Lord of the Flies by William Golding

Their ignorance is evident when Ralph persuades the boys to accept his authority by claiming he wants to both survive and enjoy himself on the island: “This is what I thought. We want to have fun. And we want to be rescued” (p.37). But when he fails to prove such by prioritizing the fire, Jack uses it to his advantage when taking control, as seen when Ralph says to the remaining boys: “Sit down all of you. They raided us for fire. They 're having fun” (p.141), and when Jack attempts to recruit boys by saying: “Who’ll join my tribe and have fun?” (p.150). Jack uses the boys’ desire to have fun to gain support and popularity. Having fun is easy, careless, and freeing, which can often quickly turn into reckless and thoughtless. When they are given the choice choice to be free or listen to instruction, they choose the easiest and most appealing option, which does not include maintaining civil order. Piggy’s intelligence is also ignored by the boys such as when Piggy has the conch and claims he has the right to speak, but: “[The boys] looked at him with eyes that lacked interest in what they saw” (p.44). An overload of knowledge, like in Piggy’s case, can bore one’s audience and make people dread their appearance, and lead to mockery and chaos. Also, Piggy falls into the category of the stereotypical “nerd”. This is evident from the beginning: “He came

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.

Piggy works as the “rational world” in the novel, and that helps Ralph with his decision making pertaining the group. Although Ralph does not always acknowledge Piggy’s suggestions, they still show the reader what should be done and how the island has affected others’ reasoning. He could bring the group back to reality, even for just a

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.

The Lord of The Flies, an amazing and controversial book written by William Golding does have some interesting views on society. If you look on the surface you see some kids who are doing what kids do and that is to be crazy and have fun. However, if you look deeper you'll find the roots of Golding's beliefs on society and humanity as a whole. It's more of a pessimistic view. There's also the view of Jean Jacques Rousseau, the author of "Dissertation on the Origin and Foundation of the Inequality of Mankind". They're complete opposites but both have some interesting points on the nature of mankind.

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

After detecting smoke coming from the island a British naval officer goes to investigate: “I should have thought that a pack of british boys- you’re all british aren’t you- would have been able to put up a better show than that,” (Golding 202). Britain was one of the most advanced societies of the early to mid 1900’s, and complete mayhem emerging out of a group of British boys stranded on an island is more than shocking for the naval officer. It is ironic that the same boys who boldly stated, “We 've got to have rules and obey them. After all, we 're not savages. We 're English, and the English are best at everything,” (Golding 40), quickly regressed into the primal habits of mob mentality. Lord of the Flies was written shortly after World War II. A strong connection can be made between the leadership of the antagonist, Jack, and World War II icon: Hitler. The two leaders both display devoted followers, and a corrupt sense of leadership and control. Golding insists that fear and mob mentality provoke irrational thinking by placing Jack and his followers’ unintelligible response to fear in contrast with Ralph and Piggy’s diplomatic approach. Furthermore, Jack and his followers overcome their fear by providing comfort for each other with a tribal attitude, which ultimately leads to mindless calamity on the island.

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.

Life in itself is a power struggle whether you realize it or not. Just think about it, in the work place some employees work hard, but than other employees rise to do better than those employees. Everyone pursues power because it is the ability to influence or control the behavior of a group of people. Even the smallest dose of this power can change a person. For example, getting a promotion or a gaining a bit of fame and then, suddenly, they change their attitude toward their friends, family, and the rest of the people beneath them. Governments are no different; they fight for power just like the rest of us do. They just do it on a much bigger scale.

In William Golding’s Lord of The Flies, the detriments of an unrefined civilization, such as one without leadership and indulgent citizens who are amoral, can be catastrophic, causing extreme repercussions to society. A lack of solid leadership, such as the arbitrary leader Ralph, can cause confusion, apprehension, and chaos. Jack and other children often indulge their impulses which clouds their judgement causing them to undermine their society. By not reinforcing the difference between savagery and humanity, many people begin to die. Ralph clearly is not well-equipped to lead a group of young men.

Piggy is incapable of completing physical undertakings. This, in turn, lowers Piggy 's chance of survival on the island. Piggy brings forth a suggestion to make a sundial clock. Ralph explains his feelings about Piggy’s ideas. “… his matter-of-fact ideas were dull…” (Golding 65). “Piggy was an outsider, not only by accent, which did not matter, but by fat, and ass-mar, and specs, and a certain disinclination for manual labor” (Golding 65). Ralph exclaims the group doesn 't have the supplies for a sundial clock and thinks Piggy is uneducated. Ralph states Piggy just thinks of impractical ideas while he sits and does no physical labor. Piggy is different and does not blend in with the others, not only physically but he has a unique personality as well. Ralph wants complete control of the island. He wants to be in command of everything while he sits back and does nothing.

In the novel Lord of The Flies by William Golding, the characters Ralph, Piggy, and Jack represent important World War II leaders Franklin Roosevelt, Adolf Hitler, and Winston Churchill. Golding, who had served in World War II, was well aware of the savagery created, and used it to base his book on. Ralph represents Franklin Roosevelt , Jack represents Adolf Hitler, and Piggy represents Winston Churchill. Ralph being of the novel’s main protagonist is important in the outcome of the story because of his views like President Franklin Roosevelt, focus on keeping civilized during the hard times.