Paper Example. Barack Obama's Psychobiography

Barack Hussein Obama served as the 44th President of the United States of America for two terms. That is eight years from 2009 to 2017. Barack was born on the 4th of August, 1961 by an African father and an American mother who was of European decency (Whitehouse.gov, 2020). Barack Obama senior grew up in Kenya while herding goats in the Nyanza Province but later won a scholarship that allowed him to move and join Hawaii College.

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Ann Dunham, Obama's mother, was born in Wichita, Kansas on an army base back in World War II. Obama's parents separated immediately; he was born and divorced two years later. At 10, Obama was sent to his grandparents in Hawaii to live there alongside his half-sister and mother. Obama never had a relationship with his father. However, he was determined to change his situation, whereby he struggled during childhood.

Obama enrolled in Esteemed Punahou Academy where he excelled in education and basketball. In 1979, he graduated and at this point learned the effects of racism as a result of being black. In the same year, he joined Occidental College in L.A and two years later went to Colombia University, where he graduated with a political science degree in 1983 (Whitehouse.gov, 2020).

Obama later proceeded to Harvard Law in 1991and became the Harvard Law Review president. Obama would visit his relatives in Kenya as well as visit his father’s grave and that of his grandfather. Obama met his wife Michelle in 1989 when he joined the Chicago law firm. She was a lawyer assigned to him in the firm when they started dating and later married in 1992.

Obama returned to Chicago to practice as a civil rights lawyer in a law firm. He would also teach constitutional law as a part-time professor at the University of Chicago, Law school from 1992 and 2004(Whitehouse.gov, 2020). His work as an advocate led him to become a politician. Obama first ran for Illinois Senate in 1996 under Democratic Party. He won the election, and during his term, he works alongside the republicans to draft ethics legislation early childhood programs and health care services.

Obama ran for the U.S House of Representatives but failed. He then raised campaign funds in 2002 to fund his senate candidacy, and with the help of Consultant David Axelrod, he began the winning prospects. Obama ran and won Illinois senate seat in 2004 still under Democratic Party. In 2008, Obama ran for the U.S president and won tremendously. He then became the 44th president and served for two terms before retiring (Whitehouse.gov, 2020). Obama is significant to me because he is special. He was raised by a single mother, started from nothing and rose to the top of the American political hierarchy.

I chose to analyze Obama because he is not just an inspiration to the minority African American population but also the rest of the world. His determination, core values, and pursuit of justice are some of the most admirable characteristics he showed during his presidency. Obama made many changes in the law, public interest, and to America in general. He indeed made it for the less privileged, minority, and the poor to feel worth in a while. Besides, his legacy still lives despite him being out of the political arena.

Psychoanalytic Theory of Personality

This is a theory by Sigmund Freud, whereby he believed that personality develops via several stages, each characterized by specific internal psychological conflict. Freud argues that human personality is established by the interaction of three elements of a mind which are ego, id, and superego. The theory, also known as psychodynamic theory places a huge emphasis on the position of unconscious psychological conflicts in forming the personality and behavior of a human.

According to Posey and Cushing (2019), the dynamic interactions between the three parts of a brain are said to progress through five significant psychosexual stages of establishment. However, Freud’s theory has been criticized for insinuating that personality is based on the sexual drive of humans. The psychodynamic theory explains human personality based on their childhood events and experiences. The theory states that our childhood experiences have a significant influence on our adult lives hence determining human personality. Furthermore, childhood events can remain in an unconscious state until later when they start causing problems to an adult (Posey & Cushing, 2019).

The outcome of this theory is justified by the slip of the tongue whereby humans accidentally say what they never meant. A slip of the tongue expresses the unconscious part of the mind, and by slipping, humans reveal the state of mind. When humans slip their tongues, they may say what they never wanted to say but what is said is what their minds want to say. Freud state that slips of the tongue may be accidental but reveals the behavior of a person, and that is crucial in determining their personality.

Personality is made up of three different parts of a brain, that is, id, ego, and superego. The id part is an instinctive and primitive element of personality. It entails the inherited or biological elements of personality available at the birth with sex life inclusive. Death or the aggressive instinct and Eros which contain libido are also contained in the id part of the brain (Helderman, 2020). It is concerned with the urges and physical needs of a person.

The ego component is established to mediate between the real world and unrealistic id. This is mainly the decision-making part of the personality. The functioning of the ego is what defined the behavior of a person. The ego part is responsible for balancing the id and superego to act according to what is right or justifiable in society. Lastly is the superego which incorporates the mind inform of superego and id, which are always conflicting with the ego or the conscious part of the brain.

The conflict between the two elements builds anxiety which then is handled by the ego using defense mechanisms. Superego is concerned with morals and rules of society. Freud stated that the three elements are constantly conflicting and that the adults’ behavior and personality are as a result of their internal struggle. The final decision that the human makes after their conflict defines them. The theorist also believed that people with strong egos have a healthy personality; hence it imbalances the brain system and lead to unhealthy behaviors, depression, and anxiety (Helderman, 2020).

Application of theory to Barack Obama’s Life

Before Obama rose to fame, he had begun his literary work whereby he wrote his first book, Dreams from My Father: Race and Inheritance (Setyowati, n.d). Obama used this writing to explain his childhood life and how it shaped his adulthood. In the book, Obama names various characters who are real; his parents and relatives. Through these characters, Obama tells his life story showing how each character influenced his development. He explained how his mother motivated him to live through the struggles and become a person with moral values.

His mother, Ann Durham, would say, if you want to grow into a human being, you are going to need some values" (Obama, 2008). Obama grew to be a charismatic leader and a good listener. He would listen to criticism and learn from his experiences. He was not just a leader but a Christian with great moral values such as humility. Obama indeed took his mother’s advice and grew to be a very intelligent, efficient, and disciplined thinker who would face pressure with a lot of calmness.

Obama mentioned that his father would constantly remind him that it was important to know his people and where he belonged (Setyowati, n.d). During his political life, Obama applied this advice in supporting the minorities and recognizing African Americans. He stated that because of being raised from different countries and possessing mixed skin colors, Obama experienced racism while at a young age.

Consequently, during his presidency, Obama worked hard to abolish some policies that discriminated against the people of color. When describing his life experiences in Indonesia and Kenya, Obama reveals that he is very honest, respectful, humble, and confident (Setyowati, n.d). Obama was shaped by a humble background which made sure that even though he went through tough times, he still appreciated many things. Obama has a great personality based on his behavior because, despite going through tough times in Indonesia with his stepfather, he appreciates his presence in his life.

Obama reveals the ability to balance id, ego, and superego by choosing to remain respectful and humble in his narration of his life. Obama believes inconsistency which requires patience and humility. In one of his famous quotes, he says, “if you are walking down the right path and you are willing to keep walking, eventually you will make progress” (Pullicino, 2017). He also adds that he is a believer and that he would not achieve much without the presence of God in his life.

Obama started going to church while at a young age and from the religious part of his life, he learned to embrace peace and people. Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize for is exemplary efforts in strengthening cooperation and international diplomacy between people (Whitehouse.gov, 2020). Obama’s love for peace made the economy of the United Stated to boom during his two terms as a president. During that time, many countries were willing to work with America towards the growth of the global economy.

Obama’s moral values impacted by his life experiences while growing up made him the pillar of his family. After he married his wife Mitchelle, together they bore two daughters. Unlike his father, who abandoned him when he was young, Obama has stuck with his family through thick and thin. Besides, his childhood struggles which include moving from one country to another and experiencing racisms pushed him to be a lawyer.

In his law career, Obama showed the love for justice and fair treatment for all people. His great personality enabled him to stay off a corrupt path, which many politicians use to rise to the top. Instead, he was intelligent and patient to wait and keep pushing to the top of America’s political hierarchy. Obama loves justice, and this was shown when he was accused of being born outside America. Instead of fighting the accusation, Obama produced his birth certificate to confirm that he indeed was born in Hawaii, United States (Whitehouse.gov, 2020).

Conclusion

Obama is an American politician who was the first African American and the Black person to be the president of the United States. Obama made history for not only being black but also coming from a very humble background and working his way up to being the most powerful person in the world. His law carrier significantly contributed to his success in the political arena. This is because he understood the constitution and its requirements.

Psychodynamic theory by Freud is one of the perfect theories that relate well to Obama’s personality. The theory entails that childhood experiences and events have a significant effect on adults. In Obama’s life, his religious teachings and moral values impacted by his mother acts as guiding factors in his political life. His father’s teachings to know and value his people made him appreciate and defend the people of color and the minorities in America.

There are several lessons learned from Obama’s biography, his personality, and the theory. Obama is one of the most resilient Leaders that America has ever had. This is because he rose from a humble background, went through life struggles and racism, and still outdid many politicians in the run for the presidency.