Tiffany Chang Michael Diluccio ENG 2D1-04 24 May 2013 The Psychological Allegory of Lord Lord of the Flies Experts in the field of psychology have been debating the importance of the subconscious mind and its major role in dictating human actions since the early 1920s. „Father of Psychology‟, Psychology‟, Sigmund Freud, theorized the structural model of the human psyche in three parts: the id, the ego, and the superego. The id is the psyche‟s basis composed of naturalistic urges that are the effects of the id‟s „pleasure principle‟; principle‟; the ego is ruled by the „reality principle‟ and intends to satisfy the cravings of the id by means of socially-acceptable methods, determined by the strict behavioural and moral codes set by guardians and society contained within the superego. Many authors have adopted this psychological theory into their work through their characters; in Lord of the Flies, Flies, William Golding uses Jack, Piggy, and Simon to suggest the novel‟s plausible novel‟s plausible connection to the subconscious triad. Lord triad. Lord of the Flies can be interpreted as a psychological allegory to represent the Freudian aspects of the human psychic apparatus: the id, the ego, and the superego. Jack brings to life the survival instincts, selfishness, and the lust for power over an individual‟s psyche, psyche, highlighted by the id. He is driven to fulfill the mortal, basic physiological need for dietary sustenance. After returning to the rest of the survivors from a preliminary expedition of the island, Jack tells them, “[t]here‟s pigs, there‟s food; and bathing-water and bathing-water in that little stream along there – there – and and everything” (Golding, (Golding, 33). Jack‟s concern with being self sustainable is innate; the thought of having acc ess to those critical resources gives him the instant
relief of knowing that he would be able to weather nature‟s storm. On top of being fixated on his own survival, Jack also emanates an aura of self-centredness. Ralph is furious at his leaving the fire unattended to go hunting and bluntly tells Jack, “[y]ou could have had everyone when the shelters were finished. But you But you [my italics] had to hunt –” hunt –” (75). Jack does not consider the possible consequences should he leave the fire unattended. Hunting for wild game is not absolutely crucial for survival; he hunts because the act emotionally pleases him, which does not go unrecognized by Ralph. Ralp h. To the id, all that matters is the fulfillment of this pleasure principle. Finally, he derives confidence from the knowledge that he holds a position of significant authority over the group. Jack is humiliated after the boys‟ boys‟ refusal to vote Ralph out of the position of chief, saying he is “going off” by himself to leave Ralph to “catch his own pigs”, but beckons for “anyone for “anyone who wants to hunt” when he does to “come too” (140). Running off on his own is Jack‟s secondary option because he knows many of the children share his bloodlust and will easily give into his siren call. Like the id, Jack persuades and exercises control by b y means of primal enticement. When these three characteristics come together, the result is the id‟s impulsive desire to receive immediate pleasure without any tho ught of consequence. Acting as the voice of reason of the group is Piggy, who portrays the ego‟s practicality ego‟s practicality and its struggle to mediate between the id and the superego. P iggy is extremely well-aware of his Achilles‟ Achilles‟ heel – heel – his his physical inferiority – inferiority – and and prefers to make up for it in creative ways. In the case of Ralph inviting him to swim in the beach pool, he patiently replies, “[y]ou can‟t half swim well” (8). (8). Parallel to the id, Piggy P iggy recognizes his physical limitations due to nearsightedness and asthma – asthma – the the ego identifies the id‟s susceptibility to temptation; temptation; in addition, he does not endeavor a persona in which he is not by remaining true to his intellectual identity – identity – the the ego restrains the id from committing sins that are out of an individual‟ individual‟s normal character. He is also the one who
identifies the id‟s savagery and the superego‟s morality in order to come up with a realistic situation for the for the boys‟ predicament. When When the few remaining followers of Ralph vainl y negotiate with Jack at Castle Rock, Piggy, over the over the cries of Jack‟s hunters, screams, “[w]hich “[w]hich is better – to – to have rules and agree, or to hunt and kill?” (200). With Simon gone, Piggy realizes that law and order must be maintained to ensure everyone‟s survival until help arrives, arrives, and he attempts to remind Jack‟s tribe of this fact. fact. The group has far too much liberty, and as a result, abuses it to justify their irrational behaviours. The ego and its everlasting faith faith in logic lie above the id in order to meet personal wants and social norms no rms by means of compromise. The third and final level of the human psyche is the superego, which is presented by Simon; after all, he is the epitome of altruism, sageness, and self-martyrdom. self-martyrdom. Simon‟s purity of heart opens him up to doing favours for nothing in return. The littluns “lugged him towards the trees” for him to pick off “the fruit they could not reach”; only until he was sure that “he had satisfied them” did he stop and and be on his way wa y (57). The littluns lack the physical capab ility to obtain what they desire. Simon fulfills it by doing the dirty work, but he goes the extra ex tra mile and does the „right‟ thing by attending to each e ach boy‟s wants rather than only making making a fraction of the effort, leaving the children malcontent. In addition, Simon has a perception at par p ar with that of an adult‟s. He is the first and and only person to suggest that the boys are the beast, regardless of his anxiety to do so: “Maybe, “Ma ybe, maybe there is a beast…What I mean is…maybe it‟s only us” (95-96). (95-96). Innate evil lies within human nature; however, it i s also human nature that puts the fault in an external force rather than in an individual self, attested by the boys laughing off the suggestion. Lastly, Simon makes the ultimate sacrifice – sacrifice – his his own life – life – in in his desperate last shot at shedding light on the truth. After his ordeal with the Lord of the Flies, Simon rushes back to the boys to convey his discovery, “crying about a dead man [the dead parachutist]” (168), (168), only for the evil
within them to rise to the surface, with “no words, and no movements but the tearing of teeth and claws” (169). Simon genuinely takes honesty to heart, and, though weakened by an epileptic fit, he still treks the long way back to warn everyone, only to be met with his cruel fate at the hands of mere children. Together, these three traits indicate Simon‟s very essence is the way of the civilized world, which perishes when he does. The id, the ego, and the superego can be traced throughout Lord throughout Lord of the Flies to illuminate this work as a possible psychological allegory. Jack represents the remorselessness of the id to achieve individual satisfaction; Piggy is the objectivity of the ego that incessantly struggles to mediate between the id and the superego, which is demonstrated by Simon‟s dependable morality. As leader of the group, Ralph can be seen as the „individual mind‟ mind‟ representing the mindset of the island entity, for he is the on e having to deal with these three dueling forces. Like Ralph, the individual mind must find its own centre in this trio of chaos. With time and experience, only then can a person unlock the key to a healthy personality.
Works Cited
Golding, William. London: Faber and Faber Limited, 1954. Print.
