Sociological aspects of Lord of the Flies .
The book, Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, has representation of many sociological terms, concepts and principles, including the establishment of roles, statuses, and social isolation. Although, I feel, the most prominent of these concepts is illustrated in Sigmund Freud's personality model. This model consists of the id, a representation of a humans" need to be gratified. The id will do what it needs in order to have instantaneous pleasure. Next, the ego helps a person to make rational and realistic decisions. Finally, the superego, which is our conscience, helps to control the id. The superego tries very hard to keep the id in line. Jack, Piggy and Ralph play these roles throughout the book. .
Jack characterizes the id found in this story. As leader of the choir and one of the tallest boys on the island, Jack's physical height and influence corresponds with his conceited personality. His want to be Chief was expressed in our first introduction to Jack in the book. Shortly after the boys landed on the island, Jack volunteers himself and his choir mates to take care of the hunting. A job that is very primitive. When Ralph, the ego, steps up to be the leader on the island, Jack does some revengful decision-making of his own. He lets the signal fire go out when he abandons it to hunt; a ship passes by the island but without a fire to alert it, they cannot be rescued. Ralph's order to keep the fire going seemed unnecessary to Jack. He feels that the boys should hunt, kill, and have fun. His actions bring him closer to the primal, chaotic world he wished to create. By playing the role of the id, Jack needs to abolish the only person that might be able to control him, whom we are able to see is Ralph. Because of these actions, Ralph begins to distance himself from Jack; for fear that Jack will soon be completely out of control. The boys become instantly attracted to the freedom that Jack is willing to offer.