Volu m e II - Purdue University Calumet

As Freud (1952) wrote of the characteristics of the id, “these trends which have been shut out stand
in opposition to the ego” (p. 699). Similarly, “Jack and Ralph . . . [are] opposed impulses or humours in
one person” (Drew, 1963, p. 13). Throughout the novel, it is evident that Jack and Ralph are connected, in
some way, by their opposition. While quarreling about the importance of hunting and building shelters,
Jack and Ralph “walked along, two continents of experience and feeling, unable to communicate. . . . They
looked at each other, baffled, in love and hate” (Golding, 2003, p. 71). As the opposition between Ralph
and Jack grows more intense, Golding writes that “There was the brilliant world of hunting, tactics, fierce
exhilaration, skill; and there was the world of longing and baffled commonsense” (Golding, 2003, p. 93).
Because of their different values and mindsets, Jack and Ralph find themselves in a constant state of
opposition. Jack also comes to resent Ralph because of the authority Ralph holds over Jack. In response to
a careless mistake made by Jack, Ralph enforces his authority:
So Ralph asserted his chieftainship and could not have chosen a better way. . . . Against his weapon
. . . Jack was powerless and raged without knowing why. By the time the pile was built, they were
on different sides of a high barrier. (Golding, 2003, p. 96)
As the id opposes the ego, so Jack opposes Ralph.
Finally, the id is said to exist without the influence of the external world. In a dramatic passage of
the novel, Jack breaks his ties with civilization by refusing the rules that were previously established on the
island.
“The rules!” shouted Ralph. “You’re breaking the rules!”
“Who cares?”
Ralph summoned his wits.
“Because the rules are the only thing we’ve got!”
“Bollocks to the rules!” (Golding, 2003, p. 123)
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