Challenges and choices are a part of every journey. They are significant factors to the end of many journeys. ‘Lord of the Flies’, a novel by William Golding, and the film ‘Freedom Writers’, directed by Richard LaGravenese, are texts which both involve these aspects of journeys and convey them to the audience in a number of ways. These journeys, like most others, involve challenges and choices which help overcome them.
Challenges or distractions need to be overcome in order to have a positive journey. There are many situations concerning challenges in ‘Lord of the Flies’. One of these occurs when the young schoolboys are stranded on a deserted island during World War II. This major obstacle must be overcome for the journey to be resolved. The boys are very young, and at first see their situation as an opportunity for adventure. Golding shows this through the use of language relevant to children, highlighting the innocence and naivety of the boys when they first arrive on the island. An example of this is when Ralph assures the boys that his “daddy” will rescue them soon. The only sign of maturity comes from Piggy, who realises the danger of their situation, as he tells Ralph “We got to find the others. We got to do something.” Piggy is a symbol for intelligence, and tells the boys and the reader that being stranded on the island is in fact a challenge that they need to overcome.
Ralph is represented as a symbol for civilisation, order and integrity. When he suggests to the other boys that they keep a signal fire in order to be rescued, he makes a choice to solve the problem. Again, Golding uses language relevant to children, emphasising the high degree of the challenge they are facing.
Another challenge overcome by choice in ‘Lord of the Flies’ is “the beast”. “The beast” is a deceased parachutist swept onto the top of the island near the signal fire. The boys are convinced it is a monster, subsequently keeping