Lord Of The Flies Freud Analysis Essay Example

In a group of children, there will always be ones seen as more powerful than the others, ones seen differently and mocked, and others seen as more lively and fun. In the story Lord of the Flies, a plane crashes onto an island and leaves a group of young boys stranded with no adults. The boys separate themselves into two groups: one for hunting, led by Jack, and one for civilization, led by Ralph. The two groups' desires often clash with each other, which leads the boys to conflict (Golding). Given the characters' qualities in the story, you can tell that many of the characters relate to Freud's three parts of the subconsciouses; id, ego, and superego. Jack represents the id with his primitive thinking and some of his actions done without thought. Ralph represents the superego with his rule-making and decisions between what is right and wrong. Piggy conveys the ego when he thinks of the consequences based on Jack and Ralph’s decisions, he is often the voice of reason. Through the characters’ dialogue in William Golding's allegory Lord of the Flies, he relates his characters to Fued’s three parts of the subconscious. 

Jack, one of the main characters of the novel, demonstrates many qualities of the id personality. Freud describes the id as the “primitive and instinctive component of personality” (Mcleod 1), which Jack shows throughout the story. In chapter 4 of the novel, after Jack lets the fire out, he says, “The fire’s only been out for an hour or two. We can light it up again” (Golding 70), then later, after he sees Ralphs disapproval he adds, “You should have seen the blood [of the animal]” (Golding 70). Jack focuses on his instinct to hunt and forgets about the fire, which is their only hope of rescue. Jack does not worry, his mind is on his first successful hunt. In the article, Mcleod also states, “The id is not affected by reality, logic or the everyday world, as it operates within the unconscious part of the mind” (2). Further supporting why Jack is the id part of the subconscious. He is not showing any effect by the reality of their only hope of rescuing being lost due to his own actions. Ralph represents the superego personality, which depicts someone who focuses on the morals of what is right and wrong. The author of the article states, “The superego's function is to control the id's impulses, especially those which society forbids” (Mcleod 3). Ralph demonstrates this through his interactions in the story with Jack, the id. On page 70 of the story, Ralph reacts to Jack’s irresponsibility by saying “You and your blood Jack Merridew! You and your hunting! We might have gone home…I was chief, and you were going to do what I said” (Golding). Ralph is trying to get through to Jack that he needs to put everyone’s chance of rescuing before his desire for hunting. Piggy’s qualities describe the ego subconscious. Piggy often thinks of the consequences that could follow the others' actions and is the most reasonable. Freud conveys the ego as someone who “operates according to the reality principle, working out realistic ways of satisfying the id’s demands” (Mcleod 2). Additionally supporting the earlier statement that Piggy is often the voice of reason in the novel. In chapter 11 of the story, Piggy responds to Jack’s tribe by saying “Which is better, law and justice, or hunting and breaking things up?” (Golding 180). Piggy is using reason to try and get Jack to consider a different approach to his actions.