Gerald studies for a history test on Civil War battles and watches a sports car commercial shortly before going to sleep. That night, he dreams he is a soldier fighting in a Civil War battle. Just as Gerald is about to be captured by enemy forces, a red sports car suddenly appears, and Gerald jumps into the driver's seat and escapes the battle by driving away. Gerald unfortunately loses control while driving away and crashes the car. Gerald wakes up shortly after the car crash.

What would Sigmund Freud say about Gerald's dream?

Gerald may secretly feel that he needs to be in more control of his life. He should be able to buy things that he wants, like a sports car. Gerald's dream of the sports car and its crash represents a hidden desire to have a sports car and a wish to be in control of his life.

Gerald may be suffering from bouts of insomnia. His vivid dream about the Civil War battle and driving away in a sports car is a symptom that his brain requires more rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep.

Gerald is trying to remember all of the information required to succeed on his Civil War history test. His dream represents a recollection of his memory of the content of his studies, as well as the car commercial.

Gerald is experiencing random bursts of brain activity when sleeping. His brain tries to weave a story about Civil War battles and the sports car from this activity, which creates a dream.

Gerald may not have good study skills, and this dream represents a hidden, symbolic meaning that Gerald feels he is an inferior student, as seen by his car crashing in his dream. This represents Greg's manifest content of the dream.