Sigmund Freud Compared to Lord of the Flies

Megan Geary

What dominates your personality?

Have you ever questioned what makes us behave the way that we do? In the 1900's Sigmund Freud developed the structural model of personality. In his well developed theory named Psychoanalytic Criticism, Sigmund Freud stated that there are three parts to our mind. Freud published two books that introduced the public to the unconscious mind. We are all born with our id. It is the part of the personality that contains our primitive impulses. The id is based on our pleasure principle and contains all of our basic wants and feelings. The second part of the personality is the ego. The ego maintains a balance between our id and superego. The job of the ego is to meet the desires of our is while still taking into consideration the true reality of the situation. The last part of our personality is the superego, which develops by the time that we are five. The superego is the part of our personality that represents our conscience. Freud concluded that the principled part of us develops due to the moral and ethical restraints that are placed by our parents.

Every person's identity and personality contains an id, ego, and superego which are used every day. However, we are all dominated by our id, ego, and superego. This domination is a reflection of the environment that we are raised in. In William Golding's novel Lord of the Flies, the young boys must survive alone on the island where their plane has landed. The boys must rely on their ids, egos, and superegos if they want to be rescued. Piggy knows right from wrong and always follows what his conscience tells him. Piggy's superego is a direct representation of the way he was raised at home. Piggy, one of the older boys on the island, is conquered by his superego. Because of his mature personality, many conflicts emerge and the island begins to gradually tear apart.

When Ralph and Piggy first arrive they are not aware of the existence of others on the island. They stay together and talk about their lives at home before the war started. As they are walking, they come across a pink shell glistening under the sand. Piggy shares his knowledge with Jack about the shell and tells him that you can blow into it and it will make a sound. Jack tries and it makes a thunderous noise. After Jack and his choir come to where Piggy and Ralph are, Piggy has the idea of using the conch shell to call everyone on the island together. This is an example of Piggy's superego dominating. He knows that order is important if the island is to be run properly.

When Ralph is elected leader, he takes responsibility of what happens and what will happen on the island. The boys believe that Ralph is the wise one because of his brilliant ideas and plans. However, the true wise one is Piggy. Piggy tells Ralph what to do and gives him ideas and encouragement. Piggy is able to do this because he has the proper knowledge and wants everyone to be safe and protected. Piggy's superego makes him become a father figure on the island. He has no control in the way that he behaves. Ralph and Piggy form a special bond. After Piggy dies, Ralph realizes what a great asset Piggy's superego was to everyone's well being.

As time on the island progresses the boys begin to separate into two different societies. Piggy, Ralph, Sam, Eric and a few littluns separate into a group that is considered to be more civilized while Jack and the others form a group where Jack has absolute power. An example of Piggy's superego dominating in his group is when Simon is killed. Piggy's superego immediately comes into action and dominates over his id and ego. Piggy knows that the consequences for his and his group's actions may be severe. Piggy also knows that the right thing to do