Superego In Lord Of The Flies

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Throughout time humans brains change. Humans mental activity goes through three stages; ID, Ego, and Superego. A young humans mental activity is in the ID stage, meaning that their decisions are unorganized and the brain chooses to do these things because of basic human needs. The brain progresses and becomes the Ego which is a mix. The Ego specializes in keeping the ID in check but still pleasing the superego. The superego is the most advanced mental stage of a human. It’s able to criticize itself and understand and be able to from to social standards. Different stages of the human brain is allegorically represented in the novel Lord of the flies written by George Orwell. Throughout the novel different characters develop differently because …show more content…

The ego understands that you can't get what you want when you want it. The Ego is the common sense, it enforces reality with the ID and it also pleases the Superego. Ralph allegorically represents the Ego because of his tendency to still act like 12 year old but still have common sense. He is a mix between the ID (Jack) and the superego (Piggy/Simon). Ralph knows that he needs to get off the island and decides to be proactive instead of doing what pleases him in the moment. He believes “If a ship comes near the island they may not notice us. So we must make smoke on top of the mountain. We must make a fire” (51). By choosing to make a fire instead of doing whatever he felt like in the moment Ralph proves that he is ego because he chose the long term goal instead of the short term. He also chose this because reality set in and he realized he had to get off the island. Ralph also is a leader and realizes his duties as a leader and knows he has to take care of the boys on the island. After the conch broke and the deaths of piggy and Simon, Ralph wondered “What was the sensible thing to do? There was no Piggy to talk sense. There was no solemn assembly for debate nor dignity of the conch” (282). Ralph is still the Ego and he needs the superego to help him make rational mature decisions. While he is a better decision maker than the ID he still struggles without the adult voice …show more content…

It’s also able to self criticize and understand and fit to social standards Simon and Piggy are the characters in the book that represent the superego part of the brain. A prime example of piggy being on of the superego characters is that The hunters choose to hunt and do whatever they feel over what the rules say or what the better long term win is. Jack and the hunters are at the tipping point of being savage and civilized at this time piggy asks “Which is better—to have rules and agree, or to hunt and kill?” (259). The superego wants to live by the rules and this is why Piggy asks whether it's better to agree and have rules or to be savage and hunt. Piggy knows which one is better but he want the other boys to realize this too. Without the superego the boys don't have enforcers for rules and social standards. Ralph is able to please the ID but has trouble making mature decisions because “There was no Piggy to talk sense” (282). In the absence of the superego (PIggy), the ego (Ralph) is lost and doesn't know what rules to follow. The superego is vital for society because of it's ability to understand society's rules and keep the ID and ego in check. Without Piggy the boys on the island are without rules and are free to do whatever they feel like doing without sense of

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