Lord Of The Flies

Analyzing Lord of the Flies
The novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding tells the story of a group of British schoolboys who must join together and fight for survival while stranded on a deserted island. Although they attempt to work together, their personalities clash, creating a power struggle and dividing their group. This division causes the boys to battle each other for dominance. Lord of the Flies can be read as a psychoanalytical allegory with themes of fear and power that connect to both historic as well as current events.
Lord of the Flies can be viewed as a psychoanalytical allegory through the character Jack Merridew. Freud, an Austrian neurologist, believes that the unconscious mind contains the Id, which “works always to gratify

its own impulses” (Henningfield). The Id can be compared to Jack because he is obsessed with hunting and killing pigs rather than ensuring the group’s safety. He diminishes their progress by continuously wanting to satisfy himself. In Chapter Four, “Painted Faces and Long Hair”, Ralph yells, “You and your hunting…we might have gone home…then you go off hunting and let out the fire” (Golding 71). Jack’s habit of pursuing his own pleasure is shown when he lets the fire go out, destroying their chance to return home. Despite the fire being crucial for survival, Jack is more concerned with his own priorities. Just as Jack is the Id, the different psychoanalytical personalities the other boys possess clash with one another.
The character Piggy in Lord of the Flies can also be seen as a psychoanalytical allegory throughout the book.

Piggy is aware of Jack’s hatred towards him, because he “stands between Jack and his achievement of pleasure” (Henningfield). The Superego can be compared to Piggy, due to his desire to command the rest of the boys, especially Jack. This causes a power struggle between the Id and the Superego. Jack’s hatred for Piggy takes over in “Painted Faces and Long Hair” when Jack is driven to violence, “and able at last to hit someone, (he) stuck his fist into Piggy’s stomach” (Golding 71). This moment becomes a turning point in the tense relationship between Jack and Piggy because Jack’s power over Piggy is implemented physically. Jack’s temper reaches the point where he purposefully harms another boy. The physical conflict that ensued was the effect of Piggy, the Superego, preventing Jack, the Id, from getting what he

wants.
In Lord of the Flies, the human quality of desiring power corrupts the minds of the island boys. In his book, William Golding describes this as a need to “control ourselves and others” (Olsen). The boys on the island try to manipulate each other due to their human craving for authority. They battle for a taste of the power finally attainable in the absence of adults. The boys impose their power over each other when they pretend to attack Robert, because “the desire to squeeze and hurt was over mastering” (Golding 115). Disguising their hunger for asserting themselves on their peers as an innocent game, the tribe seems to enjoy Robert’s fear as they cause him pain. This stems from the fact that they want to be dominant, rather than work together to survive. Power and the desire for it becomes a major force in the book, reducing their chances of survival and leading to total chaos.
Another human quality, fear, infests the boys’ thoughts and makes them find fear in everything on the island. In order to explain their irrational fears in the absence of danger, children “often create an imaginary danger” (Olsen). Young kids have a hard time evaluating whether there is legitimate danger present. The boys of Lord of the Flies add a name to their fears so as to personify them all as one big Beastie. Ralph shares his fears with Piggy in Chapter Five, “Beast from the Water”, after hearing of an unknown creature on the island. Ralph says, “Suppose things are watching us and waiting” (Golding). Although he was the initial chief, Ralph begins to question the existence of the Beastie as well, abandoning all reasoning and logical thought. The blinding effects of fear, such as these, slowly take over all of the boys through the course of the book.
Jack Merridew of Lord of the Flies can be compared to the intelligent Roman military leader, Julius Caesar. Julius Caesar syndrome is exhibited when a leader “fails to recognize and act on critical information” (Bennis). Caesar’s inability to act fast in critical moments is what eventually ended his life. Though he had prior knowledge that he would be assassinated, he chose not to act on the information given to him. The authority that he once held was lost due to this fatal mistake. These actions mirror those of Jack in Lord of the Flies. After the naval officer lands on the island to rescue the boys in the final chapter, “Cry of the Hunters”, he asks, “Who’s boss here?” to which Ralph loudly replies, “I am” (Golding 201). Jack loses his power when he allows Ralph to declare himself authority in the eyes of an adult. This closely resembles the way Julius Caesar fell because of his neglecting to acknowledge valuable information. This error ultimately leads to complete loss of power for both Merridew and Caesar.
There are specific weaknesses that brought both Julius Caesar and Jack down from their place of authority in the end. Caesar’s death, a planned assassination, was a direct effect of his “imperial arrogance, tunnel vision, or isolation” (Bennis). Caesar conquered vast areas of land and was deemed to have an excess of power. He was then killed in the Senate by those he knew. This tragic death was supposedly caused by faults in his character, such as the arrogance that drove him to be blinded by power. This can be compared to flaws in Jack Merridew’s personality, as well. In Chapter 11, “Castle Rock”, Ralph scolds Jack, “That’s a cooking fire, now you’ll eat and there’ll be no smoke. Don’t you understand? There may be a ship out there” (Golding 178). Jack’s behavior is similar to Caesar’s because he exhibits tunnel vision in which his only thoughts are those which involve killing a pig, resulting in him neglecting the fire. Just as Julius Caesar’s peers stabbed him after recognizing his behavior, Jack’s peers agree to divide their group. While both Caesar and Jack possessed great control, their flaws caused their peers to betray them.
In Lord of the Flies, the issue of dividing tribes between Jack and Ralph is similar to the current conflict between Israel and Palestine.

Although the government of Israel released Palestinian prisoners last October, they “simultaneously announced controversial plans to build 1500 housing units in East Jerusalem on land claimed by Palestinians” (Israeli-Palestinian Talks). While allowing freedom to those they imprisoned, the Israeli government takes advantage of Palestinians by using their land. Tension between these groups is currently growing, as the issue of land ownership is unresolved. This is similar to when the issues between Jack and Ralph increase rapidly after their tribes have been divided. When a fight between Jack’s tribe and Ralph’s takes place in Ralph’s tent, they notice Jack walking away and “from his left hand dangled Piggy’s broken glasses” (Golding 168). Jack’s tribe feels no guilt for stealing Piggy’s glasses, which can be compared with the way the Israeli government takes Palestinian land with no remorse, depriving the Palestinian citizens of their rights and power. Jack’s tribe unrightfully robs Ralph’s tribe by depriving them of Piggy’s glasses, a necessary source for creating

fires.
Being stubborn has been an issue between international government leaders for many years, evident in the ongoing dispute between Israel and Palestine. There have been efforts to persuade the Palestinian and Israeli governments to compromise because “each side is a doing a favor to the Americans (or the other side) just by agreeing to negotiate” (Israeli-Palestinian Talks). Coming to a resolve seems to be an issue due to both countries being unwilling. This headstrong behavior is what has been prolonging the issues between the two sides. The U.S Secretary of Security weighs in that the best possible option would be to reach an ultimatum. This advice would also apply to Ralph and Jack’s tense situation in Lord of the Flies. In Chapter Eight, “Gift for the Darkness”, Jack and Ralph battle for approval and Jack strongly says to the group, “Hands up, whoever wants Ralph not to be chief?” (Golding 127). Jack and Ralph seem to never agree to disagree; they want to be better than each other. Just like in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the two parties rarely want to give up what they want for what the other wants, though doing so would make survival much easier for the group as a whole. The competition between the two countries, as well as the two boys, is a major cause of their perpetuated disputes.
As the novel Lord of the Flies progresses, the group of British schoolboys stranded on the island let their fears possess them and the craving for power take over their minds. The many issues handled by the boys can also compare with multiple historic and current events. Not only are the personalities and conflicts within this book psychoanalytical allegories, but they are also similar to real world events, making this book an interesting read with numerous hidden meanings.