Allegory in William Golding’s Lord of the Flies In the novel Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, a group of boys stranded on an island must survive as they wait for help, while also battling with what is the “right” thing to do in their situation. The leaders of the island, Ralph, Piggy, and Jack each have different ideas of what they should be doing, with Piggy and Ralph prioritizing getting rescued, and Jack being more concerned with what the group immediately needs. Many critics argue that the novel, and these characters in particular, is an allegory for the three basic parts of the mind- the Id, the Ego, and the Superego. The novel dramatizes the Freudian conflict between the Id, the Ego, and the Superego through the drastic differences …show more content…
The id is the impulsive part of the mind, and is dominated by the pleasure principle- the person wants immediate gratification of his or her desires. In the novel, the id is represented by Jack. On the island, Jack is most concerned with the needs of the group in that moment. He cares little about getting rescued and getting off of the island, but spends the majority of his time hunting and trying to get meat, since he believes that is what the boys want and need. For Jack and a lot of the younger boys, being on the island is almost a game- they haven’t quite accepted the reality of their situation, and how serious it actually is. For example, when the boys are arguing about the beast, Ralph and Piggy try to reassure the younger boys, telling them the beast isn’t real, and they need to stick together, follow the rules, and try to get off of the island. Jack, on the other hand, does not care about any of it, and acts much more irrationally. He and Ralph argue back and forth, “‘The rules!’ shouted Ralph. ‘You’re breaking the rules!’ ‘Who cares?’ Ralph summoned his wits. ‘Because the rules are the only thing we’ve got!’ But Jack was shouting against him. ‘Bollocks to the rules! We’re strong- we hunt! If there’s a beast, we’ll hunt it down!” (Golding 91) Here, Jack is acting like the id. Ralph, the ego is trying to convince him to act rationally and suppress his impulses, but he doesn’t care what Ralph has to say. Jack often doesn’t agree with Ralph and Piggy, who are acting more rationally and
He always questions the power of the conch and Ralph, saying that the conch rule does not matter on certain parts of the island, his part of the island. The part that the savages control. Yet he uses the conch to his advantage when possible, for example when he calls his own assembly to talk about Ralph not being chief. For him, the conch represents the rules and boundaries that have kept him from acting on the impulses to dominate others. Their entire lives in the other world, the boys had been used to the rules set by society against physical aggression. On the island, however, that social standard is not there and they need to be adults and set the rules. Jack has no one to tell him his behavior is bad. He quickly loses interest in that world of politeness and boundaries, which is why he feels no need to keep the fire going or attend to any of the other responsibilities that would help the entire group. His desire for power takes over his common sense and
In the book, the readers can tell that Jack only cares about savagery and hunting pigs. Jack feels that he can replace Ralph as leader, because Ralph does not take much of responsibility. He falls into the savagery category because when he puts on the mask to kill the pigs, it hides his inner inhibitions. “Kill the pig. Cut her throat. Spill her blood.”(pg. 69). This quote shows Jack’s evil side when it comes to the death of their first pig, and it is also a political allegory. “The conch doesn’t count on the top of the mountain… so you shut up.”(pg. 42) Jack feels like he is a dictator, so he decides to take control of Piggy. “You should have seen the blood!”(pg. 70). This shows Jack’s loss of innocence, and the savagery inside him and the
In contrast, Jack represents the selfishness of the individual and the desire to have fun without regard for safety or the consequences to the group of not being rescued. All the boys have been raised in a society that has taught them right from wrong. Ralph and Piggy are attempting to maintain a sense of order and provide some of the elements of security for the group. Jack and the other boys that follow him are only participating actively in the hunt, and the pursuit of their own interests. In either circumstance, the boys involved are making a conscious choice. They are aware of their actions and although they may not fully understand the repercussions, they do understand that they are not following the direction given by their chosen
The rules!’ shouted Ralph. ’ You’re breaking the rules!’ Which is followed by the quote, “’Bollocks to the rules!’” This shows that Jack no longer cares if he does or does not break the rules. Which causes society to
By disobeying Ralph’s rules, Jack is trying to weaken the rules. Jack still has an effect on the boys, and his breaking of rules weakens the their will to follow them. In a later meeting, Jack claims that Ralph “isn’t a proper chief” and that “[he’s] going off by [himself].” Jack’s departure weakens Ralph’s tribe, since the choir has been with Jack before the crash on the island, and showed loyalty to him on the island. This results in a majority of the boys abandon Ralph for Jack. Some of the non-choir boys go off with Jack’s tribe, because of the beast they want protection from. They believe his hunters will supply that. Jack is no longer under control, but is now in control. Jack’s department of the tribe, and weakening of the boy’s opinion on Ralph leads to his desire for power being satisfied.
In Lord of the Flies by William Golding, the character named Jack represents the Id, doing anything to get what he wants and not stopping, no matter the consequences. This is shown when Jack gets back from a fruitless hunting trip and talks to Ralph and Simon, explaining, “’I went on. I thought, by myself—‘The madness came into his eyes again. ‘I thought I might--kill.’ ‘But you
Jack tries to tell the entire group that Ralph is a coward who doesn't deserve to be a leader. He asks everybody to kick him out as their leader and to accept himself as the new leader. As the boys are very scared, they do not raise their hand to agree with Jack. This makes Jack very angry and he decides that he can no longer stay with Ralph, and goes to the other end of the island. As many of the boys want meat, they slowly start leaving over time to join Jack's new group. Jack and his followers create a lot of conflict because of this new group. Jack, the self-appointed leader, is the cause of the murder of two kids in the book. Jack, the self-appointed leader, is at conflict with Ralph because he enjoys having power over others, and also because he does not like the rules that Ralph has made, and instead wants to go hunting. Jack is also at conflict with Piggy, because Jack relies on instinct to make his decisions. He does not like Piggy's logical way of thinking as he feels threatened by Piggy's knowledge and wisdom. To get rid of this threat, Jack gets Roger to kill Piggy and destroy the conch at the same time. "See? See? That's what you'll get! I meant that! There isn't a tribe for you anymore! The conch is gone---.".."I'm Chief." (Golding 1996, 223). Jack says this right after the murder of Piggy and the destruction of the conch. It shows that Jack really is a very savage person, who is not at al suited to be a leader.
In Lord of the Flies Jack represents the id. The id is the primitive and instinctive part of the personality. Jack can most often time be seen making decisions based in on these two. One such example is when "[h]e [tries] to convey the compulsion to track down and kill that [is]
Jack is Golding’s manifestation of man’s natural and inner evil. , He has with the will to dominate and harm others with little thought or reasoning behind his actions. Jack’s desire to hunt is made apparent in chapter 4 where he left the fire unattended to hunt a pig, as Ralph tells him he let the fire go out Jack only focuses on telling him about his hunt, “Ralph spoke “You let the fire go out.” Jack checked. vaguely irritated by his
Jack was one whose personality caused the civilization to come tumbling down. When we first discover the boys on the island and get a mere glimpse of their personalities, it is quite apparent that Jack is going to be one who is power-hungry. He already has a group of followers, the choirboys, of whom he has the utmost power over. He has a very controlling personality that cannot be subsided by the obstacles that are shown in the novel. Jack suffers from wanting to be the best. When he is not chosen as the chief and supreme ruler in the very beginning, it is proven that he will find a way to claw up to the top and take the spot that in his opinion is his right. Jack has quite a reckless personality, and will risk all to be standing alone at the top as king or leader. Jack is also guilty of envy, which goes hand in hand with power. He is envious of everything that Ralph has. Ralph is the chief, and has much common sense. Jack senses this and is jealous of the fact that Ralph can command attention and a following that easily. I also believe, when reflecting back, that Jack is in a sense jealous of Piggy, without being aware of it. Piggy is the complete intellect on the island. While Jack is quite smart, he certainly is not as gifted as Piggy. Piggy can interpret any situation and be the lone voice of knowledge of the masses. Jack not only gets jealous
Jack shows little concern for others, and his needs always come first in his mind. The Id's little concern for others becomes apparent when Jack becomes obsessed with killing the pig, even to the point where he and his painted tribe of boys chants "Kill the pig! Cut her throat! Bash her in!" (Golding 79). It becomes a source of joy to Jack to kill the pigs, and he ignores his other responsibilities, such as keeping the signal fire going, in order to hunt for pigs. Even at the beginning of the book, Jack shows himself as the Id, with the need to be the leader, because he wants to be in charge, he wants attention, and his desires come first. ““I ought to be chief,” said Jack with simple arrogance, “because I'm chapter chorister and head boy. I can sing C sharp.”, (Golding 19). He even starts denying Ralph the privilege to be a part of his tribe, “You go away, Ralph. You keep to your end. This is my end and my tribe. You leave me alone” (Golding 176), simply because they don’t get along and he wants to feel more
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
Golding’s Lord of the Flies takes the structural model of personality and uses it to represent Jack, Ralph, and Piggy in the novel. He uses them to show how they interact with each other in society. He wants the readers to understand that the id makes decisions and actions that feels good for themselves, and not for others. The superego wants to help out society, and follow good morals, but often gets overpowered and ignored by the id. Lasty, the ego is a balance of the two, and listens to both the superego and the
Lord of The Flies is an allegory written by the author William Golding. The narrative is about a group of boys who are stranded on an island after a traumatic crash. The longer they are on the island their inner “beast” start to come out. As their small civilization slowly comes apart a show of true character becomes the basis of everyday life. An allegory is a story in which there are truly two stories each full of symbols. In an allegory the first story is full of literal elements. The second narrative is under the surface and told through symbolism with hidden meanings. There are multiple events of symbolism throughout the novel such as the beast, the conch, and the signal fire.
Ralph notices this and tries to stop him by yelling “‘Jack! Jack! You haven’t got the conch! Let him speak.’”, and tells him in front of everyone, saying he’s “‘breaking the rules’” (Golding 129). Jack, however, furiously retorts that he “‘[doesn’t] care!’” (Golding 130). It is because of this behavior that he starts to chip away at the conch’s power over Ralph and the other kids. Along with this disagreement, he also outright refuses to concede with the rules, but instead acts immature and thinks the rules are “‘[Bollocks!] We’re strong—we hunt! If there’s a beast, we’ll hunt it down! We’ll close in and beat and beat and beat!’” (Golding 130). Jack goes even farther with this later in the book, even going so far as to to “tie Wilfred up…and beat Wilfred” (Golding 229) due to a mistake. This makes Jack a very strong leader, not unlike that of a dictator, using force to keep people in line.