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Commentary review on the lord of the flies
Commentary review on the lord of the flies
Sigmund freuds methods
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Throughout history, it has been noted that when an individual is isolated from civilization, various psychological effects take a toll on that person’s well-being. Sigmund Freud, an Austrian psychologist, believed that when a person is isolated from civilization, a darker “savage” side naturally takes over (“Id, Ego, and Super-ego” n. pag). William Golding shared this belief and used it as inspiration to write one of his most well-known novels, Lord of the Flies. Freud’s findings on the human mind led him to believe there are three main parts: The id, the ego, and the super-ego (“Id, Ego, and Super-ego” n. pag). Jack, Ralph, Simon, and Piggy are not only the main characters in Golding’s Lord of the Flies, but also embody the id, ego, and super-ego characteristics of Freudian psychology. Sigmund Freud was born in 1856 to Jewish Galician parents in the Moravian town of Pribor in the Austrian Empire (“Sigmund Freud” n. pag). During his education in the medical field, Freud decided to mix the career fields of medicine and philosophy …show more content…
Golding served in the Royal Navy on board a destroyer, later becoming an officer after participating in the Normandy Invasion on D-Day (“William Golding” n. pag). He believed the atrocities of war caused the inner id qualities of man emerge, which he pointed out after the war when he said, “The basic point my generation discovered about man was that there was more evil in him than could be accounted for simply by social pressures” (“William Golding” n. pag). Golding’s shared beliefs with Freud led him to base the characters of Lord of the Flies on the three main Freudian principles. Jack, the leader of the savages, represents the id; Ralph and his desire for civilization represents the ego; and Piggy and Simon with their conscience and morality represent the
Rosenfield, Claire. “Men of a Smaller Growth: A Psychological Analysis of William Golding’s Lord of the Flies.”Literature and Psychology. 11 (Autumn, 1961). 93-101. Print.
Throughout the novel, The Lord of the Flies by William Golding, the character Jack finds his true identity through a clay mask of his own making. At the beginning of the novel, Jack is unable to kill a pig for food, however, he later puts on a mask in order to blend in with nature and not drive the pigs away. To the contrary, by putting on this mask Jack gains a newfound confidence that was nonexistent in his own skin. For example when Jack first put on the mask he “looked in astonishment, no longer at himself but at an awesome stranger” (63). By putting on a mask Jack is able to lose his identity a little bit and act and feel like a whole new person. This idea of taking on a whole new role when putting on a mask can be seen in many modern tv shows and movies.
When viewing the atrocities of today's world on television, the starving children, the wars, the injustices, one cannot help but think that evil is rampant in this day and age. However, people in society must be aware that evil is not an external force embodied in a society but resides within each person. Man has both good qualities and faults. He must come to control these faults in order to be a good person. In the novel Lord of the Flies, William Golding deals with this same evil which exists in all of his characters. With his mastery of such literary tools as structure, syntax, diction and imagery, The author creates a cheerless, sardonic tone to convey his own views of the nature of man and man’s role within society.
William Golding’s novel ‘The Lord of The Flies’ tells the story of a group of English boys isolated on a desert island, left to attempt to retain civilisation. In the novel, Golding shows one of the boys, Jack, to change significantly. At the beginning of the book, Jack’s character desires power and although he does not immediately get it, he retains the values of civilized behaviour. However, as the story proceeds, his character becomes more savage, leaving behind the values of society. Jack uses fear of the beast to control the other boys and he changes to become the book’s representation of savagery, violence and domination. He is first taken over with an obsession to hunt, which leads to a change in his physical appearance This change of character is significant as he leads the other boys into savagery, representing Golding’s views of there being a bad and unforgiving nature to every human.
Struggling for the power of the id, ego, and superego, it is very difficult to take control of and to understand. William Golding had made a statement that “we can not leave or escape from our savage and violent tendencies.” There are three parts of a psychological allegory of Lord of the Flies. They are known as the id, ego, and superego which are different aspects of the human mind.
Nehemiah, Yitzhak. "Introduction to Sigmund Freud's Id, Ego, and Super-ego Concepts." Helium. Helium, Inc, 2003. Web. 16 Sep 2010.
William Golding’s 1954 novel, Lord of the Flies, explores and analyzes human nature. The novel follows a group of boys stranded on an island without any adult supervision after a plane crash. In the beginning, the boys elect another boy, Ralph, as chief. Ralph is at odds with another boy named Jack, who leads the designated hunters among them. The boys gradually descend from civility to savagery. Jack is leading some boys into violent savagery, leaving Ralph trying to salvage the notion of a functioning civilization. By the end of the novel, Jack leads most of the boys in their savage nature and leaves Ralph in danger. Throughout the novel, Golding brings the themes of the abuse of power, the fear of the unknown, and the need for civilization to the surface.
Freud, Sigmund. Ego and the Id of Sigmund Freud (The Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological works of Sigmund Freud Series).
Rosenfield, Claire. "'Men of a Smaller Growth': A Psychological Analysis of William Golding's 'Lord of the Flies.'" Literature and Psychology 11.4 (Autumn 1961): 93-101. Rpt. in Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. Roger Matuz and Cathy Falk. Vol. 58. Detroit: Gale Research, 1990. Literature Resource Center. Web. 7 Apr. 2014.
Being stranded on an island can be rather popular in today’s literature. However, Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, is very much unlike any other book one has ever read. Through his intense metaphors and amazing character development, Golding has created a work of art. He has created so many realistic characters, and everything means something more than it appears to, one just has to dig beneath the surface. In fact, through the character growth of both Jack Merridew and the beast, Golding insinuates that fear can make people do terrible things. His savagery represents how he lets his fear control him during his time on the island, and caused a lot of problems because of it.
In the novel “The Lord of the Flies” by William Golding, we read about a group of young English boys who have been stranded on an island after their plane was shot down. Despite their young age, they form their own society and are forced to fend for themselves, which takes a wrong turn very quickly. There are several events and objects Golding uses to symbolize themes that have to do with human nature, psychology, and civilization.
The novel “Lord of the Flies” can be read at a much deeper level. What appears to be a story of a group of boys attempting to survive on an island can be read as symbolic of the theory of the subconscious created by Sigmund Freud. The story is an allegory where the characters: Jack, Piggy, and Ralph serve as symbols for the theory of Id, Ego, and Superego.
In William Golding's Lord of the Flies a group of English school boys crash land onto an uninhabited island somewhere in the Mid Atlantic ocean. Ralph, the protagonist and also the elected leader, tries to maintain peace and avoid any calamity on the island. However, Jack is neither willing to contribute nor listen because he is jealous of Ralph and has a sickening obsession with killing boars. Ralph has some good traits that help him maintain peace and balance for a period of time. He is charismatic and has natural leader attributes. Gradually though some of the other characters are killed due to the irresponsibility and savagery of Jack's actions. In this novel, the author conveys a messege through Freud's theroy of Id, Ego, and Superego. He uses Jack to represent an excess of Id and its dangers to oneself and others, Ralph to show how sometimes a good balanced amount of ego can be very helpful in a stressful situation, and Piggy to show how the effects of an excess superego can influence one's mentality and the others around.
Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic theory was based on the belief that human personality is made up of three components: the id, ego and superego. These three components are arranged in a hierarchy order with the id at the basal end, the ego in the middle and the super ego at the pinnacle. The id at the base, seeks instantaneous pleasure and fulfillment, driven by the pleasure principle. The id wants what it wants, when it wants it regardless of whether or not it is possible to satisfy that particular want or need. The presence or logic of reality or societal behavior has no effect on the id. For example, if an infant is thirsty and sees a bottle of water, he will take the bottle and drink even if it belonged to someone else and he did not have permission to drink, all that matters is that the needs have been met.
“Psychological - or more strictly speaking, psychoanalytic -investigation shows that the deepest essence of human nature, which are similar in all men and which aim at the satisfaction of certain needs... [are] self-preservation, aggression, need for love, and the impulse to attain pleasure and avoid pain...” At its simplest form, this quote perfectly explains Sigmund Freud’s theory on human nature. Human beings, according to Freud, are in a constant state of conflict within themselves; trying to satisfy their animalistic instincts, while also maintaining a socially appropriate life. Freud termed these animalistic tendencies that we have, the Id. The Id is essentially our unconscious mind, it is the part of us that has been there since the day we were born and is what drives our life’s needs and desires. The Id simply aims to satisfy our sexual or aggressive urges immediately, without taking into account any further implications. On the other hand, Freud used the term, the Superego, to describe man’s conscience and sense of morality. It is the Superego’s job to keep the Id in check by combatting the desire to satisfy urges with the feeling of guilt or anxiety. Finally, the Ego, is the conscious representation of the constant battle between the Superego and the Id. It must work to satisfy human’s instinctual tendencies while taking into account their conscience and doing what is rational and acceptable. Freud argues that these internal process that are constantly at work in our mind are what shape humans to do the things that they do. Thus, he believes, the goal of human nature is to satisfy our basic aggressive and sexual desires while adhering to cultural and social standards.