Psychological

Approach
 Who was Sigmund
Freud?
 Sigmund Freud was an
Austrian neurologist and the
pioneer for psychoanalysis, a
system of psychological
theory and therapy
investigating the interaction
of conscious and
unconscious elements in the
mind.
 He wrote many books on the
topic and was one of the
most controversial, yet
influential thinkers of his
time.
 Freud’s “Theory of
Personality”

 States that the personality or human psyche is
divided into three sections: the Id, ego, and super
ego
 These three coexist and interact with each other
based on instincts (which must be tamed by
civilization)
 Id is entirely in the unconscious part of our minds
 Ego and superego exist in the conscious, pre-
conscious, and unconscious
 The id, ego and superego work together to create human
behavior. The id creates the demands, the ego adds the
needs of reality, and the superego adds morality to the
action which is taken.
 The Id

 Present from birth
 Very useful in infancy, when all of a baby’s
needs have to be met
 Believed to be the primary component of a
personality
 Contains all primitive needs and urges
 When the Id has a desire for something, that
desire needs to be satisfied at once
 Operates on the “Pleasure Principle” and strives
for all urges to be met immediately
 The Ego

Operates on the “Reality Principle” – tries to
satisfy id but in accordance with the real world
 confrontation between desire and reality
Develops from the id
Tries to express the desires of the id in a socially
acceptable manner
Mediates between the id and the superego
Freud theorized that the key to a healthy
personality is a good ego strength
 Ego strength – how well one’s ego can moderate
between the id and superego (like coping skills)
 The Superego

 The superego is the last part of the personality to
develop
 Where internalized moral standards lie (learned
from parents and society)
 Contains a person’s sense of right and wrong;
“judge” determines whether ego has been good or
bad
 Strives to suppress some of the unacceptable or
immoral urges of the id
 Tries to have a person follow a certain set of ethical
standards
 Parts of the Superego
 The Ego Ideal

 Contains standards for “good” behavior
 These are often learned
 If a person follows these standards, the superego will have
them feel emotions like pride and honor
 Holds an image of an ideal self
 The Conscience
 Contains rules for what is “bad” behavior
 If one indulges in this behavior, the conscience will make
them feel emotions such as guilt and remorse/regret
 Although every person contains
all three of the forces, one can
dominates. For Freud we are
simply actors in the drama of
 our minds, pushed by desire,
pulled by conscience.
 In relation to Lord of the
Flies

 When the plane crash happened all of the boys were
still innocent, but without the real guidance of a
grown up and a set of strict rules, you could see their
real nature as it is.
 It can be seen how, as a whole, the boys begin to
abandon all reason.
 They begin to act on the id of their personalities more
than the ego and the superego.
 Start to indulge in acts like brutal killings
 Jack & hunters = Id
stranded on the island. 
 Jack loses his ability to remain civilized while he is

 Jack wishes to operate by the “pleasure principle,” just

as the id. When he wants something, he will take it
without much regard for others.
 He can not stay with the other boys, especially under
supervision of ego and super ego (Ralph and Piggy)
 He does not think about the consequences his actions
may face in the future, demonstrated by his violent
killing and torture of the other children.
 Jack is presented as a violent character, following his
desires, killing others only to get pleasure and taking
negative steps most of the times
 Ralph = Ego

The ego is the mediator between the id and the
superego. When Ralph is elected chief, he sees
how this affects Jack and gives him control of
the choir, coming to a compromise.
Ralph tries to maintain a sense of order as chief,
but he eventually gets caught up in the violence
and savagery of Jack’s tribe on several occasions.
 These examples can be viewed as the Ego giving in to
the id and letting unacceptable behavior happen.
 As much as Ralph tries to follow the rules instilled in
him by society, he finds himself faltering, just like the
ego.
 Piggy as Superego

He wants to maintain a sense of civilization the
most out of all the boys.
Piggy often reminds the boys of the grownups
and the rules of where they came from,”What's
grownups going to think?”
He does this because his superego cannot stand
rules being broken.
 He knew the importance of conch more than
any other character. He considered it as a
symbol of authority and he respected it.
 Simon as the Ego Ideal
the image of an ideal self,
 The ego ideal is the part of the superego that contains
and this is the standard for
behavior according to the superego.
 Simon acts rightly and sympathetically.
 He has the ability to comprehend emotions and looks
beyond the surface facts by understanding the feelings
of others.
 He exhibited exemplary behavior and insight, picking the
fruit for the littluns, giving Piggy his share of meat when
Jack wouldn’t, being the only boy truly aware of the
nature of the “beast,” etc.
 Tragically, the boys hardly follow Simon’s example,
relying more on their id than their superego.
 Conclusion
 In LOTF, we see just what human nature is capable of,

given the right conditions.
 Golding is suggesting that there is a bit of the “beast” in
all of us. It is in the form of those irrational, savage, and
violent impulses that are usually kept hidden from
society, but are ready to come out when circumstances
allow for it.
 Throughout the novel, it is presented that the Id is
continuously trying to overpower the Ego and the Super
Ego. And in the end death of Simon and Piggy show that
beast-kind and evilness in the nature of humans
defeated the superego.