William Golding´s Lord of the Flies and the Human Mind

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 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 our society we have our system for power set up making the understanding of who is in charge easy; However, when the boys are stranded on an island they are forced to come up with their own system, causing rivalries and corrupting rights and values. Before being stranded on an island Jack was an innocent, well-behaved child, however, when thrown into a foreign place with no society and no system of power it is very easy to destroy all of your innocence when obtaining most power. Jack was a hunter and was in charge of all the hunter, he eventually made his own tribe and almost everyone followed him, giving him a mass amount of control. Golding shows that Jack uses his power in ways only beneficial to him, easily seen when the remainder of Ralphs tribe approach Jacks and see him, “ painted up and wearing garland around his neck” (54). Jack uses his power to idolize himself and make the other

Frued's theory of the human psyche is that it is made up of three parts: the id, ego, and superego. These three parts are represented in the realistic novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding. Set on a tropical island during World War II, the novel begins when schools boys from Great Britain are being flown to safety and their plane is shot down. No adults survive, and the boys are left to govern themselves and get rescued. In the novel Jack represents the id, Piggy and Simon the superego, and Ralph the ego.

Many philosophers believe that a correct government can make a strong society. However, these philosophers do not agree on what form of government is the most “correct”. English philosopher John Locke believed that Man is inherently moral and that the purpose for government is to grant the fundamental rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness to its people. Another philosopher, Thomas Hobbes, however, held the belief that mankind is naturally evil and that society needs an absolute central authority to contain this evilness and grant its people with the common protection. Hobbes believes that in a state of nature, when there are no rules and everyone is granted equal power, the inherent evil impulses of Man are exposed. One

People interact together to create a society. And within that society, a political system is formed to regulate and govern. However, when that society corrupts, who is to blame? The leader? Political system? Or the people? William Golding, the author of Lord of the Flies believes that the defects of society are caused by the defects of human nature, and the society must depend on ethical maturity of individuals. The novel demonstrates the defects of an individuals’ human nature corrupting society through Ralph’s failed civilization, Samneric’s fear, and Roger’s natural evil.

Human nature is complex. It may take over an individual’s mind in many desperate and threatening situations. In Golding’s compelling novel, Lord of the Flies, it is implied that the evil, or bad side of humanity will overshadow the good. However, there are certain situations present in the novel that portray the opposite. The depiction of human nature in this novel creates a nice balance between the positive and negative aspects of humanity. Although Golding’s novel is portrayed as pessimistic, Ralph’s words and actions when dealing with various situations, Sam and Eric’s loyalty to Ralph, and the boys’ rescue at the end of the novel contradict this idea, creating a commendable balance of pessimistic and optimistic situations.

“Human nature is evil and goodness is caused by intentional activity” - Xunzi. Humans by nature have natural tendencies to evil however not everyone acts on those emotions.

There is a quote by Edmund Burke, “man is the cruelest animal”, that perfectly describes the truth about human nature; that humanity, at its core, is an evil species. William Golding acknowledges this fact in his 1954 novel, Lord of the Flies. Throughout the novel, Golding highlights the cruelty of children, the carelessness of their actions, and the evilness present in the very fabric of society.

Two philosophers of different eras tackle the same topic, human nature, and a great argument breaks out. Is man inherently evil, like William Golding believes? Or is man good at heart but inevitably becomes corrupted by the society he lives in, as said by Jean Jacques Rousseau? Both philosophers have very strong opinions and well reasoning for what they believe. Golding’s views are displayed well throughout his novel, Lord of the Flies; a tale about strong minded, young boys stranded on an island who must find a way to survive on their own. After reading this novel, I found myself agreeing much with Rousseau’s views on human nature.

Lord of the Flies is an extraordinarily well-written novel that teaches one how to live life. When asked about the philosophy of the book, the author, William Golding, replied, "The theme is an attempt to trace the defects of society back to the defects of human nature. The moral is that the shape of a society must depend on the ethical nature of the individual and not on any political system however apparently logical or respectful." This completely exemplifies the theme of the novel. Lord of the Flies truly shows that it is not the government that determines survival, it is the sheer human nature in all of us that proves whether a society can function. A person's personality will always trump another person's because of difference

Acting with no regard to possible repercussions is a key characteristic of the “ID.” In Lord of the Flies, Jack continually ignores the probable aftermath of his actions in order to satisfy his needs at that

Jack is also assigned to help keep the signal fire going in order for the boys to be rescued from ships passing by the island as well as helping Ralph build shelters for everyone. However, Ralf and Jack quickly begin to argue since Jack did not want to help build shelter since he wanted to hunt a pig. Jack yelled to Ralph “We need meat” and Ralph replied, “We need shelters” (Golding 51-52). Ralf understands that shelters are crucial for survival and hunting can be done at another time from his logic of what would help the boys most likely to survive further representing the ego. Jack, on the other hand, only wants to hunt for meat and not attend to other responsibilities which further shows his progress of the Id taking over by giving into wants rather prioritizing the needs for survival. Jack demonstrates the Id representation as well when Ralph hears shouting coming from the mountain where Jack is supposed to look after the signal and Ralph misinterprets that he saw a ship. “But we want meat.” “Don’t you want to be rescued” (Golding 54). This conversation about the signal fire and Jacks abandoning of his responsibilities with a primary focus on hunting is a representation of rationality and is demonstrated with Jack’s continuous poor decisions to not prioritize getting rescued which

“The theme is an attempt to trace the defects of society back to the defects of human nature. The moral is that the shape of a society must depend on the ethical nature of the individual and not on any political system however apparently logical or respectable.” With this quote, William Golding simply justifies the theme and moral presented in his novel, Lord of the Flies. The characters portray a modern society and depict the cruelty of human disposition. The political system in the U.S., as a whole, is a prime example of the ignorance towards ethical nature and is definitely blameworthy of the ruthlessness of mankind as individuals. Change is needed!

Gangs are considered a group of people that have a common link together. Gangs are typically ethnically, racially, economically or geographically based. In William Golding 's Lord of the Flies, gangs rise up within the group of boys. William Golding gives us a glimpse of the savagery that underlies even the most civilized human beings. The bullying and group mentality demonstrated in gangs has resemblances to the characters in Lord of the Flies.