Lotf Human Nature with Freud and Cicero

In Lord of the Flies William Golding provides insight about human nature which that it is civilization that counters and controls human’s savage and base instincts. Golding shows this through the allegorical story of boys stranded on an island. By showing that everyone has violent nature hidden within them he demonstrates the never-ending struggle between civilization and savagery. Neurologist Sigmund Freud and Roman philosopher Marcus Tullius Cicero have their own theories on human nature and personality which support Golding’s insight.
Golding uses the Lord of the Flies to show his insight about human nature. The Lord of the Flies is an allegory which means it is a story that has double meaning. Golding uses symbols, characters and objects to represent his main themes. One main theme illustrated is that of Civilization versus Savagery. Ralph, the protagonist, is used to represent civilization. Ralph always tried to maintain order and never gave into savagery completely while Jack, the antagonist, was focused with his a desire for power. Jack is used to represent savagery. Jack became obsessed with hunting and even went so far as to murder two other boys. Since they landed on the island Ralph and Jack had been in a never ending battle that was only stopped by their rescue. They fight for power and eventually split the boys up into two groups, one with Ralph as the leader and Jack as leader of the other. As Jack’s group continues to grow in savagery the only thing holding them back is Ralph’s group. Jack even says “They’ll try to spoil the things we do.”(Golding 160) Just like civilization “spoils” the savage instincts of man. Golding shows how Civilization counters human savagery.
Sigmund Freud’s ideas revolutionized psychanalysis that students today still learn from, as well as his theories helping modern medicine they also help humans understand their own nature. Freud’s ideas are illustrated allegorically in Lord of the Flies through the characters. One of...