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A literary analysis of "Lord of the Flies" by William Golding
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Austrian physician Sigmund Freud proposed that there are three principles that drive human behavior: ID, Ego, and Superego. ID is the pleasure principle, giving immediate gratification. Ego is the conscious part of the brain that seeks to balance the demands of ID, Superego, and reality. Superego is conscious part of the mind that weighs consequences of choice. These principles are reflected and personified in William Golding’s novel, Lord of The Flies. Golding does this through the novel’s main characters: Jack, Ralph, and Simon who personify ID, Ego and Superego accordingly.
Jack epitomizes Freud’s idea of ID. His aggression clearly demonstrates selfish behaviors in which he seeks to satisfy his own wants and needs. After Jack mercifully
Lord of the Flies was written by a British author in 1954. The book is about a group of British school boys that crash on an island and have to survive. During their time on the island they turn their backs on being civil and become savages. Ralph is the elected leader and always thinks civil. Jack leaves the group and starts a tribe with the boys and is a savage. Piggy is a boy who is knowable. Simon is compared to Jesus through the book and is the only naturally “good” character. The littleuns are the littler kids on the island. Roger is a cruel older boy who is Jack’s lieutenant. Samneric are twins who are close to Ralph but, are manipulated by Jack later on. In the book Lord of the Flies by William Golding some of the characters represent id, ego, and superego. Id, ego, and super ego are the three parts of the psychic apparatus expressed by Sigmund Freud’s structural model of the psyche. Golding expresses his message of evil and how it is natural in every person, and how we must recognize and control it through id, ego, and superego.
Ralph shows actions of id and superego by deciding to act as a leader or become savage like Jack. Montag also shows actions of id and superego by trying to save society or be part of the corrupt society. Both Ralph from Lord of the Flies and Montag from Fahrenheit 451 have the same goal to save people through superego actions, which results in having vicious people trying to kill them.
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.
The psychology of evil is vital to understanding why Jack and Ralph progress through the story as they do. In Lord of the Flies, evil is an undoubted key to life on the island. The main characters in William Golding’s Lord of the Flies demonstrate Zimbardo’s “Seven Social Processes that Grease the Slippery Slope of Evil,” most notable mindlessly taking the first step, blind obedience to authority, and de-individualization of self.
Golding has a rather pessimistic view of humanity having selfishness, impulsiveness and violence within, shown in his dark yet allegorical novel Lord of the Flies. Throughout the novel, the boys show great self-concern, act rashly, and pummel beasts, boys and bacon. The delicate facade of society is easily toppled by man's true beastly nature.
In viewing the various aspects of the island society in Golding's Lord of the Flies as a symbolic microcosm of society, a converse perspective must also be considered. Golding's island of marooned youngsters then becomes a macrocosm, wherein the island represents the individual human and the various characters and symbols the elements of the human psyche. As such, Golding's world of children's morals and actions then becomes a survey of the human condition, both individually and collectively.
Set in a futuristic world, William Golding's novel, Lord of the Flies, is a great example of how the id, ego, and superego of people fade in or out of people placed in different situations. For example, when a group of boys crashes an island with no adults, Jack Merridew changes into a savage little boy due to his protruding id. Though, like many of the boys, Jack’s first impressions include a clean and responsible little boy, his character becomes impulsive and violent
One of the main themes in William Golding's 1954 novel Lord of the Flies is that without civilization, there is no law and order. The expression of Golding's unorthodox and complex views are embodied in the many varied characters in the novel. One of Golding's unorthodox views is that only one aspect of the modern world keeps people from reverting back to savagery and that is society. Golding shows the extreme situations of what could possibly happen in a society composed of people taken from a structured society then put into a structureless society in the blink of an eye. First there is a need for order until the people on the island realize that there are no rules to dictate their lives and take Daveers into their own hands. Golding is also a master of contrasting characterization. This can be seen in the conflicts between the characters of Jack, the savage; Simon, the savior; and Piggy, the one with all the ideas.
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.
This paper will explore the three elements of innate evil within William Golding's, Lord of the Flies, the change from civilization to savagery, the beast, and the battle on the island. Golding represents evil through his character's, their actions, and symbolism. The island becomes the biggest representation of evil because it's where the entire novel takes place. The change from civilization to savagery is another representation of how easily people can change from good to evil under unusual circumstances. Golding also explores the evil within all humans though the beast, because it's their only chance for survival and survival instinct takes over. In doing so, this paper will prove that Lord of the Flies exemplifies the innate evil that exists within all humans.
Lord of the Flies: Final Essay Exam. Are the defects of society traced back to the defects of human nature? The defects of society, and how it relates to the defects of human nature, can be explained with the savagery that drives the defects of society and the same savagery that drives the defects of human nature. In this story, Lord of the Flies, Golding shows the id, ego, and superego within the characters in the book. Golding represents the id with Jack, whereas the id says “I want, and I want it now,” and Jack constantly wants and needs power, and wants his way in every situation.
Lord of the Flies provides one with a clear understanding of Golding's view of human nature. Whether this view is right or wrong is a point to be debated. This image Golding paints for the reader, that of humans being inherently bad, is a perspective not all people share. Lord of the Flies is but an abstract tool of Golding's to construct the idea of the inherent evil of human nature in the minds of his readers. To construct this idea of the inherent evil, Golding employs the symbolism of Simon, Ralph, the hunt and the island.
In addition to Freud’s stages of development his best-known concepts are those of the id, ego, and superego (Crain, p. 268). The id personality called ‘the unconscious” is the personality that focuses on maximizing pleasure and minimizing pain through reflexes and drives such as hunger or bladder tensions (Crain, pp. 268-269). The id concept is impulsive, chaotic and unrealistic.
In Lord of the Flies , Golding has used different methods to express the overall development of the characters such as Freud and Jung’s personality theories along with Maslow’s idea. Philosophers have come to realize that the conscience of children is formed by the influences that surround them; their notions of good and evil are the result of the moral atmosphere they breathe (Jean Paul). As seen throughout the novel , Jack is the shadow that surround the boys and uses his id and impulses to satisfy his needs to fulfill his growth of self- actualization.
In the book Lord of the Flies by William Golding Ralph, Piggy and Jack represent in a psychoanalytical allegory the ego, the superego and the id respectively. Ralph struggles in getting the other boys to help create the shelter, instead of playing, even if it would help the group as a whole: “They’re hopeless. The older ones aren’t much better. D’you see. All day I’ve been working with Simon. No one else. They’re off nothing. Or eating, or playing” (50). Ralph understands the need to be rescued and the support that the younger children need, but he also wants to spend part of the time enjoying himself just like many of the other kids. Ralph is one of the only people that steps up and takes responsibly for making the shelter so that all of the