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Lord Of The Flies Allegory

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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

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