Analysis Of ' Lord Of The Flies '

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In the popular novel, Lord of the Flies, there are many elements to the story that are not seen when just viewed from the surface. In order to understand these ideas, we have to dive deeper and really analyze the characters in the story. When you do this, a very important theme will arise and that is the very different personality types of the boys on the island. These personality types can be explained using Freud’s psychoanalytic theory of personality. His theory explains that there are three basic parts of personality; the id, the ego, and the superego. Everyone has a different combination of these three parts, which makes everyone’s personality different. In the novel, Jack is a character who has a lot of id in his personality.…show more content…
He also sees hunting as a need, even though it is not. “You could have had everyone when the shelters were finished. But you had to hunt...You didn 't ought to have let that fire out. You said you 'd keep the smoke going... ' " (Golding 100). He even goes out hunting and neglects to tend to the fire, which goes out, inhibiting Ralph from signaling a passing ship for their rescue. He went hunting and didn 't think about the consequences of his actions. Lastly, Jack ambushes Ralph’s campsite in search of Piggy’s glasses because he needs them to make fire. He acted upon his first savage instinct instead of thinking through a solution that wouldn 't hurt Ralph’s group. He could have just asked to borrow the glasses or a stick from Ralph’s fire, but instead he uses violence to hurt Ralph’s tribe and take away Piggy’s vision. Jack acts upon impulses and only wants to help himself and doesn 't care about others. He also doesn 't think about how his actions could have negative consequences for him or for others. For these reasons, Jack is a great representation of the id personality. The second personality type is the ego. Ralph is a character that demonstrates a lot of ego. According to Freud, “the ego is the rational, pragmatic part of our personality. It is less primitive than the id and is partly conscious and partly unconscious. It 's what
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