Another part of the process of dream-work is the dream composition. Freud says this part demonstrates how some dream’s work. By observing the dream composition a person can reveal the origin of the activity in their dream and fully understand the purpose or meaning of the dream. He also argues that dream composition can also serve to confuse a person if it is set up in a way that doesn’t readily make sense. This can cause us to misinterpret a dream by trying to relate it to something already known to us. “Its function would then consist in arranging the constituents of the dream in such a way that they form an approximately connected whole, a dream composition. In this way the dream is given a kind of façade and thus receives a first, preliminary interpretation, which is supported by interpolations.” (161) This quote demonstrates how dream composition can either help interpret dreams, or create false conclusions about a dream.

The final aspect of dreams Freud focused on was the function of dreams in our lives. One purpose dreams serve is providing fulfillment of our fantasies and wishes by allowing our minds to believe they have acquired a wish within a dream. An example of this is demonstrated by Freud’s dream on page 140 where he learns that Otto is responsible for Irma’s pain and not him. The dream provided wish fulfillment for him and was motivated by a wish. “Dreams which are intelligible and have a meaning, we have found that they are undisguised wish-fulfilments; that is, that in their case the dream-situation represents as fulfilled a wish which is known to consciousness, which is left over from daytime life, and which is deservedly of interest.” (165) Therefore, he clearly conveys that one function of dreams is to fulfill people’s wishes that they are unable to obtain in their daytime lives.

In addition to fulfilling our wishes, dreams act as a method for protecting sleep from disturbances. Dreams make it easier for our mind to succumb to sleep because it is still able to work and strive for its desires through the process of dreaming. Therefore our minds can find ease in this knowledge, making it easier for people to fall asleep. Another way dreams protect sleep is by distracting us from external stimuli or noises. Dreams will either incorporate an external noise into our dream or provide internal stimuli for our minds to focus on. “Every dream which occurs immediately before the sleeper is woken by a loud noise has made an attempt at explaining away the arousing stimulus by providing another explanation of it and has thus sought to prolong sleep, even if only for a moment.” (169) This quote demonstrates how can dreams can effectively serve as protection for sleep. I myself often find that when my alarm sounds in the morning, there is often a buzzing noise present in my dream that is created by a different object such as a microwave or a bell. However, once I wake up I realize that the real source of the buzzing noise is, sadly my alarm clock. This is an example of Freud’s theory that dreams function as a means for protecting sleep.

Overall, Freud made many great advances in the field of psychoanalysis, but none have influenced later generations as much as his work with the unconscious mind. His theories on the origin, nature, and function of dreams are still widely accepted today and held in high regard. His work revealed that dreams are the production of our own minds, stemming from repressed thoughts. Manifest and latent content of dreams were used by Freud to explain the nature of our dreams along with the three distinct types. Furthermore, he explained the function of our dreams as a means of wish fulfillment and sleep protection. More than sixty-eight years after his death, Freud is still a prominent and leading figure in the ever-going study of men’s minds.