Character Development of Jack through Archetypes

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1 Literary Paragraph for Chapter Four Brianna, Eunice, Rain, and Jenna ENG3UR Wednesday, October 11, 2017 Character Development of Jack through Archetypes In William Golding s Lord of the Flies the use of archetypes helps to further demonstrate Jack s transformation into a savage character due to the lack of civilization. The archetype of light versus dark throughout chapter four represents the transformation of Jack. In the morning, when the bright sun is out, the whelming sea and sweet air is present. Sun is an archetype for enlightenment and water is an archetype for rebirth. The fact that the sun is juxtaposed with a whelming sea communicates the message that enlightenmnet is connected to a rebirth. The word whelming means to engulf or bury. The sweet air brings to mind a positive image, so the reader can infer a positive rebirth when rational thought or enlightenment is present. As a result, this is a time when play is good and life is so full that hope. (58). However, the utopia, describing the ideal world quickly transforms into the polar opposite when the enlightenmnt leaves. The atmosphere changes as the sun sank and darkness dropped on the island like an extinguisher the shelters were soon full of restlessness, under the remote stars (58). Juxtaposition is used to show contrast between the light and sun archetypes, with the darkness and setting sun, archetypes. The bright sun in the morning represents enlightenment and joy, whereas the sun set represents despair and death, as shown through the metaphors, sun sank and darkness dropped. These archetypes symbolize Jack because similar to the enlightenment quickly turning to despair, as shown through the of light versus darkness archetypes, Jack quickly transforms from the leader of the choir boys (a religious and highly civilized group) into a character who is driven by his desire to kill and shows no morality

2 when he is away from civilization. The use of the star archetype and diction, remote stars, which means far from guidance, shows just how far the boys have come from civilisation. The lack of guidance leads to Jack's savage behaviour. Jack s transformation can also be represented through the archetype of fire. Fire represents knowledge and good, and in this chapter, Jack lets the fire go out in order to go hunting. Jack let the fire go out, symbolizing him forgetting about knowledge, which ultimately leads to his rebirth as a savage, uncivilized character who loses the sense of being morally good (70). When confronted about his actions, Jack flushed, conscious of his fault (70). Through diction of when first confronted, Jack is seen as flustered and seems to be unaware of his mistake. By being too occupied will hunting and killing, Jack does not realize the effect of his actions, creating an uncivilized manner to his character. By letting the fire go out due to his priority of hunting, Jack makes a transition from civilized to savage. Aaron, Anjali, Nikole and Maggie ENG3UR Wednesday, October 11, 2017 Archetypal paragraph for The Lord Of The Flies The abandonment of knowledge leads to disaster. In chapter 4 of Lord of the Flies, The misuse of knowledge is demonstrated when Jack goes hunting and lets the fire go out. On page sixty nine, Ralph says You let the fire go out. Jack checked, vaguely irritated by this irrelevance but too happy to let it worry him. Ralph continued to say you let the fire go out but jack was too proud of his catch of the day (the pig) and so him and the boys celebrated and ignored it. Jack s abandonment of his knowledge on tending to fire led him to carelessly put out the fire, when this was a crucial task to help get everyone home. As Ralph scolds Jack

3 for the fact that hunting is getting into his head, Jack couldn t accept it. His animalistic character kicks in and this causes disaster. Kaitlin, Olivia, Cairine and Lance ENG3U October 11, 2017 Psychoanalysis of chapter four in Lord of the Flies In the Lord of the Flies, Golding depicts when the human psyche is exposed to trauma the id becomes more dominant over the ego and superego. For example, when Jack, who portrays the id, along with the hunters are preparing to hunt the pig. Jack begins to succumb to his darker side which is his mask that becomes a thing on its own that Jack hides behind. This mask is a metaphor for the id s animalistic desires to hunt the pig, thus showing that these desires overcome the responsibility of watching over the fire, orders given by the ego, Ralph. The id dominates the ego by not following through with the given decision. Moreover, the id reacts with natural aggression which is shown when Piggy, the superego, tells Jack he should have been more responsible of the fire and there were wails of agreement from some hunters thus pushing Jack to violence. This is a catalyst for the id, as Piggy and the hunters opinions cause the act of the violent impulses leading to the attack on Piggy. This shows that the id has acted on primal instincts by attacking with violent impulses therefore being more dominant over

4 Piggy, the superego. Ergo, when the human psyche is exposed to trauma the id becomes more dominant over the ego and superego. Literary Paragraph Zack, Jack, Connor, Braydon, Andrew ENG3UR Thursday, October 12th, 2017 Character Developement of Jack through Psychoanalysis Without views of society influencing human behaviour, we will deteriorate back to a primitive and savage instinct. This is shown in Chapter 4 of Lord of The Flies when they have a struggle in lighting the fire and they get agitated and aggressive towards each other They let the bloody fire go out (Golding 68). This quote shows the aggression from Ralph because he is using words that he normally would not use unless, he is agitated with someone. When Ralph says it to jack it is because he no longer cares about being rescued. This means he has began to adapt to the primitive environment outside of civilization. Thomas Publow, Veena Dunlop, Natalia Terajewicz ENG3U Wednesday, October 11, 2017 Imbalance of the Human Psyche in Lord of the Flies In the text, Lord of the Flies, William Golding portrays that the Id becomes dominant when the Ego is in a state of panic.this is evident in chapter four when the boys are all sitting in front of the fire that Jack makes after Ralph fails to attract the attention of the boat.

5 In the text, it states, Jack looked round for understanding but found only respect. Ralph stood among the ashes of the signal fire, his hands full of meat, saying nothing, (Golding 74). This is significant because Ralph, who portrays the Ego in the human psyche, is in a state of panic both after and during his attempt to attract the boat. While his panic is passed on to the other boys, Jack, who portrays the Id, brings joy to the stressed boys with good news about a pig that he caught, proving that the boys are now leaning towards the Id rather than the Ego. This quote also demonstrates the conforming nature Ralph has towards Jack. The meat in Ralph s hands is symbolic to Ralph abandoning the want of rescue that his self conscious is saying is more important, and instead shows him giving into his impulsive craving for meat. Furthermore, Ralph conforms to his own impulsive nature in this state of panic. This is shown when the texts states that he, accepted a piece of half-raw meat and gnawed it like a wolf. (Golding 73). This quote uses zoomorphism to show a new impulsiveness lying inside Ralph. It uses a simile to compare him to a wolf in order to show how he disregards his sensical ideas of rescue, and rather chooses meat and survival, similar to Jack. Additionally, when fire is acknowledged as an archetype for kowledge, one can infer that Ralph standing among the ashes of the signal fire represents him standing among the dead remains of rational thought, indicating that he is abandoning the rational Superego; or if fire is seen as a connection to civilization, then the ashes are the destroyed connection to civility, foreshadowing the rise of his animalistic Id instincts. This new impulsivity further demonstrates the dominance of the Id over the ego, who is still in a state of panic. In conclusion, Golding proves that within a state of panic, the Id dominates the human psyche. Cooper MacDonald, Reid Peeling, Loughran Jackson, Colby Fata ENG 3D

6 September 8th, 2017 Effects of Trauma on the Human Psyche In Golding s Lord of the Flies, the first exposure to trauma acts as an opportunity for the id to grow progressively more aggressive from this horrific event, which will allow for a greater control of the psyche. After embarking on yet another quest in search of a nutritive prey, Jack s success of outwitting the struggling pig puts him on a high of new heights, where no one can bring him down. When Piggy steps in to reprimand Jack for his significant wrongdoing of letting the fire burn out, Jack immediately resorts to violence by [sticking] his fist into Piggy s stomach and asserts his dominance by [standing] over him (Golding 72). Jack s conflict with others has now evolved from verbal argument in chapter three, to physical combat in chapter four, which demonstrates his progressively increasing aggression. Jack s abuse of Piggy is significant as it shows how Jack, the symbolic representation of the id, will resort to any means to suppress and gain dominance over Piggy, the symbolic representation of the superego. Furthermore, not only do Jack s antics work to overpower the superego, however Ralph, the symbolic representation of the ego, is also influenced by Jack s actions. When instigating a group humiliation of Piggy, Jack receives a gale of hysteria from all of the boys, including Ralph, who unwillingly...felt his lips twitch and was angry with himself for giving way (Golding 72). Ralph s involuntary participation in the degradation of Piggy demonstrates how Jack has gained a great amount of control over Ralph in his subconscious state. This subconscious control is so prominent that it causes Ralph to act out of impulse, showing how Jack s influence has spread to Ralph s conscious state for the first time, which signifies a large progression in the id s (Jack s) control over the ego (Ralph). Therefore, an exposure to trauma allows for the id to grow progressively more aggressive, which will result in the id gaining a large control over the psyche. Jai, Lauren, Alex, Joy ENG3UR

7 October 11, 2017 Psychoanalysis of Lord of the Flies When there is trauma to the human psyche, civility is neglected and the naturally savage behaviours of the Id begin to dominate, as shown through the actions of the boys. When analyzing Roger, Maurice, Johnny and Jack as the id, one of the first actions of cruelty is when Roger and Maurice become destructive towards the little kids creation, walking straight through the sand castles, kicking them over (60). By this scenario, it is clear the older boys, who are meant to be acting as role models for the younger children, forget all the manners and pleasantries they had been accustomed to in civilization and instead, without hesitation, act ruinously. Although, it is not only the older boys who start developing and acting on violent impulses. Johnny is described as joyfully singing to himself while throwing sand at an imaginary Percival (61). Johnny has this fantasy because of his desire to annoy Percival and Johnny knows throwing sand at Percival would cause him to cry and become upset, which exemplifies how Johnny's want to cause Percival pain just for the pure cause of enjoyment uncovers naturally harmful and sadistic qualities because of the loss of structure of society. Another example of the boys acting inhumanely is when Jack becomes so ecstatic about going pig hunting that he begins to laugh which turns into a bloodthirsty snarling. (64) By Golding's use of diction in this quote, using such vulgar words, it sets dark, sinister atmosphere which helps enhance how Jack has lost his comity and sanity but rather becomes consumed by the idea of blood and killing. Jack s savage and vicious tendencies continue to when he gets into an argument with Ralph and Piggy and he is finally able at last to hit someone, stuck his fist into Piggy s stomach then later smacked Piggy in the face (71). Jack, not only reverts to violence, but is said to be able to at last hit someone, which signifies that Jack does not become violent because of impulse, but rather

8 he constantly has the need and the desire to be physically abusive. This desire was most likely suppressed when surrounded by civilization as Jack has before been portrayed as the disciplined choir boy but is now free to act on his harmful desires because of the loss of standards and ideals or society. In conclusion, as seen through the actions of the children on the island, the vicious and animalistic mannerisms of the id overpower the human psyche after it has experienced trauma.

1 P a g e N a m e : P e r i o d : Names:. Period:. Lord of the Flies Chapters 2 & 3 - Small Group Questions

TOTAL POINTS.. 60 Points 1 P a g e N a m e : P e r i o d : Names:. Period:. Lord of the Flies Chapters 2 & 3 - Small Group Questions A symbol is any noun (person, place, or thing) that represents an idea