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Allan Alcalai
Mr. Phillips
English 9B
29 March 2014
The Elements of Personality
Can characters be something more than just characters? In the Lord of the Flies
symbolism is one of the most of the most important themes in the story. It is what makes us
understand the allegory of this book. The main characters in the story, arent just regular
characters. This novel has a lot of psychoanalysis and some of the explored topics are the Id,
Ego, and Superego which are represented by the main characters of the story: Ralph, Piggy, and
Jack.
The Id, Ego, and Superego are very well placed on the story, but what are they? They are
part of our personality and lives. The Ids only function is to insure the survival of the host (E.
L. Epstein). It performs that function with a single-minded tenacity. It only cares about itself and
acts before thinking. The Ego has reason and thinks before it acts. Completely different from the
Id. The Superego is the conscience, its like your parents saying if something is right or wrong. It
is basically morality (E. L. Epstein). Its the exact opposite of the Id.
Jack is clearly the Id in this story. He acts without thinking and when he acts, he does it
with violence and only cares about killing pigs and pleasure. He also said that before they get
rescued, hed like to catch a pig first" (53). Thats what Jack did in the whole novel and the only
thing, besides power, that he really wants to do. He killed a pregnant sow and felt pleasure for it.
He likes killing and feels good about it. Not only does he kill pigs, but humans too. Jack killed
indirectly and directly Simon and Piggy. He was one of the kids attacking Simon and he had the


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idea of putting the rock on the top of the mountain to hit someone. He also likes to command
people and take advantage of that. Meanwhile Ralph uses power for the good of the kids in the
island, Jack uses power to make the kids do whatever he wants, when he wants.
Ralph represents the Ego. He thinks before he acts and is always trying to find ways to
improve their society and ways to get rescued. He is a specialist in thought, and could recognize
thought in another" (71). This quote shows how Ralph cares about other peoples opinions and
decisions. He listens to what other people have to say. Unlike many of the characters, he respects
almost everyone in the island and tries to help everyone. Another example is how he gives
everyone a chance to speak and give their ideas by using the conch. He also prioritizes their
rescue and about everyones well-being. He uses power to make the kids build huts and keep the
fire so that they can be comfortable and get rescued.
Piggy is the Superego in this book. Piggy, for all his ludicrous body, had brains (71).
This quote shows how he represents the superego, intelligence and knowledge. He has no
physical beauty, but has a lot of knowledge. He has great ideas throughout the book that helps
both Ralphs and Jacks group. His ideas made a great difference in the island. Piggy has a sense
of right and wrong and deals with problems without violence. He also cares about the little kids
and tried to get everyones name in the island. While other kids in the island were becoming
savages, Piggy maintained his sense of society and thats why he made such a difference in the
island.
Many might think that these characters may just be characters and have no symbolism.
That might be true because many of the symbols that might be represented by the characters can
be seen in other objects, such as the conch and the glasses. The glasses and the conch represents
almost the same thing as Piggy and Ralph do. There are so many symbols that these characters


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might just be nothing and just an idea in some readers' heads.
This book has many symbols talking about the fall of mankind and a lot psychoanalysis
relating directly to the Id, Ego, and Superego. This makes me think that these characters aren't
just characters. A different author, on the notes in the very last pages, talks about how each
character represents one of those topics, Jack representing the Id, Ralph, the Ego, and Piggy the
Superego. Each of those elements of our personality fit perfectly in the main characters, which
can't just be a coincidence or something on the readers' minds.
Symbolism is what makes this novel so powerful and thought provoking, and completely
changes the meaning and our interpretation about certain characters and objects. At first I had no
idea about how the characters represented something so big, but after finding that out, it totally
changed the way I saw them and made me see how well they fit on the story. Without
symbolism, this book would be somewhat meaningless and much less powerful.










Works Cited
Golding, William. Lord of the Flies. New York: Coward-McCann, 1962. Print.


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E. L. Epstein. Notes on Lord of the Flies. New York: Coward-McCann, 1962. Print.