During the My Lai massacre in 1968, more than 500 civilians were brutally murdered by American soldiers. Without the presence of commanding officers, many U.S. soldiers blindly killed innocent lives for no apparent reason. In Lord of the Flies, William Golding suggests that human beings are governed by three different drivers: the id, the ego, and the superego. Golding explores these three psychic drivers and shows that when civilization is stripped away, human nature succumbs to the id and descends into savagery. In the novel, different characters are used to express the three drivers, Piggy as the superego, Simon as the ego, and Jack as the id. Unfortunately, by novel’s end, the id overrides the others and the island plunges into mayhem.
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Rather than craving excitement or fun, Simon is able to deal with the reality of the situation, and attend to the basic needs on the island. Instead of joining Jack's hunters, Simon is the only boy in the choir who stays behind to help Ralph build shelters. In addition, he satisfies the littluns' immediate hunger by helping them reach fruit from the trees. All the boys on the island fear an acclaimed beast on the island, except Simon, who understands the beast is a mere project of the demons in all of us. "Maybe there is a beast... I don't know... What I mean is... maybe it's only us." (Golding, 89) Simon tries to explain to the boys the idea that the dreaded beast is in reality within each person, that man is capable of being both good and evil. His ideas are later confirmed by his encounter with the Lord of the Flies who declares man’s inescapable fate. During his second attempt to explain the truth about the beast, he is brutally murdered by the other boys who have become entranced by the power of the id. With the brutal murder of Simon, the balance of the superego and id, are disturbed, leading to greater chaos. Without the ego, the superego must take over and attempt to control the instincts of the
Rather than craving excitement or fun, Simon is able to deal with the reality of the situation, and attend to the basic needs on the island. Instead of joining Jack's hunters, Simon is the only boy in the choir who stays behind to help Ralph build shelters. In addition, he satisfies the littluns' immediate hunger by helping them reach fruit from the trees. All the boys on the island fear an acclaimed beast on the island, except Simon, who understands the beast is a mere project of the demons in all of us. "Maybe there is a beast... I don't know... What I mean is... maybe it's only us." (Golding, 89) Simon tries to explain to the boys the idea that the dreaded beast is in reality within each person, that man is capable of being both good and evil. His ideas are later confirmed by his encounter with the Lord of the Flies who declares man’s inescapable fate. During his second attempt to explain the truth about the beast, he is brutally murdered by the other boys who have become entranced by the power of the id. With the brutal murder of Simon, the balance of the superego and id, are disturbed, leading to greater chaos. Without the ego, the superego must take over and attempt to control the instincts of the