Lord Of The Flies Identity Analysis

Identity is something people tend to think of as consistent, however that is far from the case. The Oxford English dictionary states that the definition of identity is “ The characteristics determining who or what a person or thing is.” The allegorical novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding tackles the issue of identity while following young boys from the ages twelve and down as they struggle with remembering their identities when trapped on a deserted island. Identity is affected by the influence of society and how individuals influence society based on their identities. By looking at Lord of the Flies by William Golding, the Stanford Prison Experiment, and Sigmund Freud 's philosophical ideas, it becomes clear that identity is affected by society through peer pressure and social normalities. The individual influences society by what they choose to show of their identity and what their ‘Superego’ shows of the ‘Id’ portion of their brains. The influence of society alters the identity of individuals through peer pressure. In the novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding, the boys’ identities morf from civilized and structured young children to that of savages when Jack, a violent hunter and antagonist of the novel, initiates a game where a boy named Robert pretends to be a pig. The boy’s innocent play soon turns into a life threatening situation when Jack pressures the boys to make it more realistic and close in the circle. Golding explains this scene when he