Human Psychology In William Golding's Lord Of The Flies

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William Golding explores human psychology in Lord of the Flies through his characters. His experience in World War II influenced him to write about the human nature, and the struggle of good and evil. Along with Sigmund Freud’s theory on the human personalities and mob mentality, the book displays the extremes of human nature. In Lord of the Flies, William Golding uses psychological allegory to illustrate the concept of id, ego, the superego as well as mob mentality through the characters Ralph, Jack, Piggy, and Simon.
Sigmund Freud presumed that the id, represented by Jack, contains primitive impulses and the desire for instant gratification. There are two kinds of ids present: the Eros, and the Thanatos. The Eros is the instinct that helps a person survive and adapt to their surroundings. …show more content…

The ego is there to make sure the demands of the id are fulfilled in a safe and “socially acceptable way” (McLeod). During the course of the book, Ralph wants to go with Jack, but he still listens to piggy when no one else does. It was due to him being close to Piggy that he (Ralph) didn’t become one of the savages, and it was because he was neither too much of an id or superego that he could survive just long enough to when they find the naval officer. Moreover, because Ralph is the ego, it is his job to keep the id and superego balanced. Since Piggy isn’t usually taken very seriously and is bullied, Ralph takes his side in order to make sure that Jack doesn’t end up killing him (129). At the end of the book, Ralph reflects on what has happened and cries for “the loss of innocence, the darkness of man’s heart, the death of the true, wise friend called Piggy” (Gale 1997). Ralph was the one most likely struggled internally due to him having to control the id and the superego (Jack and Piggy), keeping everyone together, and finding a way to be

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