William Golding’s Lord of the Flies presents itself as a unique allegory for the Freudian concept of the tripartite human subconscious. The Id, Superego, and Ego make up the subconscious, or “psyche,” according to the nineteenth-century English neurologist, Sigmund Freud. Several characters, including Jack, Piggy, and Ralph, are purposeful representations of the different regions of Freud’s conceptual psyche.
The Id is illustrated in Freud’s work as the most primitive level of human existence, based solely in the inherent desire for pleasure and the avoidance of pain. Comparable to a wild animal, or perhaps even a small child, a creature defined by its Id is truculent to say the least. Since the novel’s publication, many readers have come to the warranted conclusion that Jack, the ruthless choir-boy-turned-warlord, is Golding’s definitive representation of the Freudian Id in Lord of the Flies. Upon his first introduction to the reader, Jack already displays a thirst for unrestricted power. He expresses a fierce desire to become the leader of the motley crew of British schoolboys, but when he loses the position of chief to Ralph, Jack develops an irrational grudge that compels his consistent disobedience of…show more content… The difficult medium that links savagery and righteousness is known as the Ego, and is utilized by Golding to define the character of Ralph. Instantly, Ralph is established as the “fair boy,” implying that he has a set of solid moral principles to match his blond hair. The Ego inherits its philosophy of virtue and fairness from the Superego, which explains why Ralph poured so much energy into the formation and upkeep of a democratic civilization. Typically, the Ego considers the needs of those around them without taking their own sense of righteousness into account, so a democracy is a go-to governing method for Ego-ruled