Lord Of The Flies By William Golding

In the beginning of the Lord of the Flies we are introduced to two young boys, who have survived a tragic plane crash. The aircraft was an evacuation plane and it was transporting the group of boys out of England. One of the boys named Piggy is trying to catch up to the other boy, Ralph. Piggy is described as being very fat and shorter than Ralph. He wears “thick spectacles” (William Golding 7) and he is the first to determine that they are on an island. Piggy is also the one that knows how to use the conch shell and comes up with the use of it, which is to call everyone else to the beach. He believed the conch created order. Once the conch had been used we are introduced to more boys and they gain interest in Piggy’s glasses. They discover that Piggy’s glasses can start fires and they refer to them as “burning glasses” (Golding 40). The boys also rejoiced when they discovered that his glasses could create the fires. They proclaimed, “His specs - use them as burning glasses!” (Golding 38). The spectacles symbolize Piggy’s intelligence, which distinguished him from the others. Without the glasses Piggy would be blind and he would not know what to do. Although Piggy is portrayed as being physically weak and not having a great chance at survival, he is the only one that seemed to know a few survival skills. He is the one that created the fire, sundial and shelter. Without his glasses he would not be ‘intelligent’. His appearance and personality cause him to be shunned

The island in William Golding’s novel, Lord Of The Flies, is one of wonder and a great deal of natural resources. However what develops on this oasis is war, bloodshed and cruelty. This could also be said for Earth, as the same traits occur in the global society as well. Therefor, the island symbolises the entire outside world in three key ways, social relationships, war, and politics.

In today’s world, there are many different and effective types of governments. They range from republics to dictatorships, with each of them having pros and cons regarding their effectiveness and how happy the people living under them are. In Lord of the Flies, author William Golding tells the story of a group of boys stranded on an island, with only their wits to keep them alive. 2 boys eventually take power. The first to take power, Ralph, uses a democratic government in order to keep things fair for all of the boys. However, this fails, and the second boy Jack takes power. He uses a totalitarian government, and while it is very effective, Jack’s inability to lead becomes a major problem, and his poor decision-making eventually burns down the entire island. William Golding uses Lord of the Flies as a political allegory in order to prove that both democratic and totalitarian governments will only succeed if the people in their systems support the goals given to them by their government.

Each character in the novel Lord of the Flies represents a part of the psyche according to Freud. The power struggle between the characters displays the need for civilization to control the instinctual nature of Freud 's theory.

Laws and rules are what set people apart from savagery. Leaders are what keep a group alive in times of crisis. In Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, Piggy is the only character who remains civil and does not turn to savagery. The boys notice his appearance more than his brain which blinds them from seeing his intelligence, patience, and rationality.

William Golding utilizes Lord of the Flies to prove that the inherent nature of man is truly savage and cannot be contained by any form of civil government. Characters, setting, atmosphere, and other elements are all used by Golding in the novel as metaphors and symbols to ultimately reveal the natural intention of man. In Thomas Hobbes’ Leviathan, John Locke’s Concerning Civil Government , and Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s The Social Contract, they share their own personal interpretations on man’s inherent nature, with the closest to Golding being Hobbes. Although both Golding and Hobbes state that man’s true nature is evil and selfish, Hobbes advocates for an absolutist government as capable of controlling man through fear of punishment, as opposed to Golding’s belief that no form of government is sufficient to control man. Conversely, Rousseau argues that men are born with morality and inalienable freedom, and John Locke believes that man is free but is neither inherently reputable nor immoral but a blank slate. Both want the people to be in control to prevent corruption from changing man, although Rousseau insists that a direct democracy to completely give power to the people would be more effective rather than only a representative democracy where the people would have individuals represent them which Locke suggests.

In the novel Lord of the Flies, William Golding emphasizes the essential values of a democracy to the people on the island through Ralph’s democratic leadership style and goals and Jack’s controlling and manipulative. These two leaders of the tribes draw a parallel reflection on the two leaders of World War Two, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Adolf Hitler. Lord of the Flies beings with a plane crash in the middle of the ocean; the boys are left alone on an island without any adults, fending for their lives. Ralph steps up after being elected leader, but Jack declares himself the leader of the hunting tribe and ends up recruiting most of the boys to transfer into his group using paranoia and abuse. Throughout the book, the boys lose their grip on humanity, civilization, and morality leading to deaths of some of the boys and the struggle to keep a democratic society to survive the island until rescue. Similarities can be seen between Ralph and Roosevelt as well as between Jack and Hitler throughout Lord of the Flies.

Many people have their own views on humanity. They can either be that humans are essentially good but can become corrupt or that people are just essentially evil. They have their own opinions, some people can tell their perspective on humans in other fashions. If people are essentially good, they how do they become corrupt? Or if are truly evil, then why do some people seem like they are kind people and they can never do such things? To take both of these into account, a person may saw that people are good but deep down have evil within them. People may ask how does the evil within a person come out, the answer to that is that it is thanks to their environment. The environment around a person can undoubtedly draw out the evil within them

As Jack begins to discard elements of his choirboy uniform, so too does he discard bits of his humanity. Eventually, the boy's once pale complexion becomes hidden by the war paint typical of a primitive human living outside the reaches of civilization. Hidden by this mask, Jack Merridew ceases to be the cooperative young man who had seemed eager to keep the traditions of civilization on the island. Instead, he transforms into a young savage bent upon killing and taking power. The first very obvious display of this attitude occurs when Jack neglects the signal fire he had pledged to keep-and even ordering some of the other boys to do the same- in order to build a more effective hunting party. When the victorious hunters arrive with their prize, they are not hailed as heroes, but instead berated like children. Although he seems to shrink from Ralph's obvious anger, Jack is still proud of his accomplishment and even tries to dictate who will and won't share in the first truly satisfying meal the boys have while on the island. After his victory in hunting, it would appear that Jack is no longer content to be second to anyone. He asserts that, as the only one to have provided meat for the tribe, he should be the leader. After multiple accusations and angry outbursts, Jack finally breaks away and forms his own tribe on the other side of the island. This tribe is not focused on clinging

William Golding, the creator of the book Lord of the Flies describes evil as a trait we are born with and learn to control it, while another man by the name of Jean-Jacques Rousseau thought of the opposite whereas we are born good, but the world and society around us change us to doing evil things, but what is considered evil? The one who decides what is evil and what is not is not just one man or women alone, it is decided as a community, and this description of evil seems to fit Rousseau’s beliefs more than William Golding and it is what I believe in with stronger feelings.

The boys, in Lord of the Flies by William Golding, would rather fulfill their individual goals rather than cooperate as a whole group in society on the island, which would require that each individual boy would act for the good of group instead each person working to better themselves or just have fun. Throughout books authors include many different themes to help the reading connect or understand to what is happening in the book and in Lord of the Flies the major and biggest theme is self-interest v. progress but in every big theme there are smaller themes that help tie it together and that’s what creates a good book. The minor theme in Lord of the Flies is a struggle for power. The boys are more into self-interest and self betterness than into group collaboration and progress creating a major theme throughout the book about self-interest v progress. In the beginning of the book the boys did not fully understand the situation that they were in and how grave it was so they were interested in playing around more than building shelter or getting food and clean drinking water. Individualism and community are symbolized in Jack and Ralph. Jack symbolizes self-interest for having fun and better yourself before the group while Ralph symbolizes group progress by getting everyone rescued. The boys would rather play than build shelters and let the fire go out by not tending to it on schedule.

Does every human have an inbred evil quality within their soulful selves? Nobel-Prize winning author, William Golding accurately exemplifies the fact that evil is an inborn characteristic in “Lord of the Flies” one of his finest books explaining to his readers the acrimonious truth about human nature. Golding started establishing his pessimistic view about human nature throughout his times at World War Two where he came to realize that everyone has some sort of cruelty within them and it is a natural part of mankind. Set during the time period of World War Two, the book is about a group of English boys being evacuated safely out of the country, but the plane crashes, leaving the boys stranded on a deserted island, the boys try to manage themselves in a civilized way, but instead end up becoming savage. Lacking of being in a civilized area, Roger one of the characters, starts attaining pleasure from hurting others. Jack the antagonist of the novel, due to his immense lust for power, he started showing attributes of savagery. Ralph the protagonist of the book who started off kind and supportive towards the idea of civilization, he too became a victim of savagery later on. As portrayed by Golding through the symbolic representation of the “Beast”, evil is an inborn characteristic that cannot be evaded and is forever within humankind. Similar to the Yin-Yang, a Chinese symbol for qualities in life, states that there is a bit of bad within everything good and a bit of good within

Imagine yourself in one of the characters shoes in the novel “Lord of the flies.” You would see yourself loaded with responsibilities, major decisions, etc. “Lord of the Flies” represents a microcosm of adult society. The island can act as a democratic government, demonstrate knowledge, and each character can demonstrate an aspect of adult society. William Golding was in the Royal Navy during WWII. He creates a smaller image for what’s really happening in the world.

This included building huts, gathering food and holding assemblies. Because of people who had different views on what was right the group became separated. This created a minority and a majority. The two groups were mainly depicted as the boys who had changed and become ‘savages’ against the boys who were still humane and still had hope in being rescued. Over time, more and more boys left Ralph’s group of humane people and turned to Jack to become hunters. Everything that was once a clear picture and humane became a blur for these boys. The hunters, from their immature and violent attitudes towards each situation, it can be seen how they slowly stopped attempting to have and maintain a normal civilized life, like what they were used to living. This immature behaviour leads to the killing of two of their own, Simon and Piggy. This is because they are too ignorant to see that the only evil on the island was themselves.

The theme of The Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, is the reason society is flawed is because people are flawed. Although Piggy is knowledgeable, he has many flaws including his laziness and physical inabilities. Ralph is an authority seeker. He sets rules and laws, yet does little to enforce them. Ralph wants to be the ruler, without doing the work to enforce his laws. Jack is persistent. He is rude, harsh and violent in order to get what he wants. He wants to be supreme. Piggy’s flaws are impactful in the story. His laziness and lack of physical ability hurt him in his quest for survival.