Dreams: The Truth Behind Their Meaning (Persuasive with good research and insights on dreams)

Essay by nikkay5vHigh School, 11th gradeA+, March 2003

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When the subject of dreams and their significance is brought up, the door to debate and controversy has also been opened. All accumulated research that has been done has failed to provide one solid answer to the question, "What do dreams mean?" Studies by Dr. Paretz Lavie show that people spend about one-third of their lives sleeping (Lavie 1). Consequently, one can not help but question the meaning that is held in such a large portion of his life. With the lack of and one solid piece of evidence, perhaps the answer lies within all of the smaller pieces that can be put together. Should one assemble a puzzle of all the studies, theories, and facts, they would find that all dreams have symbols that serve a purpose, and reflect the dreamer's subconscious thoughts.

The interest in dreams dates back to the earliest days of history. Even back in the time of Homer and The Odyssey in ancient Greece, dreams were perceived to have meaning.

Never were they thought to be merely random ideas. This was discovered through the recordings of the dreams in plays and books (Robbins 13). As history progressed, the importance of dreams was found throughout the world. In North America, and Indian could dream of being bitten by a snake and the next day would treat himself for the bite (Lavie 65). Barbara Tedlock, a dream analyst, researched the Quiche-Mayans in Mexico and reported that, "Dreams are of such integral importance to Mexico's Quiche-Maya that one out of four are initiated as 'Daykeepers,' their term for dream interpreters" (Kramer 59). The fact that the interest in dreams has become so widespread is beyond coincidence.

The average person can have up to fifteen dreams a night. These dreams occur during one of the five different stages of...