LORD OF THE FLIES THROUGH A PSYCHOANALYTIC LENS.

Lord of the flies is a classic novel written by Golding in 1954. The story closely follows the
journey of school boys accidentally stranded on an island, indefinitely, due to a plane crash. With an
injured pilot and no salvation on the horizon, the boys organise themselves into a semblance of a society.
Still guileless and untouched by the politics of the outer world, the boys make their own rules which
surprisingly indicate patterns similar to the socio-political backdrop of this story. The key characters of
this poignant and fresh work of fiction are Ralph, Piggy, Jack, Simon and Roger.
The periphery characters act as symbols of minute changes occurring, together snowballing and
leading to the savagery these boys regress to.
Through the lens of psychoanalysis, the researcher aims to systematically dismantle the make-up
of the main characters of this literary work and identify their motives and motivation.
The researcher will primarily use Freud’s compartmentalization of the psyche into three broad
constituents, namely, the Id, Ego and Superego to understand the principles governing these individuals.
Through basic study of the Psychoanalytic Model we understand, the Id is an inborn part of one’s psyche
which is instinctive. It operates on the principle of seeking pleasure and avoiding pain. This part resides in
one’s unconscious and if not modified by the ego and superego, it results in expression which may subject
others to harm.