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is laid down in the constitution—above all . . . the instincts, which originate from the somatic
organization” (Outline 14). According to Freud, these instincts, such as aggression and sexual
desire, exist at birth and resemble the survival practices of primitive cultures. Conor’s instincts
manifest in aggressive behaviors, behaviors that the monster actively encourages. During the
second tale, the monster offers Conor a participatory role in the destruction of the parson’s
house. The monster assures Conor that destruction “is most satisfying” (110), and Conor,
believing that it is just a dream, enjoys every moment of it: “he was yelling as he did it, so loud
he couldn’t hear himself think, disappearing into the frenzy of destruction, just mindlessly
smashing and smashing and smashing. The monster was right. It was very satisfying” (111). The
destruction of the parson’s house, later revealed to have actually been committed against his
grandmother’s sitting room, satisfies Conor’s instinctive need to express his grief and anger
through physical violence.

The destruction of the sitting room is not an isolated incident of aggressive instinct, but
rather a climax in which the id ultimately overpowers the disciplinary superego. Freud writes
that the id

is the dark, inaccessible part of our personality. . . . We approach the id with analogies:
we call it a chaos, a cauldron full of seething excitations. We picture it as being open at
its end to somatic influences, and as there taking up into itself instinctual needs which
find their psychical expression in it. . . . It is filled with energy . . . but it has no
organization. . . The logical laws of thought do not apply to the id. (Lectures 73)
Freud emphasizes the impulsive nature of the id needing to be physically satisfied. Since Conor’s
aggression already exists within him before the monster presents him with the second tale, his
thoughts are frequently turned towards acts of violence. During a confrontation with Lily, the

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