William Golding s Lord Of The Flies - 1900 Words

In William Golding’s allegorical novel Lord of the Flies, examples of Sigmund Freud’s psychological theories are illustrated within the main characters through there personal thoughts and actions. Freud’s theory explores the inner separations of the mind and the effects on ones personality. Jack, the antagonist, can be seen as the immature and bloodthirsty Id, who hungers for meat and stops at nothing to get what he wants. Piggy and Simon can be seen on the other end of the spectrum as the SuperEgo, through their intellect and compassion. Ralph represents the Ego, the middle ground between the two extremes, by his responsible decision making skills and leadership qualities. All three characters balance each other out, and when either†¦show more content†¦According to Freud, the id wants whatever it wants without any consideration for the needs of others, reality, but only for self satisfaction. The Id can be seen as childish and immature because they ca re little for others needs and show no remorse or understanding of their action’s consequences. Often times the Id proves to be barbaric and uncivilized, regularly becoming violent. There are several examples of Jack portraying the Id. When given the responsibility of tending the fire that is supposed to alert anyone passing by of their location, Jack ignores the need of the group. He instead chooses to go hunting for pigs in the woods. While abandoning his responsibility, the fire goes out, making the lost boys undetectable. His reaction, or lack thereof, upon his return show that he is the Id through the absence of regret. â€Å"Ralph spoke. â€Å"You let the fire go out.† Jack shrugged, vaguely irritated by this irrelevance, but too happy to let it worry him. â€Å"We can light the fire again †¦ we had a smashing time†¦ I cut the pig’s throat.† (Golding, 75) This quote illustrates Jacks immaturity through his inability to realize the consequ ence of his mistake. The fire Jack was supposed to be tending was built with the intention of alerting rescuers, and his lack to tend to it could be the difference between life and death for the group of stranded boys. His failure to recognize the severity of his mistake displays his