Although The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss is recognized as a children’s book, a more in-depth analysis of the story reveals it also relates to certain ideas of psychology. One of the ideas from psychology expressed through the story comes from Sigmund Freud. Freud was a psychologist who believed a person’s personality had three parts: the Id, the Ego, and the Superego. The Id is part of the personality that is impulsive and primitive, the Superego is part of the personality that is the conscience, and the Ego is part of the personality that maintains the balance between the Id and Superego (“An Introduction”). When looking at the story from a psychological point of view, it is seen that different characters express different parts of their personality as the story progresses. In the story The Cat in the Hat, the Cat is represented through his speech, actions, and thoughts as the Id through the beginning and the middle, but develops into the Ego at the end.
When the Cat first enters the house, he is dominated by the Id. He says, “‘A lot of good tricks./I will show them to you./Your mother/will not mind at all if I do’” (Geisel 8). Like the personality trait of the Id, he is looking for instant pleasure with disregard for future consequences. The Cat then goes on to say, “‘Why, we can have/lots of good fun, if you wish,/with a game that I call up-up-up with a fish!’” (Geisel 12). The fish argues against the game, but the cat continues to play. Quickly, the game becomes out of control. The Cat attempts to balance more than he can and winds up falling and dropping everything he is holding, including the fish. “‘Do I like this?/Oh, no!/I do not…’” (Geisel 22) is the fish’s response to the mayhem the cat has caused. However, the cat still has more games to play.
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Disregarding all of the trouble he caused, the Cat continues his mischief. He comes back into the house with a game he calls “fun-in-a-box” (Geisel 31). Inside the box, there are creatures who like to have fun: Thing 1 and Thing 2. This continues to increase the conflict between the cat and the fish because the fish does not approve of Thing 1 and Thing 2. After having the children shake hands with the Things, he says, “‘Now, here is a game that they like,’/said the cat./ ‘They like to fly kites,’/said the Cat in the Hat” (Geisel 38). Things run rampant through the house, destroying everything in their path. Finally, the Narrator has enough: “‘I do not like the way that they play!/If mother could see this,/oh, what would she say!’” (Geisel 45). Realizing something has to be done, he grabs his net. Once he catches Thing 1 and Thing 2, he sends the Cat away.
After recognizing the mess he caused, the Cat leaves “with a sad kind of look” (Geisel 54). The children are left with the mess the Cat left behind and do not know what to do. Their mother is almost home and the house is a wreck. However, the cat quickly returns: “‘I always pick up all my playthings/and so.../I will show you another/good trick that I know!’” (Geisel 57). This shows that the Cat has evolved to have traits of the Ego. He now realizes that there needs to be a balance between fun and responsibility. His ‘trick’ is cleaning up the mess he caused, “Then we saw him pick up/all the things that were down” (Geisel 58). He quickly cleans up his mess and leaves before the mother gets home.
Throughout The Cat in the Hat, the Cat evolves from an Id to an Ego. This evolution contributes to the conflict and resolution of the story. In the beginning, the Cat acts out of instinct and the idea of instant pleasure. However, as the story progresses, he begins to recognize the consequences of his actions. This leads him to fix his mistakes and clean up the mess he left behind, developing into the Ego. During the process, he learns that it is okay to have fun as long as it is done responsibly.
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