Psychological Influences on Character Essence Lord of the Flies, a dystopian novel written by William Golding, demonstrates a skillful application of using an alternative reality to express a personal perspective. Commonly referred to as an allegorical approach, this literary style serves to capture the author’s personal assessments on human nature and society. To further express these viewpoints to his reader, Golding makes use of the psychological classifications outlined by Sigmund Freud’s personality theory. The id, ego, and super ego constitute this psychological phenomenon. In his novel, Golding uses a diverse assortment of characters to depict the essence of each of the preceding divisions. Altogether, the three distinct levels of intellectual…show more content… Existing at the center of Jack’s self-centered initiative and the wholehearted concerns of Simon and Piggy, Ralph’s appearance in the novel draws together the ideas of both the id and the super ego and their interaction with realistic situations. One of Ralph’s most pronounced concerns is that of getting rescued. In conjunction with the symbolic nature of the signal fire, Ralph’s careful attentiveness to keeping the fire lit is expressive of his hope for rescue, “We’ve got to have special people for looking after the fire. Any day there may be a ship out there ... and if we have a signal going they’ll come and take us off” (42). A prominent attribute denoted to Ralph’s character in the novel is his duty to serve as a leader. With this leadership title, Ralph is implicitly responsible for maintaining order and organizing the boys’ affairs. Of his initial actions to begin the organization process, Ralph tells the boys, “We ought to have rules” (42). In accordance with Freud’s idea, Ralph’s presence as a democratic figurehead coincides with the aspects explained most clearly by the ego. His attempts to establish order and diminish authoritarian control set the stage for his harmonizing influence on the plot