Blog Quest: Lord of Psychology

If we think of Lord of the Flies as an allegory of Freud's theory of the id, ego, and super ego we see that Jack represents the id, Ralph represents the ego, and Simon represents the super ego.

The id is the aggressive, irresponsible, instinctual drives in a person. Jack's obsession with killing a pig and his exhilaration over the blood and slitting the pig's throat are examples of aggression and instinct. He is like an animal who is hungry so he needs to hunt food and get immediate satisfaction. He has no patience for Ralph's plans because they take too long and he doesn't see the results quickly. Jack has no moral code. He values physical strength and picks on the weakest boy in the group which is Piggy. When Jack kills the pig, he slaps Piggy and refuses to give him a portion of meat. This is like animals in the wild who let the runt of the litter starve because the law of the jungle says that only the strongest survive.

The ego is the part of the brain that acts like a referee, a judge who creates balance and is committed to being reasonable and cautious. Ralph represents the ego because he wants to plan and control what happens on the island so that their chances of survival and being rescued are the best. He is most interested in the groups safety. He builds the huts on the beach to protect the boys from bad weather. He wants the signal fire to be lit all the time just in case a ship is passing by. He creates rules about where the littluns go to the bathroom and he wants to make sure that they have fresh drinking water all the time. He is democratic and allows each boy to have a turn to speak at the meetings.

The super ego is the part of the brain that is our conscience. It creates our morality and prevents us from doing things that will harm society and other people. Simon represents the super ego because he is a quiet presence who is naturally good and moral. When Piggy is not given food by Jack, Simon shares his meat with Piggy. When Ralph needs help building the huts so that he can create a sense of order on this island Simon helps Ralph. When the boys are talking about what the beast is, Simon says that "the beast is us." He knows that every person has a darkness inside that is controlled by society. But what happens when society's rules and laws no longer exist? The darkness begins to come out of each of us.