Sigmund Freud, developed a way of thinking that broke down
the mind into the id, ego, and super ego. The
id represented the instinctual desires that required
immediate satisfaction, without contemplating effects of said action. In the novel,
Jack represents the id. This can be first seen when Jack
goes off to hunt and lets the fire go out. He tells Ralph
how his hunters along with himself killed a pig, and how “There was lashings of blood” .
While this satisfied Jacks immediate desire to kill and hunt for meat, it led to the
fire going out. Had the fire not gone out, the passing ship may have seen the signal and
rescued the children. Jacks connection to id is also seen when the boys are having a
meeting to discuss whether or not there is a beast or ghost on the island. Jack had a
desire for power and challenged the rule of the conch and Ralph’s rule to try to gain
power, completely ignoring the goal of the meeting, to calm the little ones down .
Another strike to Ralph’s power was after the two groups split up and Ralph’s group goes
up to eat with Jack’s group. Jack says, “Who’ll join my tribe and have fun?” . Jack just
wants immediate satisfaction in his quest for power, not realizing that Ralph is the
better leader. It is clear that Jack represents the id, over coming Ralph,
the ego, and Piggy, the super ego, with the lack of authority. This
proves that without authority or a dominant ego, civilization breaks
down.
Sigmund Freud defined super ego as, “An unconscious
screening-mechanism which seeks to limit the blind pleasure seeking drives of the id by
the imposition of restrictive rules”. In The Lord of the Flies, Piggy represents the
super ego. When the boys first arrive on the island, Piggy tells Ralph to call a meeting
to get organized by blowing the conch. Piggy reveals that he does not know how to blow
one because, “My auntie wouldn’t let me on account of my asthma” . This shows that he
believes in the rules taught by society. Piggy’s relationship to the super ego can also
be seen during the first effort to create a fire when, while holding the conch, Piggy
says, “I got the conch…You let me speak” . The conch, equal to hand-raising in grade
school, represent order to Piggy. Order that was taught by parents, teachers, and others
in authority. Order that combats the id’s desires to speak whenever one pleases.
Therefore, when Piggy sticks up for the rules he believes in, challenging the id, Jack,
he is showing how he represents the super ego. Finally, after the boys lost control of
the fire, Piggy says, “That little’ un that had a mark on his face-where is- he now? I
tell you I don’t see him…-where is he now?” . Piggy attempts to stand up and declare
everyone wrong for letting the fire get so out of hand that they lost one of the
children. This conflicts with the id’s desire to build a huge fire by deeming it poor
judgment. Freud always said that a good balance between the id and super ego leads to a
healthy psyche, which is the case in the novel, until Piggy is killed and the id becomes
dominant, leading to dysfunction. Due to the face Piggy represent the rules taught by
authority, when he is killed and the boys lose control, it shows that a lack of
authority and a dominant ego leads to the ruin of civilization
No comments:
Post a Comment