THE PERSONIFICATION OF THE ID, EGO, AND SUPEREGO IN LORD OF THE FLIES

Furthermore, Piggy displays aspects of the superego not only with his behavior but also in the way he looks and the way he is treated. Piggy tries to bring order to the kids explaining, “Then I’ll give him the conch…I’ll give the conch to the next person to speak. He can hold it when he’s speaking” (Golding 39) Here, Piggy suggests using the conch to maintain order and hold civilized conversations It becomes clear that his actions exhibit “an important role of the superego” and how it “is employing the ego to control the id” (Qadir et al. 10). Throughout the book Piggy relies on Ralph to try and control Jack. At the same time, Piggy is “fat,” wears spectacles, and despises manual labor. This symbolizes how acting on the superego will inevitably create problems and may be a bad choice if convenience is the objective Following the superego might mean taking the short end of the stick more often than not which becomes clear when Piggy is eventually murdered by Jack and his hunters.

Meanwhile, Ralph seems to be playing the role of the ego throughout the book through his balance. According to Sigmund Freud, the ego is the part of oneself that is supposed to mediate between the complete animalistic desires of the id and the high moral standards the superego requires (Id, Ego, and Superego) The ego is responsible for acting according to reason, and unlike the superego, it will sometimes sacrifice morals if the action does not make sense or is not in one’s self-interest. On the other hand, the ego will also never surrender to its animal instincts and resort to instant gratification as is the case with the human id In an argument with Jack, Ralph demands, “Listen We've come to say this First, you've got to give back Piggy's specs If he hasn't got them he can't see" (Golding 177). Here, Ralph takes responsibility by confronting Jack and shows that he wants what is best for everyone; yet, just like a proper ego, he does not just follow his morals blindly. Ralph provides a reason as to why he follows through with this action when he explains to Jack how Piggy will not be able to see without his spectacles As Jack starts to lure the kids to join him in doing exciting activities, they start to pursue momentary happiness at the expense of maintaining order and this is when Ralph protests: “We waste time, rolling rocks, and making little cooking fires. Now I say this and make it a rule because I'm chief. We won't have a fire anywhere but on the mountain. Ever” (Golding 88). Clearly, Ralph shows how he tries to mitigate Jack's behavior by maintaining the order he established, indicating again how he plays the role of the ego in trying to control the id of the story (Jack)

Not only does Ralph mediate between Piggy and Jack, but as is expected from the ego he also does not hesitate to do or say something blunt or hurtful to the other boys in order to increase the likelihood of success and in their case, survival. When Jack takes out the fire Ralph immediately reprimands him when he yells, "There was a ship Out there You said you would keep the fire going and you let it out!”(Golding 84) He scolds Jack's selfish behavior when it proves to hinder their progress and causes them to miss out on an