On Dreams

Freud asserts that there are three classes of dreams. The first consists of small, seemingly unimportant dreams that lack anything remarkable. The second class of dreams are those that feel disconnected from reality. In these dreams, events occur that appear to have no basis in experience. While the first class of dreams have both meaning and intelligibility, the second class has meaning but no intelligibility. The third class of dreams, which has no meaning or intelligibility, causes many to doubt the legitimacy of dream analysis. However, Freud suggests that the last two categories of dreams are ripe for psychoanalysis. It is only through dream-work that the individual can distinguish the latent content.

Children’s dreams are mostly of the first class. Their content and meaning are unified and easily readable. The first category of dreams can provide important insight for the analyst and establish a foundation for the interpretation of the second and third categories of dreams. Freud shares several common dreams of children and reveals how each dream is centered on the satisfaction of a wish. Children’s dreams emphasize the wishes and desires of the previous day; they are intrinsically linked with the physical world.