In Lord of the Flies by William Golding, the depictions of childhood and adolescence are used to shape the overall meaning of the work. Depicted differently by different characters, adolescence is used to represent the different societies and governments in place around the world & how delicate they really are. In the novel, it becomes clear that Ralph’s character is used to represent a leader in an organized democracy while Jack’s persona is presented as more savage and power-hungry. Jack’s character is shown to clash with Ralph’s because Jack wants power & leadership and causes for an autocracy while Ralph wants the opposite. Aside from Ralph and Jack lies Piggy, clearly used to show intellect and portray the government’s disregard for science and knowledge. In the novel, Ralph, the elected leader of the group of boys in Lord of the Flies, creates a democracy among them all, using the conch as an effective method of maintaining order and calling meetings. The conch, representing order and civilisation, is idolized from first sight, one child exclaiming, “Let him be chief with the trumpet-thing” (Golding 22). It’s fairly obvious the reasons why Ralph was elected leader aren’t well supported, emphasizing society’s shallow nature and ignorance for knowledge (shown in their choice not to elect Piggy as chief). …show more content…
This character is used to not only represent an autocracy and savagery, but the effects of a non-civilised society and the damage caused by it. Jack once refers to Ralph, saying, “He’s like Piggy. He says things like Piggy. He isn’t a proper chief” (Golding 126). By saying this, Ralph insinuates that knowledge is not as valuable as physical capability. This quote applies to the idea that Jack is a savage & his ideas of government are uncontrollable and dangerous. He is murderous and power-hungry, mirroring the theme of savagery versus
Jack was a very power hungry young boy. Although he doesn't have any power at the beginning of the novel, he took every opportunity to take the position of chief and was eventually successful. Jack's dictatorial style of leadership contrasted very directly with the more democratic and passive style of Ralph. Jack ruled with an iron fist, allowing no one to question him or his leadership. Jack represented the wanting for a single, all-powerful leader to guide the followers of society using any means he feels necessary.
The novel, Lord of the Flies by William Golding, is a story about a group of British school boys that get stuck on an island after they crash on a plane. They are forced to use the resources around them and have to trust each other, and it works out for a while, but while you read on, you begin to recognize a strain between the two main characters, Jack and Ralph, which really spins out of control at the end. William Golding uses British school boys for this novel because those kind of boys are well mannered and don’t seem like the kind of people to turn into uncultured savages. They are expected to have manners and common etiquette. He uses an example of social commentary by using the little ‘uns in the book as not being able to take care of themselves, and that is supposed to represent the society that we live in, that we can’t take care of ourselves without help. Foreshadowing is subtle, uses unimportant details to lead up to the climaxes of the novel, and is the basis of good vs. evil during the novel.
Savagery: The Downward Spiral From Civilization Civilization is like the eye of the storm, for its rules represent the serenity and peace it creates despite the chaos around it. However, in The Lord of the Flies, the lack of civilization draws the chaos of the storm into reach the children on the deserted island, to succumb to savageness. In their growing essence of savagery, the children nonsensically takes advantage of having no limits to rule their decisions. In the novel, The Lord of the Flies, the character Jack is a prime example of the theme; lack of civilization leads to savagery.
In Lord of the Flies, written by William Golding, childhood and adolescence can be interpreted as a time of not being in full control of your instincts and barbaric impulses and not being mature enough to be civilized. Golding achieves this by using symbolism in his characters and showing the consequences of the boys making an impulsive decision.
William Golding's Lord of the Flies is a novel about a group of boys who are lost on a deserted island and must do what they can to survive. At the beginning of the novel, two of the boys, Ralph and Jack, become leaders. These differences will form the main conflict in the story. The differences will cause them to hate each other and the anger that results is a recurring part of the plot throughout the novel. These two boys can be compared by the way they change, the reason for their actions, and the way they use or abuse power.
An author’s intention is to create a character to relate to someone. In Lord of the Flies, there are characters who people can relate to. There is Ralph who has a leadership trait, Jack who is savagery, and Piggy who is like the grownup of the boys. The book was written by William Golding in 1954. Lord of the Flies takes time during an unnamed war when a plane is shot down with British school boys in it. The boys are deserted on an island with no adults to take charge. They have to survive on their own and live decently. Ralph is voted leader by many of the littluns. Since there are no adults around, the civilization of the boys soon break. A “war” breaks out between Jack wanting power over Ralph. The boys split into two groups as some go with Jack and others stay with
William Golding's Lord of the Flies is a novel about a group of boys who are lost on a deserted island and must do what they can to survive. At the beginning of the novel, two of the boys, Ralph and Jack, become leaders. These differences will form the main conflict in the story. The differences will cause them to hate each other and the anger that results is a recurring part of the plot throughout the novel. These two boys can be compared by the way they change, the reason for their actions, and the way they use or abuse power.
William Golding’s modern classic, Lord of the Flies showcases a group of boys stranded on an island, in hopes of rescue and survival. This depicts how a society of boys would function if civilization had not been forced on them. Moreover, this novel shows us Golding’s inner kept judgement of the function of society. The boys first meet together on the island by using what later becomes a symbol of law; the conch. It is first used as an object to keep order amongst the boys, but later becomes the center of conflict between two clashing tribes. It represents the battle between order and chaos, and the outcome is Golding’s view of which rules in society. A constant occurrence in the book is the bullying of the characters, Simon and Piggy. Although these characters contributed greatly to the development of the group, their actions were never appreciated. They were both outcasts in the tribe, never listened to, nor included in any conversations. Golding represents these characters as religion and intelligence, and so the outcast of these boys gives us a window into which parts of society the author deems are valuable and unnecessary. Jack, the antagonist in the book is portrayed as a vile, aggressive creature. He and his hunters become obsessed with bloodshed and macabre, and so they kill to satisfy their needs. What starts as killing pigs for meat as a means of survival, soon turns into an addiction for blood leading to a bloodbath between the boys. The constant hunger for
William Golding’s Lord of the Flies presents a story of a group of boys who become stranded on an island together, and in their struggle to survive; some begin to fight for power. Having power makes them feel in control of their situation; however, this power struggle quickly begins to consume them. Golding uses the power struggle between Ralph and Jack, the two main characters, to illustrate the power struggle between good and evil.
In William Golding’s, Lord of the Flies, a few dozen boys are stranded on an island after a plane crash. The six to twelve year old kids turn to savages under the lead of the older males, and ultimately cause their own deaths. However, the smaller boys, such as Piggy and Sam and Eric, are the hope and reason of the group. Golding’s purpose of writing the book was to show that the defects in society originate at the defects in human nature. Golding allows the little ones to have no identities or personalities. This is symbolically showing that in society, the ignorant and innocent children are the only hope to a humane society. Innocence is purity, and the innocent children, in which are not corrupted by the bad people and things in the
In his first novel, William Golding used a group of boys stranded on a tropical island to illustrate the malicious nature of mankind. Lord of the Flies dealt with changes that the boys underwent as they gradually adapted to the isolated freedom from society. Three main characters depicted different effects on certain individuals under those circumstances. Jack Merridew began as the arrogant and self-righteous leader of a choir. The freedom of the island allowed him to further develop the darker side of his personality as the Chief of a savage tribe. Ralph started as a self-assured boy whose confidence in himself came from the acceptance of his peers. He had a fair nature as he was willing to listen to Piggy. He became increasingly
Ralph is a character whose actions make him represent democracy. In chapter 2, Ralph establishes a rule that whoever holds the conch may speak at the assembly. “That’s what this shell's called. I’ll give the conch to the next person to speak. He can hold it when he’s speaking”(31). By establishing this rule, Ralph planted the foundation of democracy for the boys. Later in the story, even though Jack draws most of the boys into savagery, Ralph still held onto the belief
Ralph represents law, order, organized society and moral integrity. Throughout the novel he is constantly making common-sense rules for the boys to follow. Unlike Ralph, Jack is unkind, caring about no one but himself and how he can benefit. Jack simply wants to hunt and have a good time. He makes fun of Piggy, humiliating him, making him feel small and unworthy. "You would, would you? Fatty.... and Jack smacked Piggy's head" (Golding 78). Jack is a lost boy who begins to discover the evil within him. When he proposes to the group that he should be the new chief, they do not respond in his favor, and Jack runs away, hurt and rejected. He swallows his hurt ego and throws all of his energy into the only thing he seems to know how to do - hunting. He puts on face paint and hides his conscience. This changes him into a savage, an evil, violent monster. The colorful mask allows Jack to forget everything he was taught back in England. "The mask was a thing on its own, behind which Jack hid, liberated from shame and self-consciousness" (Golding
Jack is only interested in power, he acts like a dictator and doesn’t follow the communities thoughts. Some actions that Jack takes that shows this are "I got the conch," said Piggy indignantly. “You let me speak!” “The conch doesn’t count on top of the mountain," said Jack, “So you shut up.” This shows how Jack acts like dictator because he doesn’t listen to what the people say. “He's not a hunter. He'd never have got us meat. He isn't a perfect and we don't know anything about him. He just gives orders and expects people to obey for nothing. All this talk-.” This shows how Jack is power hungry and will basically do anything to get it, he is trying to make Ralph look like a bad chief in order for him to try to take the power away from him and get it for himself. “We’ll raid them and take fire. There must be four of you; Henry and you, Robert and Maurice. We'll put on paint and sneak up.” This shows how Jack uses his power to make his tribe members listen to his orders and steal the members of the other tribes. Jack is only interested in power and wants the power for his own
In the novel Lord of the Flies, the author, William Golding, portrays a story about children that are stranded on an island with no adults to take charge and leadership; therefore, the children have to create their own system of government so they can survive. Throughout the story, there is a development of characters and each character represents various personalities and specific aspects of philosophies. Jack, Simon, and Ralph are the main focus throughout the book and their way of thinking is quite different from one another resulting in constant arguments.