Analysis of Ralph’s Character in Lord of the Flies

Based on Sigmund Freud’s Concept

of Human Personality
 Lord of the Flies is indisputably one of the darkest dystopian novels of the
twentieth century. Although it includes scenes of violence, the physical sphere is not
the most impressive tragic element of the story. The greatest struggle takes place
inside the characters themselves. The novel depicts the conflict that, according to
Sigmund Freud, forms a part of human nature. In his lecture on structural analysis of
personality, Freud describes the human mind as a persistent tension of three elements:
the ego – the central element of human mind; the super-ego, which controls and
suppresses evil instincts and the id, which on the other hand, is the centre of our
animal instincts, which tend to break free1. Unlike some philosophers who see human
nature as originally good or at least neutral (e.g. Jean Jacques Rousseau or John Lock),
Freud considers all people wicked and evil. Concerning Lord of the Flies, the most
impressive is the fact that this approach is applied for description of children, who
were always considered as pure and innocent.
In the work, the most attention is of course paid to the main character, Ralph,
whose inner struggle is thus described in great detail. Therefore this essay includes an
analysis of his character and describes the change of his personality together with
factors that influence the development. During his stay on the island, Ralph is also
influenced by the other boys; especially his relationship to Piggy and Jack is
important. For this reason attention is paid to this aspect too.
At the beginning of the story, Ralph is introduced as a blond twelve-year-old
boy with an athletic figure. Although he is physically strong, his features indicate that
there is nothing wild or aggressive in his nature2. Nevertheless, further development of
his character shows that animal instincts are present in his personality too, but
fortunately his good qualities prove to be stronger.
At first, the fact that they are alone on a desert island does not appeal to Ralph
much. In his school uniform he walks across the beach as if it was a school yard.3 It is
Piggy’s question about the presence of adults on the island which draws his attention
to the wider context of their situation and, for the first time, makes Ralph realise the
freedom that is thus given to him:
“Aren’t there any grownups at all?”
“I don’t think so.”

1
Freud, 1969, pp. 364 – 377
2
Fielding, 1954, p. 10
3
Fielding, 1954, p. 7

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 The fair boy [Ralph] said this solemnly; but then the delight of a realized
ambition overcame him.4

Ralph’s reaction makes it obvious that, although nearly a pubescent, he

has still the mentality of a naive and innocent child. He takes the situation as
an adventure and does not consider its negative impact or any danger yet. This
is however the first impulse to change his habits and to adapt his thinking to
the new environment (after adapting to the climate physically by taking off his
clothes)5.
Another important experience for Ralph is his first blowing the conch:
Ralph […] hit the shell with air from his diaphragm. Immediately
the thing sounded. A deep harsh note boomed under the palms, spread
through the intricacies of the forest and echoed back from the pink granite
of the mountain. Clouds of the birds rose from the treetops, and something
squealed and run in the undergrowth.
Ralph took the shell away from his lips.
“Gosh!”6

Similarly to the previous quotation, this is the first experience of a new

feeling: newly gained freedom which is not restricted by the limits of civilisation
which, according to Freud, forces people suppress their instincts7. Ralph discovers a
new object with which he can do anything he wants and which helps him to control
the activity of other beings (startle the birds, call the other boys to their first meeting)
and fill the whole island with its sound. The possession of the shell also helps Ralph
to become the chief, although he does not seem to have as strong desire for power as
Jack has.8 The boys vote for him because he is “the being”9 that blew the conch,
which make him someone special.
In fact it is not only the shell which makes Ralph different from the other
boys. It is his rational approach and sense of duty, which are not much obvious at the
very beginning but which become prominent immediately after Ralph’s becoming the
chief. He organises an exploration to find out whether the place where they have
landed really is an island10, he decides to light a signal fire11 and starts to build huts12

4
Fielding, 1954, p. 8
5
Fielding, 1954, p. 10
6
Fielding, 1954, p. 17
7
Freud, 1969, pp. 396 – 397
8
Fielding, 1954, p. 22 – 23
9
Fielding, 1954, p. 22
10
Fielding, 1954, pp. 23 – 31
11
Fielding, 1954, pp. 38 – 47
12
Fielding, 1954, pp.49 – 51

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for the boys to sleep in. At first the boys share his enthusiasm and cooperate because
they all find the new activities exciting.
This kind of behaviour follows Freud’s pleasure principle described in his
work Civilization and Its Discontents. According to this theory, the main aim of every
human being is to be happy and they do their best to achieve this aim. 13 The boys seek
temporary amusement, they want to “be happy” here and now and as soon as a
particular activity stops to be the source of pleasure for them, they focus on another
one. The power of the super-ego starts to grow weak in their minds quite soon.
This is the moment when Ralph’s character starts to differ from the other boys
more distinctly than at the very beginning. He and Piggy understand how important
the signal fire and the huts are for their future but the other boys seek direct
satisfaction either from games or, in the case of Jack, from hunting.
The conflict in which Ralph (supported by Piggy) criticises Jack’s behaviour14
reflects the conflict between the id and the super-ego. Jack follows his animal
instincts, especially the death instinct, which Freud describes as a tendency to turn
organic entities into inorganic ones. In this case, the satisfaction originates in the
power of particular human being to carry out such a radical transformation of another
being:15
His [Jack’s] mind was crowded with memories; memories of that knowledge that
had come to them when they closed in on the struggling pig, knowledge that they had
outwitted a living thing, imposed their will upon it, taken away its life like a long
satisfying drink.
He spread his arms wide.
“You should have seen the blood!”16

On the other hand, Ralph’s activities are productive and his aim is to return to
civilization. Compared to the other boys, Ralph’s super-ego is still relatively strong
throughout the first half of the story, but it has to face numerous attacks from the
animal id, which grows strong in the other boys. It can be compared to an epidemic,
which spreads throughout the island and sooner or later affects even the strongest
boys.
In the first chapters, Ralph does not share the enthusiasm for hunting and the
wild, savage life style which the other boys enjoy so much. Thanks to his friendship
with Piggy, he clings to civilization values and retains his rational approach.
13
Freud, 1969, pp. 25 – 36
14
Fielding, 1954, pp. 54 – 55
15
Freud, 1999, p. 128
16
Fielding, 1954, p. 70

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However, Jack’s first successful hunt brings hard time for both Ralph’s leadership and
his own personality. In the community, the id becomes dominant and the “disease”
threatens to affect Ralph too. During the feast when the boys roast the pig, Jack as the
leader of the hunters enjoys great popularity in the group because he meets the basic
needs of the “tribe” – he provides them with food.17 Even Ralph, who is the official
chief and who is still angry with Jack for his irresponsible behaviour, submits to this
order and accepts his piece of meat:
“Ralph’s mouth watered, he meant to refuse meat, but his past diet of fruit
and nuts, with an odd crab or fish, gave him too little resistance. He accepted a
piece of half raw meat and gnawed it like a wolf.”18

Ralph’s body betrays him and his will becomes weak too. He cannot resist the
temptation of a piece of good food and he even catches himself envying the hunters. 19
His super-ego starts to grow weak and he considers leaving his position of the chief
because he starts to understand that the power of animal instincts in the boys is too
strong for him to control20: “We’ll be like animals. We’ll never be rescued”.21
Even to control his own instincts becomes more and more difficult for Ralph.
During their hunt after the beast, which some boys claim to have seen lurking through
the island, paradoxically, the beast inside Ralph is awoken. He joins the hunters in
chase of a bleeding pig and for the first time, he experiences the thrill of following his
death instinct. Although he does not manage to kill the pig, he is highly satisfied with
this experience. 22
This short moment of satisfaction, however, is followed by another wave of
mental suffering. Ralph’s influence over the boys becomes even weaker than before
and his soul is thrown into a great chaos after the sight of a dead paratrooper whose
parachute he mistakes for the feared beast. Not only that Ralph feels that the id is
taking over the island, but after this experience, he is sure of the presence of evil that
is impossible for him to beat.23
After Jack’s rebellion24, the other boys, who used to be the source of problems
for Ralph, become his only chance for recovering the initial order of things. If they

17
Fielding, 1954, p. 73 – 75
18
Fielding, 1954, p. 73
19
Fielding, 1954, p. 75
20
Fielding, 1954, pp. 92 – 94
21
Fielding, 1954, p. 92
22
Fielding, 1954, pp. 114 – 115
23
Fielding, 1954, pp. 123 – 125
24
Fielding, 1954, p. 127

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stayed loyal to him and to the values promoted by the super-ego there would be still a
chance to resist the animal instincts and preserve their good qualities. The power of
id, however, is stronger than their characters and, just as Ralph has foreseen it, the
situation gets completely out of control. One by one, the boys leave for Jack’s “tribe”
according to the strength of their will. The weaker cannot resist the temptation of
physical comfort and join Jack in relatively short time, on the other hand Ralph,
accompanied by his “true, wise friend”25 Piggy resist till the very end.
Although Ralph does not join Jacks tribe, he is not able to resist the invitation
to Jack’s feast26 and once again he acts according to the pleasure principle, which this
time, is a fatal mistake. Ralph’s participation on the murder on Simon during the
“tribal” dance around the fire27 is the triumph of the id over his super-ego. The time
Ralph had to spend on the island has made a deep mark in his soul. His basic needs
have not been sufficiently met for a long time and he has become mentally and
physically weak. He is hungry, tired and disillusioned by the betrayal by the other
boys. In this state, he easily gets carried away in the wild savage dance, during which
they murder Simon, because they mistake him for the beast.28 In connection with the
beast a paradox arises again, because it can be identified with the id itself. Thus the
victory over the supposed beast (in fact the murder of Simon) is in fact the victory of
the id over the whole community together with Ralph.
However, Ralph is liable to surrender to his instincts mostly when
accompanied by the other boys, who are usually weaker than him. Therefore Piggy’s
death and the loss of the shell29 (which can be interpreted as the symbol of the whole
group’s super-ego), instead of depriving him of his last hope, motivate Ralph to fight
the evil more fiercely.
Despite his great failure during Jack’s savage feast, Ralph achieves a moral
victory, because he never really stops fighting the id and he demonstrates his
resolution by destroying the Lord of the Flies (a pig’s head on a stake left in the
jungle by the other boys as an offering for the beast30) and by taking the stake to
defend himself against the boys, who intend to find and kill him31. However the taste

25
Fielding, 1954, p. 202
26
Fielding, 1954, pp. 140 – 141
27
Fielding, 1954, pp. 152 – 153
28
Fielding, 1954, pp. 152 – 153
29
Fielding, 1954, pp. 180 – 181
30
Fielding, 1954, pp. 136 – 137
31
Fielding, 1954, p. 185

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of his victory is far from sweet because nothing, neither the rescue of Ralph’s life by
the naval officer32 nor their return to the civilisation can heal the deep wound of bitter
knowledge in the soul of once an innocent and happy child.

32
Fielding, 1954, pp. 200 – 202

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Bibliography:

1. FREUD, Sigmund. Civilization and Its Discontents . New York: New York: W. W.
Norton & Company, 1961. 127 s.

2. FREUD, Sigmund. The Psychical Apparatus and The Theory of the Instincts. In
LEMERT, Charles. Social theory: The multicultural and classic readings. Boulder:
Westview Press, 1999. s. 125-129. Dostupný z WWW:
<https://www.college.columbia.edu/core/instructors/civ/optitexts/freudout.pdf>.

3. FREUD, Sigmund. Vybrané spisy: Přednášky k úvodu do psychoanalýzy ; Nová řada

přednášek k úvodu do psychoanalýzy . Sv. 1. Praha: Avicenum, 1991. Strukturální
rozbor psychické osobnosti, s. 363-377.

4. FREUD, Sigmund. Vybrané spisy: Přednášky k úvodu do psychoanalýzy ; Nová řada

přednášek k úvodu do psychoanalýzy . Sv. 1. Praha: Avicenum, 1991. Úzkost a
pudový život, s. 379-397.

5. GOLDING, William. Lord of the Flies. New York: The Berkley Publishing Group,
c1954. 208 s.

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