Id, Ego and Superego in Lord of the Flies and Heart of Darkness

Within Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, Marlow asserts that "the mind of man is capable of anything--because everything is in it, all the past as well as all the future" (HOD 109.) As Marlow journeys deeper into the Congo he is forced to adapt to the jungle environment and in the process he begins to lose his understanding of societal rules and ideals. His "psychological self" is coerced into adapting to the rustic environment of the Congo hence disturbing the balance between his id, ego and superego. William Golding's Lord of the Flies similarly deals with this deteriorating awareness o…