The Lord of The Flies Psycholo

The Lord of the Flies is ...an attempt to trace the defects of society back to

defects in human nature. The moral is that the shape of a society must depend on

the ethical nature of the individual..." - William Golding, author. The problem

is that no matter what the level of ethics in the individual, there is always

the dormant aggression in humanity that can present itself in the absence of a

strong lawful, moral authority. In an extreme case of isolation from the laws

and rules of society, such as in “The Lord of the Flies” (LOTF), conformity,

persuasion and aggression can cause an individual to abandon their ethics and

revert back to baser instincts. Intense anxiety producing situations like this

can manufacture certain psychological disorders and/or exaggerate already

existing psychological characteristics. The defence mechanisms used to cope

with this extreme situation are quite strong, considering the events of the

This novel is basically a microcosm for the human condition. We all would like

to believe that we are quite civilized, but trying situations such as in LOTF

can bring out the worst in human beings. Does our strength of character and

Sam and Eric refused to admit that they participated in the dance,

· Displacement- Jack takes out his anger and jealousy towards Ralph, on Piggy.

· Projection- The boys project their own fears and inner darkness to formulate

Aggression involves intentionally inflicting injury or harm on another person

Some topics in this essay:
Jack Simon, Originally Jack, Ralph Jack, Flies” LOTF, Robert Ralph, Formation- Ralph, Rationalization- Jack, Sam Eric, William Golding, Jack Jack, al 2004, et al, feldman et, feldman et al, et al 2004, human condition, defence mechanisms, lord flies, jealousy towards ralph, laws rules, instincts violence, inner instincts, lawful moral, inner instincts violence, lawful moral authority,