Lord of the flies essay - excellent :: essays research papers

Lord of the Flies: Final Essay Exam Are the defects of society traced back to the defects of human nature? The defects of society, and how it relates to the defects of human nature can be explained with the savagery that drives the defects of society and the same savagery that drives the defects of human nature. In this story, Lord of the flies, Golding shows the id, ego, and superego within the characters in the book. Golding represents the id with Jack, whereas the id says â€Å"I want, and I want it now,† and Jack constantly wants and needs power, and wants his way in every situation. He represents the ego with Ralph, whereas the ego says â€Å"Well, maybe you can have some of it - later,† and Ralph tries to be or is the remediator by always trying to make everything go right, and trying to enforce rules. Golding also represents the superego with Piggy, whereas the superego says â€Å"You can’t have it; it’s bad for you,† and Piggy yells at the people disobeying the rules, and dema nds that the others can not do the things that they do.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A theme within this novel is the loss of innocence. The existence of civilization allows man to remain innocent, therefore when the characters lost their innocence, the civilization was gone or corrupt. One example of the loss of innocence would be when Jack was unable to stab the pig during the hunt. At that moment, he lost his innocence which enabled him to kill without a recollection of civilization. Another example of the loss of innocence was when Roger was throwing stones and rocks at the other children below him. Roger was unable to actually hit them purposely because he still had his innocence, but this moment was the beginning of his inability of understanding human nature.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The next theme in Lord of the Flies is the loss of identity. Civilization separates man from animals and makes them think, and when civilization disintegrates, man’s identity slips away, and he resorts to a more primitive nature. An example of this is shown when the boys paint their faces which hides their identity and allows them to kill and murder. The loss of a personal name personifies the loss of identity. The twins, Sam and Eric, cite a case of the loss of personal name when the others on the Coral Island begin to refer to the twins as one, samneric.