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Imagery In Lord Of The Flies

Decent Essays

Within the subconscious mind of all human beings, there lives a psychic energy called the “ID,” which exists only to satisfy the primitive needs of all mankind. While subconscious, this energy lurks over our spirits like a beast, a presence that mankind fears and tries to understand. In William Golding’s fictional novel, The Lord of the Flies, this idea of a beast is explored when a group of boys crash on an uninhabited island by themselves during World War II. As they try to survive on the island with each other, the idea of a frightening beast living on the island enters their minds and ultimately corrupts their thoughts and actions. As the Lord of the Flies progresses, the beast becomes a symbol of the innate evil and savage tendencies within all mankind, which is developed through the boys’ interactions and their own notions of the beast. Through the use of the beast, William Golding develops the text as a psychological allegory because the beast represents the unconscious and irrational “ID” that feeds on the primitive emotions of all human beings. In the beginning of the novel, the beast is presented as an animal that instills a sense of fear in the boys. This fear reveals their inner psychological “ID” and the primitive emotions that exist within all humans. When the boys are gathered for assemblies, the idea of the beast is brought up many times. The boys are terrified of the beast, even though it is something they have yet to encounter. Jack, as a response to the

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