... the death of their first son. The golden treatment and always present shadow of his elder brother caused in him a distinct shift in personality. It is this treatment as a young child that relates directly to Dalí's formation of a very unique and conspicuous personality. He says in several of his writings that the dualistic stresses imposed upon him, that of living both as himself, and his dead brother, caused in him a particular obsession with decay and putrefaction. This is where many of his disturbing images of things like decaying corpses, insects, and other disturbing images began forming. In addition, Dalí was often teased by the local schoolchildren, who often threw insects, especially grasshoppers at him. The grasshopper became a distinct symbol of revulsion and horror for Dalí, especially during his Surrealist period. Thus it can be said that the events of Dalí's first 7 or so ...

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