Dreams for Survival Interpretation and the Meaning of Dreams

Dream Analysis

In my dream, I am at the beach with my family. My little brother is with some others swimming in the ocean near the shore. I am on the balcony of the hotel, watching them play. Suddenly, I say a shark fin in the water and a dark shadow: a shark is swimming nearby and heading for them all. I try to shout to tell everyone to get out of the water, by my voice is not strong enough—it feels very weak and I don’t know why. I try to shout but it is like the air and the wind are holding a hand over my mouth. I am frantic. I watch in horror and go cold all over as the shark bites of the children swimming and pulls him under—and as quick as lightning the shark is away, leaving only a streak of blood behind. The method that seems best to me is the Freudian method, as it helps to relay the various aspects of the self that are at war with one another without realizing it but making it known to the self in the dream.

Freudian Analysis

From a Freudian analysis perspective the dream could be interpreted in this manner: The dream may represent the dreamer’s repressed wishes and fears. The symbol of the shark fin did not seem important to me at the time, but it could represent something significant as though my subconscious mind desired some danger in my life (Van de Castle, 1994). The fear of the shark may represent the fear of death or of something unknown. The desire to do something may represent the dreamer’s desire to save or be a hero. The children in the water may represent innocent aspects of the self that are in danger. The fin may represent the repressed wish to see something terrible happen. The fact that the dreamer cannot speak may represent the SUPEREGO guilt they feel about their repressed wishes (Van de Castle, 1994).

Jungian Analysis

Jungian archetypes are symbols and images that come from the collective unconscious mind (Van de Castle, 1994). In other words, society and culture have a big bearing on how we think of things, how we imbue symbols with meaning, and what fears or desires we might have in dreams. Thus, the symbol of the shark is probably the most important in the dream from a Jungian perspective, and may be a universal archetype representing danger; and the dream may symbolize the fear of death and the fear of not being able to protect loved ones. The shark may represent the threat of death or destruction, while the children swimming in the ocean may represent innocent and vulnerable people. The dream may also be a warning to take life seriously and to be aware of the dangers that exist in the world (Dreammoods, 2021).

Cognitive View

The cognitive view of the dream could employ dreams-for-survival theory to explain that it is actually helping the dreamer to evolve a set of survivalist skills so as to not fall prey to danger in the future (Bar-Johnson, 2021). The dream may be reflective of a fear or anxiety that the dreamer has—some conscious desire to protect loved ones from harm. In this case, it is possible that the dreamer is afraid of losing siblings or having them hurt. The shark may represent some underlying fear or threat that the dreamer is subconsciously aware of due to a recent visit to the beach the day before or to some news that the dreamer has heard about a shark attack from the prior day. Alternatively, the dream may be a way for the dreamer to work through her fears and anxieties. In this case, watching a child being attacked by the shark could represent the fear of something bad happening and the need to adapt, to train physically, so as to be able to overcome such a predator in the future.

The Best Analysis

The Freudian analysis helps to convey the best meaning of the dream because it taps into the various motivations of the sense—a motivation or desire for danger, a desire to be a hero, an unspoken fear, and so on. Freudian analysis would interpret this dream as a way for the dreamer to express his fears and anxieties about his own safety and vulnerability.

Freudian dream analysis has been criticized by many, including Jung and cognitive theorists who posit that dreams serve a function of survival. However, Freud’s theory is the most comprehensive of the three and has withstood the test of time. The first strength of Freud’s theory is that it is based on a well-developed model of the mind (Van de Castle, 1994). Freud posited that the mind is divided into the conscious, preconscious, and unconscious. The unconscious is the largest and most powerful part of the mind, and it includes all of our primal urges, dark desires, and repressed memories.