Isabella Molano

Mr. Owain Phillips

English 9B
1 April 2014
Pure Instinct
In the end, each and every one of the flaws in human society can be traced back to us as
humans having a natural evil inside of us. There is no exception to this rule in William Goldings
Lord of the Flies. The plot, and ultimately the downfall of this novel is based on this idea and
the Freudian idea that this evil brings out the natural savagery inside of us. The novel revolves
around and depends upon our human evil which is represented by the Id, with Jack and his
hunters, Piggy and Ralph after killing Simon, and the boys wanting to practice hunting on a little
kid.
The Id, is a characteristic or trait that we all have since birth. It takes care of our
instinctive and primitive behaviors, which we all need in order to survive. In the boys case,
survival becomes the main priority, so this instinctive behavior kicks in and causes them to act
quite selfishly, mainly because the Id is driven by the pleasure principle. Obviously we are not
driven by this principle on a daily basis. If we were, we might find ourselves grabbing things
we want out of other people's hands to satisfy our own cravings (psychology.about.com). The Id
takes over completely, and it hits some harder than others. It causes them to act in ways they
never would have before because they lose the self control that is learned and practiced within a
structured society.
The most obvious example we can see of the Id taking over is Jack and his hunting crew.
By the time Piggy dies, Jack and Roger are in such manic, wild states they do not even show any
remorse, only shouting See? See? Thats what youll get! I meant that! (181). It is clear that
the boys are left with no morals anymore and the Id has taken over completely. Instead of
expressing guilt or regret, they just use the opportunity of a death to further threaten Ralph. Any
trace of the ego or superego is completely gone and the hunters are acting purely on Id at this
point.
Although Piggy and Ralph are not thought to represent the Id, because it definitely does
consume Jack in a much more powerful way, they are not spared of this primitive loss of self
control and morals. The Id comes out in them several times, but especially during Simons death.
Unlike Jack, Ralph did feel ashamed of what he did and how he contributed, but he was still
aware of what he was doing at the time. He admits that he doesnt know what he was, or what
came over him (156). The emotion he experienced was not fear but he was aware that something
was different, because at that point he was not himself, he was acting solely on his Id instincts.
No one is exempt to this immense force of raw instinct and savagery.
One of the main characteristics of the Id is that a person does whatever they please and
doesnt really worry about the consequences because the most important thing is to satisfy their
immediate needs. One of the first challenges the boys encounter is learning how to hunt. They
talk about killing somebody for practice and Jack jokes that they should use a littun which gets
everybody in hysterics (115). It would have been convenient to use someone to practice on and
that is all that is on their minds. In reality, this passing comment was not much of a joke and the
hunting pack makes it clear when they reach a point where they would kill everyone and anyone
standing in their way because of that desperation and need to murder.
One might argue that the Id did not completely take over which could be a possibility.
Piggy and Ralph strongly represent the superego and the ego. The Id, and this savagism that we
all have buried deep within us, is stronger in some than in others. This is the reason why Jack
had no hesitation to kill and no comprehension of responsibility and what actually needed to be
done other than just survive. Piggy and Ralph are psychologically affected when people die,
know that they have responsibilities such as getting rescued, and consider all the options. They
know that although surviving is important, it is also important to not get carried away.
Even though there are some aspects of the ego and superego in the novel, nothing can
outweigh the primal bearing we all have inside. The boys start to lose control and let the Id take
over because there are no guidelines or authority figures to keep them in check. Obviously we all
have an Id, but we dont go around acting like savages for a reason, because society has rules and
our needs cant always be met. Although most of our basic needs are usually satisfied without us
having to reach too far. These boys are trying to meet their basic needs on their own, so
naturally they lose that control we all have on a day to day basis. Even though most of us do it in
a more civilized manner, almost everyone lets their Id take control at one point or another. We
even see it when the boys have authority in their life once again, because the adult or so called
authority theyre looking up to is going to go straight back to killing people, so it is a never
ending cycle.
Ultimately, in this book we can see various examples of how the Id drives the plot and
many of the boys actions. It is a flame that is sparked in the beginning, and burns on until the
end. We learn that it never fizzles because everyone is driven by the Id in one way or another.
Even when the ego or superego makes an appearance we can clearly see how much stronger the
Id is, based on the success of the two split groups.