The Id, Ego and Superego in Lord of the Flies :: Lord Flies Essays

The Id, Ego and Superego in Lord of the Flies In viewing the various aspects of the island society in Goldings Lord of the Flies as a symbolic microcosm of society, a converse perspective must also be considered. Goldings island of marooned youngsters consequently becomes a macrocosm, wherein the island represents the individual human and the various characters and symbols the elements of the human psyche. As such, Goldings world of childrens morals and actions then becomes a survey of the human condition, both individually and collectively. Almost textbook in their portrayal, the primary characters of Jack, Ralph and Piggy are then best interpreted as Freuds very concepts of id, ego and superego, respectively. As the id of the island, Jacks actions are the most blatantly driven by animalistic rapacious gratification needs. In discovering the thrill of the black market, his pleasure drive is emphasized, purported by Freud to be the basic human need to be gratified. In much the same way, Goldings portrayal of a hunt as a rape, with the boys ravenously jumping atop the pig and brutalizing it, alludes to Freuds basis of the pleasure drive in the libido, the term serving a double Lntendre in its psychodynamic and physically sensual sense. Jacks unwillingness to acknowledge the conch as the source of centrality on the island and Ralph as the seat of power is consistent with the portrayal of his particular self-importance. Freud also colligate the id to what he called the destructive drive, the aggressiveness of self-ruin. Jacks antithetical lack of compassion for nature, for others, and ultimately for himself is thoroughly evidenced in his needless hunting, his role in the brutal murders of Simon and Piggy, and in the end in his burning of the entire island, even at the cost of his own life. In much the same way, Piggys demeanor and very character links him to the superego, the sense of right and wrong factor in Freuds model of the psyche. Golding marks Piggy with the distinction of being more intellectually mature than the others, branding him with a connection to a higher(prenominal) authority the outside world. It is because the superego is dependent on outside support that Piggy fares the worst out of the three major characters in the isolation of the island. Piggy is set forth as being more socially compatible with adults, and carries himself with a sense of rationale and purpose that often serves as Ralphs moral compass in crisis although Ralph ab initio uses the conch to call the others, it is Piggy who possesses the knowledge to blow it as a signal despite his inability to do so.