Archetype Analysis of Lord of the Flies
Abstract: William Golding won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1983, for his first writing Lord of the Flies, in which symbolism is wildly used and attributes lots of symbolic meanings to the characters and events. The story thus becomes vivid and profound.
This paper aims at using Swiss psychologist Carl Gustav Jung’s collective unconscious and archetypal theories to interpret the archetypes of characters, natural scenes and themes.
Key words: symbolism, Lord of the Flies, collective unconscious, archetypal theory
0. Introduction
Lord of the Flies is the masterpiece of William Golding. With its medium size, the author exerts his imagination and creativity, and successfully produces plenty of vivid and appropriate symbols, which strengthen the book’s effectiveness.
The novel depicts a story that a group of boys get left on an isolated island due to an airplane’s wreckage in an imaginary war of future. However, in the environment far way from human civilization, the group of boys are soon split into two factions, rational one represented by Ralph who defends civilization and the belief of being rescued, the other, a violent one, represented by Jack, who indulges in the ecstasy of hunting. In the struggle of these two factions, the island like a paradise gets to be covered with the pitiless fire. In the end, when the latter are chasing the former, a navy officer comes to the island and rescues all the children.
On how to interpret the novel, there are lots of voices. Some pay their attention to the understandings of the themes--- especially to the black side of human’s inner side; some are now using feminism to read it. But recently, psychological analysis seems to come to its stage. This essay aims at using Jung’s collective unconsciousness and archetypal theory to analyze the prototypes of the characters, some natural scenes and themes in this novel.
Swiss psychiatrist, Carl Jung is the forefather of the analytical psychology, and her great contribution is
This paper aims at using Swiss psychologist Carl Gustav Jung’s collective unconscious and archetypal theories to interpret the archetypes of characters, natural scenes and themes.
Key words: symbolism, Lord of the Flies, collective unconscious, archetypal theory
0. Introduction
Lord of the Flies is the masterpiece of William Golding. With its medium size, the author exerts his imagination and creativity, and successfully produces plenty of vivid and appropriate symbols, which strengthen the book’s effectiveness.
The novel depicts a story that a group of boys get left on an isolated island due to an airplane’s wreckage in an imaginary war of future. However, in the environment far way from human civilization, the group of boys are soon split into two factions, rational one represented by Ralph who defends civilization and the belief of being rescued, the other, a violent one, represented by Jack, who indulges in the ecstasy of hunting. In the struggle of these two factions, the island like a paradise gets to be covered with the pitiless fire. In the end, when the latter are chasing the former, a navy officer comes to the island and rescues all the children.
On how to interpret the novel, there are lots of voices. Some pay their attention to the understandings of the themes--- especially to the black side of human’s inner side; some are now using feminism to read it. But recently, psychological analysis seems to come to its stage. This essay aims at using Jung’s collective unconsciousness and archetypal theory to analyze the prototypes of the characters, some natural scenes and themes in this novel.
Swiss psychiatrist, Carl Jung is the forefather of the analytical psychology, and her great contribution is
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