Volu m e II - Purdue University Calumet

In this pivotal scene, Jack breaks the only remnant of civilized society brought with the boys to the island:
rules. As Bowen (1963) writes, “when the civilized restraints which we impose upon ourselves are
abandoned, the passions of anger, lust, and fear wash across the mind, obliterating common-sense and care”
(p. 54). Like the id, Jack makes the choice to exist without an influence from the external world.
Many interpretations for Golding’s Lord of the Flies have been explored, but none so accurately
parallels the novel as that of a human psyche according to Freud. The concepts of the ego, superego, and id
are evident in the characters of Ralph, Piggy, and Jack. These similarities are apparent both through the
relationships of the characters and the duties each character places upon themselves. While Freud’s
concepts may not be psychologically reliable, they certainly provide a revealing lens through which one may
study Lord of the Flies.
References
Bowen, J. (1963). One man’s meat, the idea of individual responsibility. In W. Nelson (Ed.), William
Golding’s Lord of the Flies: A source book (pp. 54-55). New York: The Odyssey Press.
Drew, P. (1963). Second reading. In W. Nelson (Ed.), William Golding’s Lord of the Flies: A source book
(pp. 9-17). New York: The Odyssey Press.
Freud, S. (1952). The major works of Sigmund Freud. (R.M. Hutchins, Ed.) Chicago: William Benton.
Golding, W. (2003). Lord of the Flies (6 th ed.). New York: Perigee.
Grotstein, J. S. (2004). Notes on the superego. Psychoanalytic Inquiry 24, 257-270.
Rosenfield, C. (1999). Men of a smaller growth: A psychological analysis of William Golding’s Lord of the
Flies. In H. Bloom (Ed.), Modern critical interpretations: Lord of the Flies (pp. 3-13). Philadelphia:
Chelsea House Publishers.
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