Peace of Mind: A Psychological Reading of Lord of the Flies

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1 Metzger 1 Johnny Metzger Mr. O Connor END 2DU May 26th, 2014 Peace of Mind: A Psychological Reading of Lord of the Flies The novel, Lord of the Flies has become a classic in modern literature. By reading the novel from a psychological perspective, it is clear that the novel is a representation for Jung s theory of the psyche. By using Jungian theory as the lense for the novel, the characters, setting and plot all represent the collective unconscious as described by Jung. Specifically, the characters Jack, Piggy, Simon and Ralph represent the key archetypes of the collective unconsciousness. Moreover, by reading the story as an allegory to the human psyche, the author, William Golding, offers the reader a separate message. Golding, therefore, depicts how peace within the psyche is not achievable individually, but only through an external force greater than the psyche itself. To demonstrate the representation of Jungian theory within the novel, one must first introduce Jung s idea. Namely, one must introduce the idea of the collective unconscious. The collective unconscious is a portion of the psyche that Jung describes as being not individual, but universal (The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious, 3). The collective unconscious, as argued by Jung, is the portion of the psyche which contains modes of behaviour that are more or less the same everywhere and in all individuals (The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious, 4). These modes of behaviour

2 Metzger 2 are classified into various archetypes. Archetypes are similar to character roles within literature and Jung describes several main archetypes that encompass the collective unconscious. These archetypes are called the shadow, the anima or animus, the persona and the self. The first example depicting Jungian theory within the novel is that of the shadow. Jung defines the shadow as being an autonomous personality (Mythos and Logos in the Thought of Carl Jung, 62) who has split off from consciousness (The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious, 270). Moreover, this figure is obsessed with its own freedom and is without rational thought. For this reason, Jung describes the shadow as being a representation of ones darker side, those aspects of oneself that exist, but which one does not acknowledge or with which one does not identify (Mythos and Logos in the Thought of Carl Jung, 62). The shadow, according to Jung, is a summation of all the inferior traits of character in individuals (The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious, 270). In the example of Lord of the Flies, the character which best portrays the shadow is Jack. The qualities of the shadow are best seen in this passage describing Jack: The chief was sitting there, naked to the waist, his face blocked out in white and red. The tribe lay in a semicircle before him. The newly beaten and untied Wilfred was sniffling (Golding, 176). The key things to note in this passage are Jack s leadership, his savagery and his attire. During this period of the novel, Jack has formed a separate tribe from the original group. This new tribe is being ruled by Jack s authoritarian leadership. The importance of this is paramount to understand his position as the shadow. Throughout the novel Jack constantly fights with Ralph for leadership of the group. This is due to his drive for autonomy. Jack wishes both to rule, but also to be free from any authority, namely Ralph. Jack s formation of a separate tribe substantiates that he, as a character, is consumed by the idea of freedom and power, just like the shadow described by

3 Metzger 3 Jung. After Jack could no longer tolerate Ralph s leadership and his lack of freedom, he created the separate tribe. Secondly, this passage outlines Jack s descent into savagery. Throughout the novel, Jack had always had a aggressive personality, but this passage outlines how he has become brutal towards the other boys. His control of the tribe means that the decisions of the tribe are ultimately the decisions of Jack. Therefore, the beating and tying of Wilfred was by Jack s order. This is a clear example of the violence and evil promoted by Jack, which as a trait, cannot be described as anything but inferior. Finally, Jack s choice of attire as leader of the tribe outlines his own sexual obsession. By wearing the least amount of the clothing possible without creating an uncomfortable social situation, Jack is displaying or presenting both his physical stature as well as his sexual dominance. This self obsession is clearly defined as a trait of the shadow. For these reasons, Jack is a clear representation of the Jungian shadow and the novel is a representation of the theory as a whole. To continue, another example of Jungian theory within the novel is that of the anima or animus. The anima and the animus are contrasexual images of males and females within each other. A male will have a female anima archetype and conversely, a woman will have a male animus archetype. For the purposes of this argument, the psyche from the novel will be that of a man, therefore, the archetype is the anima. The character that best represents the anima is Simon. Jung described the anima as being the personification of the feminine nature of a man s unconscious (Memories, Dreams, Reflections, Glossary). Yet, all of the characters on the island are male. The important point here is that the anima is the personification of the feminine nature. The physical sex of Simon is irrelevant, rather, his sexual role in the society is important. The most predominant feminine role that Simon exhibits is that of the mother. Simon exhibits the characteristics of motherly compassion and caring, both towards others in the society

4 Metzger 4 as well as the younger children. This is seen in two sections of the novel. The first is when Simon assists the younger children. As described here: Then amid the roar of the bees in the afternoon sunlight, Simon found for them the fruit they could not reach, pulled off the choicest from up in the foliage, passed them back down to the endless, outstretched hands. When he had satisfied them he paused and looked around (Golding, 57). The important thing to note in this section is that Simon did not merely assist the younger children, but he satisfied them. Simon, in this situation had taken on the role of caregiver. While the idea of caretaker is not exclusive to the anima, it is a key role of a mother. And as Jung described, the character of a man s anima, is as a rule shaped by his mother (Man and his Symbols, 199). In addition to this, Simon is also deeply involved in the care of the other members of the society. While others neglect responsibility, Simon works hard to protect the boys. This is seen when Ralph says this: Simon, he helps. He pointed at the shelters. All the rest rushed off. He s done as much as I have. (Golding, 55). During this time, the boys were trying to build shelters and by the end of the day, only Simon and Ralph were left to complete them. By providing for the other members of the society, Simon takes on the role of a mother and succeedingly, the anima. Through his caring and compassionate nature, Simon is a clear example of the Jungian anima. In addition to the anima and shadow archetypes, Lord of the Flies also depicts the persona archetype through the character Piggy. The persona is a mask archetype. Jung outlines the persona as that which in reality one is not, but which oneself as well as others think one is (Memories, Dreams, Reflections, Glossary). Simplifying his words, the persona is the image a person presents publicly. In the case of Lord of the Flies, Piggy represent the image or persona of civilization. Piggy is by far the smartest person on the island. Ralph contemplated this when he said But Piggy, for all his ludicrous

5 Metzger 5 body, had brains (Golding, 83). For Piggy to be the persona, the reality of the island must be that there had not been civilization from the beginning. This can be proven by the fact that violence, chaos and disorder were rampant from the beginning of the novel. Jack s presence as the shadow meant that while on the surface, the group of boys seemed civilized, fighting ensued nonetheless. The constant struggle between Jack and Ralph, the lack of care for the younger children and the disrespect towards each other all symbolize the violence and chaos in the society. Because of this, Piggy is therefore the persona of civilization on the island. Piggy s position as the persona is outlined through three sections of his literary character: his intelligence, physical differences and the subsequent dislike of him by the other boys. As stated before, Piggy is the most intelligent person on the island. This is exemplified by his ideas and predominantly, the idea of a signal fire. A signal fire, which Piggy and Ralph advocate for from the beginning of the novel, symbolized planning. A signal fire is a long term and well thought plan which is contrary to the short term impulsive thinking of Jack. While the signal fire is publically stated as a priority, it is never completed fully. For the island, the goal of building a signal fire, like Piggy, is fake. Piggy s fake composition is further represented by his physical differences compared to the other boys. This is exemplified in the passage: Piggy was an outsider, not only by accent, which did not matter, but by fat, and ass mar, and specs, and a certain disinclination for manual labour (Golding, 68). All of these physical differences make him unpopular with the other boys. The other boys, the other archetypes, see Piggy as less because, as an archetype, Piggy is fake. The physical differences with Piggy outline him as a separate image from the other boys, but the boys dislike of him makes Piggy the persona. Furthermore, Piggy s name even implies his position as the persona. Firstly because it was used to mock him. This shows his worthlessness in the society. Secondly, it foreshadows his death.

6 Metzger 6 The persona is a mask. The persona is fake and ultimately, it is disposable. Just like the persona, Piggy is fake to the other boys. He is the mask of civilization yet, ultimately, he was disposable. Finally, the last example of Jungian theory within Lord of the Flies is of Ralph. Ralph is a representation for the self. The self is the whole collective unconscious summarized in one being or entity. In the words of Jung, the self is the central archetype; the archetype of order; the totality of personality (Memories, Dreams, Reflections, Glossary). The self exemplifies the qualities of the other archetypes. So to argue that Ralph is the self, one must argue that is somewhat similar to the other main archetypes. Firstly, Ralph takes on similar roles to Jack to two ways. The first is that he is partially involved with the violence created by Jack. This is exemplified by his involvement in the murder of Simon. Following the brutal killing of Simon, Piggy and Ralph return to their camp, frightened about what happened. While both of them are shocked at the violence, they were both involved. Their implications are described by Ralph when he says But we were! All of us! (Golding, 174). The killing of Simon involved the boys circling around him in a ritualistic chant before beating him to death. While Ralph and Piggy may not have participated in the beating, this simple line explains how they were in the circle and did nothing to stop it. This is clearly an example of how Ralph exemplifies part of the shadow. Secondly, Ralph also exhibits characteristics of both Simon, the Anima and Piggy, the persona in one other quote. This occurs when Ralph goes to confront Jack at Castle Rock. Ralph said, Oh yes. Then about the fire. I say this again. I ve been saying it ever since we dropped in. He held out his spear and pointed at the savages. Your only hope is keeping a signal fire going as long as there s light to see. Then maybe a ship ll notice the smoke and come and rescue us and take us home. (Golding, 197). This section outlines two parts of Ralph s character which identify him as part of the anima as well as the

7 Metzger 7 persona. The first part is his advocation for the signal fire. The signal fire, as described before, is a representation of planning and forethought. It is a symbol for the civilization on the island. By trying to promote the signal fire, Ralph displays his similarities with Piggy. Furthermore, the nature of why he does this supports his representation of the anima as well. Ralph is risking himself by going to Castle Rock and confronting Jack. He does this, not for personal gain, but for the prosperity and rescue of all of the boys. He therefore takes on part of the role as caregiver, like Simon and ultimately the anima. Finally, while Ralph does not exhibit completely the roles of the other archetypes, he is not supposed to. As the self, Ralph is a conglomerate of all the different archetypes in one. For this reason, Ralph is the Jungian self because he represents the all of the other archetypes in one. To elaborate on the ideas of Jung within this novel, one must look at the plot, in addition to the characters. To argue that internal peace must come from an external force, first there must be a conflict that would stop peace. In the example of Lord of the Flies, the conflict is the corruption of the island and it s inhabitants by Jack or the shadow. By the end of the novel, all of the characters, excluding Ralph, who opposed Jack, have joined him or been killed. His ability to corrupt the other boys is seen this section: The Chief said no more to him but he looked down at Samneric. You got to join the tribe (Golding, 202). During this section Jack forces Sam and Eric to join his tribe because, as the twins described it, they made us. They hurt us (Golding, 209). The important part of this section is that if the island and it s inhabitants are a representation for the psyche, then the psyche in question is in peril. The violence, brutality and chaos on the island all result in a mind which lacks peace. Here is the culmination of the problems the boys faced on the island from the moment they arrived. Here is the internal conflict. The savage tribe hunts down Ralph until he is forced out onto the beach. Once he gets there, he sees

8 Metzger 8 [a] naval officer [standing] on the sand (Golding, 222). The officer then asks Ralph are there any adults any grown ups with you? (Golding, 223). There are three key elements to examine in this passage. The first is that the naval captain has saved Ralph. Ralph is a representation for the self or the psyche as a whole. Just as Ralph; just as the self is about to be destroyed, almost instantaneously, he is saved. By saving Ralph, this naval captain has brought peace to the self and to the psyche as a whole. The second element to note is that the captain is an adult. He is therefore more powerful than the boys both in age and physical ability. His physical superiority is a representation for the degree of power he has compared to the boys. The third thing is that he is from outside the island. The savior of the boys and the bringer of peace to the island was both more powerful than it s inhabitants and most importantly, external. That is the message of Golding in Lord of the Flies. That internal peace is unachievable independently. That peace of the self, that peace for oneself is brought by an external power, in whatever form it may be. In conclusion, Lord of the Flies, as read through a psychological perspective, is a representation for Jungian theory. Within the novel, specific characters take on specific archetypes of the collective unconscious as described by Jung. In addition to this, the novel and Golding depict a psychological message to the reader. The message is that independently, the human psyche cannot attain a controlled stance. Without external intervention, the inferior traits of the human psyche, will consume the psyche; without an external force greater than oneself, the self will perish.

9 Metzger 9 Works Cited Golding, William. Lord of the Flies Reprint. London, England : Faber and Faber Limited,. Print. Shelburne, Walter A.. Mythos and logos in the thought of Carl Jung the theory of the collective unconscious in scientific perspective. Albany: State University of New York Press, Print. Jung, C. G., and Marie Franz. Man and his symbols. New York City : Dell Publishing, Print Jung, Carl. G. The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious Reprint. New York City : Bollingen Foundation, Print. Jung, Carl. G. Memories, Dreams, Reflections Reprint. Toronto : Random House Inc., Print.

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