The Loss Of Self

Lord of the Flies (1954) is William Golding's first published novel of great achievements. With it, Golding wins the 1983 Nobel Prize for literature "for its perspicuity of realistic narrative art and the diversity and university of myth and it illuminates the human condition in the world of today".The interpretations and studies of this novel range over symbolism, feminism, Jung's theories of collective unconsciousness and archetype, and many other social, political theories. These analyses differ in theories, approaches and conclusions. Here the intention of this study is to make a psychoanalytic study of the loss of self of the characters in Lord of the Flies, with some social and biological knowledge touched upon as well. Through this study, the reader can see clearly why and how characters in Lord of the Flies lose their self identity when the social restrains are taken off. And the consequences of the loss of self gives us a warning that the evil elements within human beings are so destructive as to make one lose his self identity and turn paradise into hell. This process gives us an alarm and revelation of human condition in the world today. The study of the loss of self makes us know what we are; know about human history, human existential condition and the moral problems that concern us all.This thesis consists of four chapters. The first chapter centers on the reasons for the loss of self. The disorder inside and outside the novel provides the background, and the evil elements in human nature are the internal reasons for it.The second chapter talks about the initial stage of the loss of self which is represented by two forms: isolation and fear of the unknown originating from the phenomenon of evacuation during two world wars. These two states of mind are caused by anxiety in the words of Sigmund Freud. Here the "three structures of . personality": id, ego, and superego are involved for the explanation. When the symbols of the superego: the conch, the fire, and the glasses are destroyed one by one,...