Imagine running from yourself, fearing yourself and hunting yourself. Feel the pain of the world running through your veins, have fear. This is what Ged experienced in the novel, "A Wizard of Earthsea." by Ursula K. Le Guin. Gaining control of yourself allows you to have full dominance, full knowledge of your mind, body and spirit, this is what Ged accomplished. Using his courage and bravery, Ged realized his arrogance, acknowledging his dark side. In the novel "A Wizard of Earthsea," Ged's multiple confrontations with the shadow throughout the book help him realize his arrogance and unconscious. .
Understanding yourself can be the hardest thing you will ever do. In order to do this you have to be aware of your flaws, your imperfections and your mistakes. Ged made three arrogant mistakes throughout the novel in the presence of his shadow. In the beginning of the novel Ged meets a questioning girl, talking to her every day, liking her presence. Although Ged thought that she was very ugly, he had the desire to please her, ignoring his sexuality. Ged was very privileged and fortunate to be in the presence of one of the best wizards in Earthsea, Ogion, but made a decision to leave him because he felt he was unused, waisting time, being taught nothing. Blindly, Ged called upon his shadow, in the need of victory over Jasper. Overall, Ged is very arrogant, only wanting to have supreme power in Earthsea. .
A famous psychologist named Carl Jung roamed the earth from 1875-1961. Carl Jung presented the idea of the "Shadow" or dark side in the human compilation. A shadow is your unconscious, your unknown. Jung was a colleague of Sigmund Freud, another great psychologist who agreed with Jung's concept. The concept was drafted when Carl Jung tracked his dreams, fantasies, visions, drawings and paintings (Dr. C. George Boeree, Webspace). With this data he could determine that his dreams, wants and needs reflected another part of him, one only apparent when it is not controlled by his conscious mind.
