Lord of the Flies by William Golding tells a story about a group of boys that get stranded on a deserted island. However, Golding uses his characters, setting, and other tools to convey a much deeper story; the story of human nature. His three main characters Jack, Ralph, and Piggy are symbols for the three parts of the human psyche. These components of our mind are called the Id, Ego, and Superego, and together they control our thoughts and behavior. They are a part of psychologist Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic theory of personality which he created in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. Lord of the Flies provides an understanding of the fragile balance of Freud 's three parts of the psyche using symbolic characters; therefore demonstrating
…show more content…
Jack 's behavior is demonstrating how quickly we become engulfed in our Id, the most convincing part of our psyche. The boys decide to create a signal fire at the top of the island in order to signal passing ships of their presence. Ralph appoints Jack and his collection of hunters to keep the fire going throughout the day. When Ralph spots a ship out at sea and realizes the fire is not being tended to he confronts Jack, who has just returned from a day of hunting with only one pig to show for it. He speaks to Jack in a cold tone,’‘There was a ship.’ Jack, faced with the awful implications, ducked away from them. He [Jack] laid a hand on the pig and drew his knife. Ralph brought his arm down…’There was a ship. Out there. You said you’d keep the fire going and you let it out!’” (70). Jack had intended to maintain the fire, but when he and his hunters began to search for pigs, they were unable to think about the consequences of ignoring the fire. By neglecting the signal fire, they were prioritizing meat (food?) over the chance of being rescued; a decision that would not have been made if all three parts of the psyche had had a been …show more content…
The Id is the fundamental part of our psyche, and the thoughts that emerge from it are incredibly influential on the boys behaviors in Lord of the Flies, as well as their trials with building a civilization on the island. Golding shows the Id’s extreme power to take over the Ego and Superego when Ralph trying to escape from a fire set by Jack and his hunters to smoke him out of hiding. While running through the thicket, the narrator explains, “He forgot his wounds, his hunger and thirst, and became fear; hopeless fear on flying feet, rushing through the forest toward the open beach” (200). Ralph is elected the leader of the boys when they first arrive on the island, and throughout the book he symbolizes the Ego and its rational decisions. Golding 's portrayal of Ralph trying to escape the fire shows just how influential the Id can be, and how it can dominate the Ego and Superego in anyone; regardless of how logical and studious they seem to be. Since the human mind can lose focus on reasoning and moral standards, creating a society can be
Jack 's behavior is demonstrating how quickly we become engulfed in our Id, the most convincing part of our psyche. The boys decide to create a signal fire at the top of the island in order to signal passing ships of their presence. Ralph appoints Jack and his collection of hunters to keep the fire going throughout the day. When Ralph spots a ship out at sea and realizes the fire is not being tended to he confronts Jack, who has just returned from a day of hunting with only one pig to show for it. He speaks to Jack in a cold tone,’‘There was a ship.’ Jack, faced with the awful implications, ducked away from them. He [Jack] laid a hand on the pig and drew his knife. Ralph brought his arm down…’There was a ship. Out there. You said you’d keep the fire going and you let it out!’” (70). Jack had intended to maintain the fire, but when he and his hunters began to search for pigs, they were unable to think about the consequences of ignoring the fire. By neglecting the signal fire, they were prioritizing meat (food?) over the chance of being rescued; a decision that would not have been made if all three parts of the psyche had had a been …show more content…
The Id is the fundamental part of our psyche, and the thoughts that emerge from it are incredibly influential on the boys behaviors in Lord of the Flies, as well as their trials with building a civilization on the island. Golding shows the Id’s extreme power to take over the Ego and Superego when Ralph trying to escape from a fire set by Jack and his hunters to smoke him out of hiding. While running through the thicket, the narrator explains, “He forgot his wounds, his hunger and thirst, and became fear; hopeless fear on flying feet, rushing through the forest toward the open beach” (200). Ralph is elected the leader of the boys when they first arrive on the island, and throughout the book he symbolizes the Ego and its rational decisions. Golding 's portrayal of Ralph trying to escape the fire shows just how influential the Id can be, and how it can dominate the Ego and Superego in anyone; regardless of how logical and studious they seem to be. Since the human mind can lose focus on reasoning and moral standards, creating a society can be