of the book, Max is described as "wild" in the first few pages. It is the first adjective that is used verbally to describe him to the reader, who already makes him feel like an annoying element as well as having aggressive qualities. These feelings are not only felt by the reader but are also reflected in his mother's character. “His mother called him WILD THING!”. We can see through this expression and the illustrations in the first pages of the book that Max is dressed as an animal and is presented with bestial features, very similar to those of a wolf. So, immediately Max is introduced to the instinct for survival and murder. For example, the objects he uses for the game or even the theme of his game in the illustrations such as the hammer he holds in his hand, the fork, the teddy bear hanging on a string and his costume. Drawing attention again, to the first interaction between Max and his mother, the idea of ​​the id can be linked to Max's behavior when he thinks about the survival instincts that he seems to represent through his play. After his mother's comment labeling Max a "WILD THING!", Max states that he will "eat" his mother. Soon after, Max is sent to his room without dinner, which represents a significant turning point in the story for him. His anger continues to turn into anger and causes his unconscious fantasy of traveling to a distant land. The id, an idea that is part of a construct of the unconscious formed by Sigmund Freud, is representative of basic needs and instincts, controlling the desires and impulses of the individual. Max's desire, we might say, for independence or freedom has been denied by his mother and so the world of fantasy subsequently becomes involved. As the fantasy is shown, we see Max travel to the place where the wild things are and as his imagination grows, the illustrations on the pages become larger, emerging the reader into Max's fantasy world. Here the things are introduced wild. The wild creatures reflect a lot of Max in terms of their wild behavior and appearance. This part of the story begins to mean that Max regains control over his mother as he is named "King of the Wild Things." The taming of the wild creatures is part of Max's progress in dealing with feelings of independence and separation from his mother, as well as the rejection he feels from her. At first, it is clear that Max exploitsthe opportunity for control to pursue the needs of the Id and exhibit wild behavior. He orders them to begin a "wild chasm" and tells them when to stop. Interestingly, he denies them dinner and sends them home using what seems like projective identification to avoid his negative feelings towards his mother and make things feel as wild as he felt when denied by his mother. It is, in a way, a re-enactment of the scenario between Max and his mother that he needed to unconsciously process to try to resolve the internal conflict he is facing. In the next part of the book, Max comes to realize that he is alone. “And Max, the king of all wild things, was lonely and wanted to be somewhere where someone loved him more than anyone.” On top of this, Max starts to smell food. He associates this food with his mother, regressing to what might be perceived as an association with the mother's breast. There is a need for closeness with the mother. Max leaving the wilds to return to his boat is symbolic of him leaving his wild self behind to reconcile with his mother and regain closeness. It could be said that the characteristics of the superego can be seen here as Max's impulses are under control, which shows his gradual shift from needing to control his mother to realizing that he needs to control himself. Therefore, allowing Max to eventually reconcile with his mother by resolving his own conflicts to progress the mother-son relationship. It is also important to recognize that Max's room served as a transitional space in which he could progress and process his ambivalence towards his mother and control his impulses. At the beginning of the book, the room serves as a space where Max can think about his actions and contain his anger. Furthermore, it serves as a space to imaginatively and unconsciously explore a more independent world or fantasy, similar to that of the adult world, where he is ultimately able to correct his internal conflict. Conclusion Overall, Where the Wild Things Are attempts to demonstrate one of the many “journeys” that children take during the transition from childhood to adolescence and highlights the importance of parent-child relationships throughout childhood, provoking reflections on the implicit meanings behind a child's behavior. It brings to light the vast and complex internal processes of the unconscious and the dynamic of authority between parent and child, something that is not yet fully understood and makes for adventurous reading for children, but a story that may cause revelations to parents about own life. children. The child's mind is as complex as that of an adult, if not more so in some respects, and recognizes the wild side of the child; the angry, hostile, perhaps even evil parts of the child leave something for parents to consider. At the end of the book, even though Max's wild side is supposedly tamed, he can still be seen wearing his costume which, is associated with his aggressive and bestial behavior and thus begs the question: does a child's wild side ever become fully tamed? ? References Sendak, M. (1963). Where the wild things are. Harper & Row.Freud, S. (1927). The Ego and the Id. Hogarth Press.GBGC. (2011). Global Gambling Report. Retrieved from https://www.gbgc.com/publications/global-gambling-report/Gainsbury, S. M. (2012). Online gambling addiction: Relationship between Internet gambling and disordered gambling. Current Addiction Reports, 1(4), 291-299.Sexton, D. (2016). Child-Parent Relationship Therapy (CPRT) Treatment Manual: A 10-Session Filial Therapy Model for Parent Training. Routledge.O'Connor, K. J., & Braverman, L. (2017). A new one.