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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."


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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
D3>2ANI
1MOA7>1ANI
D4>2MOA
  IU
OU
IU
 
S+
Obj.
AE
BH
NA
BE
IW
AV
HH
Activities
2ANIM 
DM 
DS 
DV>2MOA
1ANIM 
1MOAP>1ANI
DS 
1ANIM 
DA 
1MOAV 
DL 
DP 
  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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