Lord of the Flies: Psychoanalysis of a Character Jack

Leslie Fox

Ms. Paine

10th Honors Literature

11 September 2015

Lord of the Flies: Psychoanalysis of a Character

        Psychoanalysis is a method of investigating the conscious and unconscious mind that was developed by Sigmund Freud and is often used to understand types of personalities. The basic principle of psychoanalysis is that personality and behavior are controlled by three parts of the brain: the id, basic needs and wants; ego, a rational state of thinking; and superego, the conscience which decides whether an action is right or wrong. Throughout the course of Lord of the Flies, Jack Merridew’s personality becomes more primal. When the book opens, Jack is power hungry, but still behaves according to the rules of British society, with restraints and limitations. As the book progresses, Jack’s behavior becomes more savage as his id becomes more and more prominent in his personality, his superego slowly disappears, and his ego seems almost nonexistent from the start.

        At the beginning of the book, Jack wants to be the leader of the group but acts in a socially acceptable way, although his aggressiveness and impulsiveness are already evident. ‘“I ought to be chief,’ said Jack with simple arrogance, ‘because I’m chapter chorister and head boy. I can sing C sharp’” (Golding 22). In the first chapter, the group is voting between Jack and Ralph as chief. Jack does not win the election, but he still gets to be in charge of the choir, even though Jack would much rather lead the entire group. Jack obviously is not happy when he does not win, but he does not throw a fit or act irrationally. In the first few chapters, even though Jack is a bully and the primal desires of his id are present, the presence of his superego is helping him act in a way that is acceptable in society.

        As the novel continues, Jack becomes more savage and starts to only care about hunting and doing what he wants to do, even if it is not what is best for the group. At the end of chapter one, Jack attempts to kill a pig, but cannot perform this action because he still has societal norms holding him back. By chapter 4, Jack is chanting ‘“Kill the pig! Cut her throat! Spill the blood!”’ (Golding 69) as he is coming back from killing a pig. He goes off to hunt and kill the pig and abandons his responsibility of keeping the fire going which results in a missed rescue opportunity. His id has overpowered his superego and he is only doing what he wants to do with no thoughts of what he should do.