Max Carle

Mr. Owain Phillips

English 9A
29 March 2014
The Psychic Apparatus
The Austrian neurologist Sigmund Freud may have lived over 150 years ago, but his
findings still apply to todays society. He knew that there are common aspects to human
character, known as the psychic apparatus, which can be traced in every citizen of the world.
Frankly, however extraordinarily one might behave, Sigmunds three so-called phases, which
he named Super Ego, Ego and Id are within all of us. Lord of the Flies by William
Golding contains these three phases, each represented by a character. Piggy is the intellectual
living out the Super Ego, Ralph is the primary leader of the group who stands for the Ego and
Jack, who aspires after Ralphs position, embodies the Id.
Sigmund Freud was the first scientist to develop theories about the unconscious mind.
His approach created a radically new conceptual and therapeutic frame for the understanding
of human psychological development. He specified the Super Ego as a sense of morality
considering the question of right or wrong - as it plays the critical and moralizing role, while
the Ego, according to him, is the component of the personality which deals with reality. The Id is
a set of uncoordinated instinctual trends and combines both instinctive and primitive behavior.
Usually, the Ego mediates between the Id and the Super Ego.
Piggy is a bright character who mainly does the thinking for the group on the island. His
consideration and scrutiny are traits which indicate that he represents the Super Ego. When
Ralph and Piggy hear a sound outside their shelter, Piggy keeps still for a moment (Golding
166). Here, his Super Ego tells him to rely on his perception so he can make a well-informed
decision on what to do next. Piggy ponders on it to uncover who is lurking outside, because that
is the safest thing he can do. He realizes that they are trapped and that they are in danger.
Through his understanding of morality, he develops a sense of duty that springs from his desire
to keep his group safe and sound. Thanks to his morals, he is certain that Jack is doing them
wrong and so he is already about to take steps to prevent damage. Other than Jack, Piggy is
thoughtful but not reckless.
Ralph is the leader of the group and does whatever it takes to be able to leave the island.
When he leaves his shelter, dozen others are rolling over and over, hitting, biting, scratching
(Golding 167). Here, he does what is expected of a leader. In other words, he responds to reality
by fighting against Jacks group outside and defending himself and his own group without
thinking about future consequences. Unlike Piggy, he does not weigh up the alternatives, he is
driven by the desire to respond to present occurrences - in other words, reality.
Jack always wants the lead over the group. He is willing to do anything to become the
leader. He represents the remaining phase, the Id. Jack is eager to hunt in most parts of the book.
Especially when he wants to kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood! (Golding 152).
Representing the Id means that he does not mind the outcome of his actions. Instead, he follows
his raw instincts, namely, hunting and trying to survive on the island without leaving it.
At the start, Jack can be considered the Ego, but he then reveals his actual function in the
story - representing the Id. Yet, readers could argue that he might also be the Ego when he wants
to find food to survive with the group on the island. Especially when he sees that theres pigs,
theres food; and bathing water in that little stream along there - and everything (Golding 35).
He basically acts on behalf of the other people or his group members for them to have a chance
to survive. So far, Jack thinks about other people and not only about himself. He acknowledges
reality and, in response, tries to act on it.
As mentioned, people may think that the Ego is perfect for Jack, but instead, the Id
describes him much better. Especially because he has been all over. (Golding 105). Here,
Golding describes that Jack is searching for the beast a long time, but is unable to find it. He is
excited to hunt the beast down and does not think of the consequences and how dangerous it
could be. Jack does not care about anything but hunting, which makes him the Id in the story.
Also, it could have ended differently and he was actually lucky he did not find the beast!
Piggy, Ralph and Jack all represent one of the phases in Lord of the Flies. While Piggy
represents the Super Ego and Ralph the Ego, Jack is a more arguable character since he could
represent two of them, the Ego and the Id. Yet, due to the evidence listed above, Jack represents
the Id in the story much better. However, the psychic apparatus is not limited to literary pieces
like Goldings novel. It also occurs in reality, as people, depending on the situation they have to
face, enclose one of the three phases within them. Whatever phase they might choose to act on, it
will heavily impact their decisions and the outcome of them. In fact, all of us relate to his theory,
although sometimes unconsciously.
Word Count: 899
Works Cited
"The Id, Ego and Superego." About.com Psychology. Web. 15 Mar. 2014.
<http://psychology.about.com/od/theoriesofpersonality/a/personalityelem.htm>.
"Sigmund Freud - Crystalinks." Sigmund Freud - Crystalinks. Web. 17 Mar. 2014.
<http://www.crystalinks.com/freud.html>.
Golding, William. Lord of the Flies. New York: Coward-McCann, 1962. Print.