Golding’s Lord of the Flies
Golding wrote: “The theme (of the novel) is an
attempt to trace the defects of society back to the
defects of human nature.”
Golding insisted that the novel’s primary
purpose is to serve as a warning of man’s potential
brutality to his fellow man. He sees evil as being
inherent in man’s nature. His book demonstrated
repeatedly that human beings are capable of intense
evil as a result of their natures and not because of any
outside factors. Furthermore, the novel suggest that
society, far from being a corrupting influence, is the
only way that mankind can be restrained from a life
of utter barbarity and degradation. The novel teaches
the lesson that it is only through conformity to the
moral standards of civilized behavior that any hope
exists for mankind to achieve a higher and more
desirable ethical state.
The novel rejects the concept of rejecting
civilization and returning to a more primitive
existence, and it shows the negative consequences of
absolute permissiveness in human beings.
Luey 1
The Use of Mind Imagery in Lord of the Flies
In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, the three main
characters work together to create one whole conscious
mind. Ralph, the voted leader of the group, forms the ego.
He is the part of the mind that “consciously controls
behavior” (Coon 661). Piggy, the outcast of the group,
represents the superego. He is the conscience, who
reminds the ego of the “parental values and rules of
society” (Coon 669). Jack, the leader of the hunters,
demonstrates the id portion of the mind. He is the barbaric,
instinct-driven part who “demands immediate gratification
of needs, drives, and desires” (Coon 663). When the three
work together, all is well. It is when there is a split in the
mind that chaos develops.
In Golding’s Lord of the Flies, initially the three main
characters work together to function as one balanced mind.
As the novel develops, the portions begin to break away
and change. Due to the isolation of the island and the stress
of the situation, the normal functioning of the mind is
interrupted. The id becomes more of a ruling power than
the ego, and the superego is killed off so that no feelings of
guilt can be felt by the mind. Golding uses these characters
to show how one would react if isolated on a deserted
island away from the morals of society. The savage id part
of the mind would take over completely in a desperate
attempt at survival.
In his novel, Golding did forget one part of the human
that would have a great effect on the decisions of a human
in this situation: the heart. There is one character that could
represent human compassion in the novel, but he is killed
off by all in a mass of group hysteria. This character,
Simon, is one who “sees and understands more… at a
perspective lacking in the others” (Bloom 23). He is a
“Christ-like figure” who sees what the boys really are-- evil
(Green 28). He sees the good in Ralph and tells him that he
will get back to civilization, and Ralph remembers this at a
crucial time which does aid in his survival. Simon is set up
by Golding as a timid, shy character. Golding may
underestimate the true power of the heart. In a real-life
situation, hopefully human compassion would have had a
great role in the outcome of events. Ideally, the id portion
would need to contend with a power greater than itself.
Human compassion would have won.