Lord of the Flies, by William Golding

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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.

In William Golding's Lord of the Flies he uses Jack as an symbol to represent Freuds concept of Id in order to show that too much of it can have a negative effect on oneself and the others around them.

In the novel “Lord of the Flies” author William Golding uses Jack Merridew to show the negative effects of excess Id. A stellar example used by Golding is when Jack lets the fire go out to roast the pig he killed. When Ralph yells at him and inquires about why he would ruin there chance of being saved Jack acts in a very nonchalant manner and brags about killing the pig and says “We can light the fire again, you should have been there with us Ralph we had a smashing time” (Golding 69). Letting out t...

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...nd ego because he finds something that is not conventionally used as a contacting device and uses it to aid in sanity and survival. Also the idea of holding meetings and giving others a chance to express themselves is an adult like trait as well. All in all Ralph is a integral part of this haphazard society due to his perfect balance of ego and rationality and leadership skills, and may have possibly been the guiding figure in times of turmoil.

In Lord of the Files author William Golding uses Jack, Ralph, and Piggy to show how Id, Ego, and Superego effect oneself and the others around. The characters represent these traits and the actions influenced by these traits cause tragedy on the island and lead the kids on a path of ruin in the absence of adult supervision. Which character do you think you would be the most like in the situation of turmoil on the island?

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