Brush Salesman #9
"The first part of the dream I can remember started in a monstrous hunting
lodge which, for some reason, had live deer walking around. This did not seem
to excite me or the others who were there (all male and only one I knew in
real life -- a man I used to hunt with). The deer were mostly doe, but there
were a few bucks. Only spike horns however. Later, I went outside and saw two
hunters and told them about the deer. Then a doe came out and one of the
hunters shot it, but only I could see this since it went behind a tree right
after he shot. I heard him say 'I missed' and then the next thing I knew, he
had hit me in the ankle, but only with a couple pieces of buckshot. I went to
a hunting store to get a First Aid kit but ran into a Spanish speaking
saleslady that couldn't understand me. Finally, I got the kit and fixed
myself up."
[Go back to the dream report]
[Jump ahead to the coding card for this dream]
The first character mentioned in this report is the live deer. Although later
on the dreamer distinguishes between them on the basis of sex, only one group
of deer is listed because coding distinctions are not made within the animal
subclass with regard to age, sex, or familiarity. The man the dreamer knew in
real life was given a K code. The other males that the dreamer did not know
were coded as strangers. They would have been coded as O if they were
identified as hunters. The two hunters were coded as O. An individual code
was given for the one doe that came out and an individual code for the one
hunter who attempted to shoot it. Individual characters differentiated from a
larger group are coded separately. The Spanish-speaking saleslady was coded as
O rather than E, because occupational identification takes precedence over
ethnic identification.
As in the last dream, social interactions pose some coding problems. The
difficulties are encountered in handling the dreamer's activities when he
tells the hunters about the deer. We decided that to inform hunters where
they might be able to obtain their sought after goal of deer would be a
friendly thing to do and coded it as an F4. However, in doing so, the dreamer
must play the role of accomplice or intermediary in causing the expected death
of the deer. The dreamer was therefore also credited with an aggressive act
(A3) against the group of deer. The hunter who shot at the one doe clearly
displayed aggressive behavior toward this animal. Even though the hunter in
this case missed hitting the deer, his aggression qualifies as A7 because he
engaged in a threatening act with a weapon.
Under activities, the M code was given for the group of deer walking and an M
code was also given for the dreamer when he went outside. The S code is for
seeing the two hunters and the V is for the dreamer telling the hunters about
the deer. The doe who came out of the lodge was given an M, and a P was
credited to the hunter who shot at it. The dreamer receives another S code
for seeing this. Another M was given to the deer for going behind the tree,
because this seems to represent a different activity than coming out of the
lodge since it did not occur until after the hunter had shot. An A was
credited to the dreamer for hearing the hunter and a V to the hunter when he
said he missed. It was not explained how the dreamer arrived at the hunting
store, so this was coded with an L. It is not clear exactly what was involved
in the dreamer fixing himself up with the first aid kit, but it would seem to
necessitate some physical activity and was therefore coded as a P.
The initial setting was an indoor one located within the hunting lodge. The
dreamer then went outside and talked to the hunters, so the dream locale
shifted to an outdoor one. Eventually the dreamer enters a hunting store, so
a final indoor setting is indicated. All three settings were coded U because
no indication was given that the dreamer had ever seen any of these settings
in real life.
An AE object was coded for the hunting lodge and the BH for the mention of
the spike horns on the buck. An NA code appears for the tree and a BE for the
dreamer's ankle. The pieces of buckshot were placed in the weapon subclass and
the hunting store was coded AV. The difference between a hunting lodge being
coded AE and a hunting store being coded AV is that the former is used for
recreational purposes while the latter is a place where business transactions
occur. The first aid kit was coded HH since medicines are considered household
items.
In the achievement outcome classification, a success code was given to the
dreamer for finally obtaining the first aid kit and fixing himself up. This
was the task that he set for himself in going to the hunting store, and after
overcoming the obstacle of the saleslady that couldn't understand him, the
dreamer did manage to achieve his goal. An FL code was recorded for the
hunter who failed to hit the deer he was attempting to shoot, and who
acknowledged his failure by saying he missed. An M5 was coded for the dreamer
because of the injury he accidentally received. It is true that he was shot by
one of the hunters, but this was not a deliberate intentional act on the part
of the hunter and therefore qualifies as a misfortune. An M1 was also coded
for the dreamer encountering the obstacle of the Spanish-speaking saleslady
who couldn't understand him. Again the misfortune occurs indirectly as the
result of another individual, but the saleslady was not being intentionally
unhelpful to the dreamer, so a misfortune rather than an aggression should be
coded. Since the dreamer was able somehow to secure the kit, an additional
successful consequence is recorded as part of the M1 coding. There is a
question as to whether a good fortune was present in terms of the bountiful
environment provided by the lodge full of deer, but since neither the dreamer
nor the others in the lodge had any apparent intentions of hunting, this would
not constitute any special good luck for them. Had the two hunters come upon
the deer themselves, a GF could have been coded for them. Since their
awareness of the group of deer was made possible through the dreamer's
information, they do not encounter any impersonal good luck but rather a
friendly act on the part of another person.
The only modifier present in this dream is the S+ for the description of the
hunting lodge as monstrous. Two negative codes were present: this did "not"
seem to excite me, and the saleslady "couldn't" understand the dreamer. For
two reasons, no code for emotion was given to the dreamer's statement that
this didn't seem to excite him. First, the verb excite is too
nondifferentiating in describing the type of emotion involved for it to be
classified as one of the five scorable emotions. Second, the dreamer has
effectively negated the presence of any emotion through the wording of his
report. Note that this wording is different from saying something such as "I
did not seem to be very excited," which would indicate that the dreamer was
at least slightly excited.
[Go back to the dream report]
[Go back to the discussion of this dream's coding]
Char. |
Aggression |
Friendliness |
Sexuality |
Sett. |
Modif. |
2ANI 1MKA 2MSA 2MOA 1ANI 1MOA 1FOA |
|
|
|
IU OU IU |
S+ |
Obj. |
AE BH NA BE IW AV HH |
Activities |
2ANI | M | |
D | M | |
D | S | |
D | V> | 2MOA |
1ANI | M | |
1MOA | P> | 1ANI |
|
|
|
Temp. |
|
Neg. |
2 |
Success |
Failure |
Misfortune |
Good Fort. |
Emotions |
|
D |
1MOA |
M5, D M1, D (SU) |
|
|
|
|
|
The brush salesman:
1,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6,
7,
8,
9,
10
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