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Should Boys Be Punished In Lord Of The Flies Essay

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Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, is a novel about many things, including survival. By the time the boys are rescued from the island, many of them have done things for which they could be punished when they return to civilization. Though it is true the boys are all young, even the youngest of them understands the difference between right and wrong and knows that killing someone is not acceptable behavior. Nevertheless, there are several reasons why not to punish the boys when they return to their "normal" lives. First, none of the boys (with the possible exception of Roger) should be officially punished in a court of law. The oldest among them is thirteen, and most of the awful things they did were done collectively. Roger is the exception …show more content…

The guilt of participating in, watching, or failing to stop a murder is punishment enough for any of them. Next, the case can be made that the boys have learned their lessons about doing harm to others. If you choose, you can suggest that the boys not be punished but somehow monitored for the next ten years or so. If any of them again exhibit any savage behavior, they may then be dealt with as the court sees fit. One argument that supports the idea that the boys should be punished for the deaths of Simon and Piggy is that certain boys were fully aware that their actions and involvement in the deaths of the two characters. Every boy on the island participated in the murder of Simon, and Piggy was fully aware of his participation. Ralph and Samneric try to justify their actions and deny responsibility, but they are conscious of what they've done to Simon. Although the boys did not intentionally kill Simon, they are still guilty of voluntary manslaughter. Voluntary manslaughter consists of intentionally killing someone, but the killing is accompanied by additional circumstances. The most common type of voluntary manslaughter involves extreme provocation that induces rage or terror and is sometimes described as a "heat of passion" killing. Simon's murder would fall under this category. The boys were engaged in a ceremonial

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