"" As time progressed, the personalities of Ralph and Jack revealed what needs were important to each character. Although being a microcosm of the human society, the island in The Lord of the Flies is also a macrocosm of a human mind. The Id, Ego, and Superego, which Freud believed to be components of an individual's brain, are divided into separate persons, specifically Jack, Ralph, and Piggy. .
The Id, the irrational, emotional, and unconscious part of one's mind, is obviously represented by Jack. Throughout the novel, Jack displays his unwillingness to cooperate with Ralph or Piggy, and his innate desire to hunt, dance, and generally to satisfy himself. While ignoring Ralph's requests to keep the signal fire ablaze, Jack finds ways to fulfill his basic needs, hunger and amusement, like by hunting for pigs. As he is caught up in the excitement and fun, he shows his inability to see past his animalistic needs and disregards Ralph and Piggy, or the Ego and Superego. Freud's main idea of the Id was the seeking of pleasure; it is the primitive mind. Ergo, Jack's desire for pleasure in killing Ralph overpowered his logics, even putting himself in danger by setting the whole island on fire. Jack's rejection of the conch shell can be seen as his inability to care for others and only for his self-preservation. Lastly, the face-painted masks that Jack and the others wear symbolically remove any personality or emotion from the boys, placing them in a subconscious state as they lose all sight of themselves; with the masks, by definition, they become the Id.
Next, the balancing factor between the Id and the Superego, comes the Ego. Freud's theory says that the Ego is the rational component of the mind. It tries to please the Id, while realizing that you cannot always attain what you want. These characteristics undeniably resemble those of Ralph. As Jack spends his time chanting, dancing, or hunting pigs, and the Little"uns are out playing, Ralph is the only one that has a sense of reality.
