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Sigmund Freud's Theory In Lord Of The Flies Essay

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The novel, Lord of the Flies, written by William Golding, holds key examples of the Psychoanalysis theory observed, studied, and established by Sigmund Freud (#1). This theory explains the natural behavior relating to three main personality types and how they interact with the conscious, preconscious, and unconscious mind ("Sigmund Freud's Theory and its Relation to Ralph"). Golding uses the psychoanalysis theory to represent each of the three main characters, Jack, Ralph, and Piggy, and how their personalities differ greatly, causing a problematic society. Jack represents ID, Ralph represents EGO, and Piggy represents SUPEREGO. Jack: ID ID is the unconscious mind which functions irrationally, and without regard to the emotions of others ("Structure of Mind: Freud's Id, Ego, & …show more content…

Piggy is very well emblematic of SUPEREGO, as he arguably is the only civilized character who shows any trace of possessing any form of morality. No one wants to listen to Piggy, as he is very set on following rules, such as whomever holds the conch is able to talk while everyone else must respectfully listen by not speaking, and to the rest of the boys, this means he is unable to have any sort of fun (Webb). Piggy shows remorse later in the novel when Simon is killed. His moral self tries to justify the brutal attack by explaining to Ralph that Simon deserved his untimely death, as it was too dark to see and his body language frightened more than just the two of them ("Sigmund Freud's Theory and its Relation to Ralph"). Piggy is a flawless manifestation of the preconscious mind known as SUPEREGO due to his repetition of having to face what is morally acceptable, and proving to others the same

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