Sigmund Freud's Theory In Lord Of The Flies
In Lord of the Flies by William Golding, a group of schoolboys is stranded on an island with no adults. As some of the boys try to maintain order and others resort to savage ways, the personalities of the three main characters emerge, each representing a different part of Sigmund Freud’s theory. Freud's psychoanalytic theory of personality states that personality is composed of three elements known as the Superego, Ego, and the Id. The Id is operated by the pleasure principle, and always wants to satisfy its desires immediately. The Ego is driven by the principle of reality and works to satisfy the desires of the Id in a socially appropriate way. The Superego provides a sense of right and wrong, and the ability to make sensible judgments. According
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After Jack let out the fire during their chance of rescue, it “was too bitter for Piggy, who forgot his timidity in the agony of his loss. He began to cry out, shrilly: ‘You and your blood, Jack Merridew! You and your hunting! We might have gone home--’” (Golding 67). Piggy is sensible and mainly looks at the long term goal of being rescued instead of just focusing on just his desires and needs like Jack does. He tries to tell Jack how bad letting the fire out was, and make him feel guilty for it and understand the importance of the fire. However later in the book, after Jack steals Piggy’s glasses, he says "What you goin' to do, Ralph? This is jus' talk without deciding. I want my glasses." (Golding 173). Piggy is willing to take a big risk and march into Jack’s camp without even thinking twice. Here, he is not violent or savage like how Jack became but is still in the Id because he follows his reckless desire to get his glasses back. Just like the Superego, Piggy tries to carry out the instinctual moral good, but sometimes, he can still slip into the impulsive Id.
In Lord of the Flies, all three of the main characters slip into the Id, however, Ralph mainly acts as the Ego, Jack acts as the Id, and Piggy mainly acts as the Superego. This demonstrates what would happen to the human nature when given the right circumstance Golding suggests that while people might seem one way, there is a beast within everyone, that is savage, brutal, and impulsive, just waiting for the right conditions to come out. Similarly, Freud's theory of personality suggests this with the concept of the Id, Ego, and
After Jack let out the fire during their chance of rescue, it “was too bitter for Piggy, who forgot his timidity in the agony of his loss. He began to cry out, shrilly: ‘You and your blood, Jack Merridew! You and your hunting! We might have gone home--’” (Golding 67). Piggy is sensible and mainly looks at the long term goal of being rescued instead of just focusing on just his desires and needs like Jack does. He tries to tell Jack how bad letting the fire out was, and make him feel guilty for it and understand the importance of the fire. However later in the book, after Jack steals Piggy’s glasses, he says "What you goin' to do, Ralph? This is jus' talk without deciding. I want my glasses." (Golding 173). Piggy is willing to take a big risk and march into Jack’s camp without even thinking twice. Here, he is not violent or savage like how Jack became but is still in the Id because he follows his reckless desire to get his glasses back. Just like the Superego, Piggy tries to carry out the instinctual moral good, but sometimes, he can still slip into the impulsive Id.
In Lord of the Flies, all three of the main characters slip into the Id, however, Ralph mainly acts as the Ego, Jack acts as the Id, and Piggy mainly acts as the Superego. This demonstrates what would happen to the human nature when given the right circumstance Golding suggests that while people might seem one way, there is a beast within everyone, that is savage, brutal, and impulsive, just waiting for the right conditions to come out. Similarly, Freud's theory of personality suggests this with the concept of the Id, Ego, and