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Super Ego In William Golding's Lord Of The Flies

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Freud, developed a way of thinking that broke down the mind into the id, ego, and super ego. In William Golding’s book, Lord of the Flies this theory explains the boys’ descent into savagery because of the uneven balance of the egos. The id represented the instinctual desires that required immediate satisfaction. The super ego represented moral standards and rule following. Lastly the ego is the healthy balance between the ids desires and the superegos moderation. The ego and the superego were too weak, Freud explains the breakdown of the boys’ turning into savages because the egos’ were off balance given that, Freud describes the descent the best. In the novel, Jack illustrates the id. This can be first noticed when Jack adventures off to …show more content…

In The Lord of the Flies, Piggy represents the super ego. When the boys first crash on the island, Piggy tells Ralph to request a meeting to get settled by blowing the conch. Piggy let it slip that he does not know how to blow one because, “My auntie wouldn’t let me on account of my asthma” (16). This shows that he believes in the rules instructed by society. Piggy’s relationship to the super ego can also be seen around the first attempt to make a fire when, he was holding the conch, Piggy says, “I got the conch…You let me speak” (42). The conch, alike raising your hand in grade school, shows order to Piggy. Order that was coached by parents, teachers, and others in command. Order that conflicts the id’s desires to speak whenever he pleases. As a result, when Piggy stands up for the rules he believes in, threatening the id, shows how piggy represents the moderation or super ego. Finally, after the boys lost power of the fire, Piggy says, “That little’ un that had a mark on his face-where is- he now? I tell you I don’t see him…-where is he now?” (46-47). Piggy tries to stand up and announce that everyone is wrong for letting the fire get so out of hand that they lost one of the children. This clashes with the id’s impulse to build a giant fire by viewing it as bad judgment. Freud always said that a good …show more content…

The ego was supposed to be a healthy balance between the id’s wants and the super ego’s self-control. A time he balanced the id and the super ego is when the council is telling Ralph to step down as chief and he says, “I ought to give up being chief. Hear “em” (93). This shows he is the ego. The super ego would have instantly stepped down, and the id would've shot down any rebellions. Ralph considers what is best for the group, making him a plain ego. Another tim this connection is visible is when Ralph goes back to get Piggy”s glasses from jack and says, “I’ve come to see about the fire… and Piggy’s specs.” (176). This shows he is stabilizing Piggy, who wouldn't have the guts to come face to face with Jack, and also between Jack, who wouldn't have made an effort to get someone’s glasses back. This is the final time Ralph grasps his ego title, because after this moment, Piggy is killed and Ralph is tracked down by Jack. With out Ralph, or the ego, in control, Jack, the id, becomes controlling which leads to destruction. This demonstrates that without authority, or a true balance between the id and super ego, human development breaks

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