Superego In Lord Of The Flies

Dracen Macias

Martin

English 10

23 June 2023

Title

In his novel Lord of the Flies, William Golding wrote of the savagery within all human beings. The story tells of a group of boys stranded on an island, trying to make sense of their situation and survive. The boys go through their id, ego, and superego- all elements of consciousness, founded by Austrian neurologist Sigmund Freud. Lord of the Flies is clearly a Freudian allegory for the boy's descent into madness.

The superego, the most complex and highest level of consciousness, appears very little in Lord of the Flies. Piggy, the most sensible character in the novel, represents the superego. “I got this to say. You’re acting like a crowd of kids…Which is better- to be a pack of painted

Many events in the beginning to middle of the novel show the boys have their sense of ego intact. “Roger stooped, picked up a stone, aimed, and threw it at Henry- threw it to miss…Roger’s arm was conditioned by a civilization…” (Golding 62). Roger, one of Jack’s tribe members and right hand man, is seen throwing rocks at a littlun. He picks up a rock and aims it right at Henry, but throws it to miss purposely. Roger still has a sense of right and wrong, only being on the island for a couple of days. His ego is still in control preventing him from harming a little one. The ego is a part of the conscious, preconscious, and unconscious mind that keeps the Id in check. Any impulses the Id has, the ego prevents. Ralph is another example of the ego. “...events have simply supported Freud’s conclusions that no child is innocent. On a third level, Ralph is every man- or every child- and his body becomes the battleground where reason and instinct struggle, each to assert itself.” (Rosenfield) Ralph’s character shows a boy trying to discern right from wrong; a boy who struggles to do the right thing according to his ego, and a boy who does the necessary thing according to his Id. Roger and Ralph are perfect representations of Freud’s

Golding’s characters each represent a different level of consciousness. While the reading of Lord of the Flies isn’t for those who require heavy substance- or to have their interest always peaked- it is a revolutionary piece of work everyone should read. William Golding’s writing has many pieces of symbolization and allegories; hence the topic of this essay, finding a Freudian allegory. William Golding wrote a novel with heavy themes of morality, consciousness, and psychology behind the minds of seemingly innocent