Sigmund Freud is the founder of psychoanalysis and explains his concepts of the unconscious and conscious mind in his “Five Lectures on Psychoanalysis.” Freud’s concepts impacted the psychological world and can be found throughout literature. In the story “It Was A Different Day They Killed the Pig,” by Joao Ubaldo Ribeiro, Freud’s ideas of wishful impulse and repression are shown through Aloisio’s experience of the killing of the pig; These two ideas are expressed in Aloisio’s change from being a child into an adult.

Wishful impulse is what one really wants in the unconscious mind, even though it goes against morality and societal expectations. The story states, “He wanted very, very much to be a man. He wanted nobody to be ever, ever be able to say that he had not been a man if only for an instant.” What Aloisio really wanted was to be a considered a man in front of his parents and society. The men in this society have all the power. The pig killers are the fathers, while the mothers prepare the food. The sow, a female pig who’s had piglets, is the one that is killed. One day Alosio would have to kill the pigs for his family, and his wife would expect him to know how to do it. If Aloisio could watch the killing of the pig, he would enter adulthood: “ But because he did not want to appear to be a boy who did not understand things and did not want people to say then that they would no longer allow him to see the killing of the pig.” He did not want anything to stop him from becoming a man. Aloisio did not question the killing, because he was afraid it would come in the way of his desire. He was still a child and should not be exposed to the killing, as shown by his feeling sick. The wishful impulse to grow up caused him to repress his feelings.

Repression is the attempt to block out one’s desires and impulses from the conscious mind. The desires and impulses don’t just go away, they exist in the unconscious mind. The story states, “…[the sow] knew that one day he would betray her and would be watching her execution in all coldness … But he spoke nothing of what he felt.” This quote shows Aloisio feeling useless and guilty because the pig is his friend and he cannot save her. All he could do is watch her die. Aloisio’s silence in the face of what he was truly feeling is his repression. He is aware that he cannot be feeling this way; his conscious mind bans these impulses and places them in the unconscious: “He had never known one could sweat so much… he exploded as if he were going to turn inside out.” The feelings build up, unable to be expressed emotionally. They need an outlet to be released, and are expressed physically.

In the story, it is every kid’s wishful impulse to see the killing of the pig. If they cannot witness the killing, they want to meet the man who was going to do it. All the children were excited and would pass the information onto the others.The children want to grow up because the adults get to make every decision. The men are the ones in charge and are expected to be stoic. Showing any type of emotion was looked upon as a sign of weakness. Aloisio wanted to cry, but he had to repress his feelings to get his father’s approval. He thought he wanted to see the killing of the pig, but it was not what he expected. A child seeing an animal slaughtered would traumatize them. Aloisio was traumatized because of the killing and was on the verge of breaking down and never being able to stop crying.

Aloisio wanted to experience manhood so he could be worthy to his parents and society. He was willing to do anything, even watch the killing of the pig. What started off as wishful impulse and desire, changed into repression and disgust. If he only knew what it took to really become a man, he probably would not have wished so hard to grow up. Aloisio had a friendship with the sow Noca and ended up being apart of her demise. The horrors he witnessed are always going to be a part of him. The death of the sow Noca first exists in his conscious and then is repressed into the unconscious mind. Wishful impulse and repression are expressed in Aloisio by his change from being a child into an adult through the killing of the pig.

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