Preview

The conflicts of "Lord of The Flies" by William Golding

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
518 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The conflicts of "Lord of The Flies" by William Golding
Conflicts of Lord of The Flies

All Stories contain conflict. Lord of the Flies is no exception. By examining the three types of conflict found in the novel, (person vs person, person vs self and person vs society/environment, we can see how Golding's use of conflict strengthens the work as a whole.

Piggy and Jack have always disagreed and stayed true to the political groups they relate to in that way. All throughout the novel Jack is always the first and most forward to oppose Piggy's civilized nature. On page seventeen one of the first real shows of conflict between Jack and Piggy happens when Jack cuts off Piggy in mid-sentence to say " You're talking too much, shut up fatty." Once again this conflict is shown through Piggy when on page seventy-four he shouts at Jack "You and your blood Jack Merridew! You and your hunting! We might have gone home!". Jack had left the signal fire to go out and went hunting with the rest of the boys. A democrat and an anarchist will never fully get along and throughout the novel avoid working with each other.

The main person against himself in the novel would have to be Simon, although only in the later chapters. Simon has seizures and these combined with the harsh environment lead up to a delirious conflict with his twisted subconscious in the form of a pig's head on a stick on page one-hundred-fifty-one, the Lord of the Flies. The head taunts Simon, playing at his emotional weaknesses and telling him to run along and play with the other boys. Simon gets a grip and manages to make a run for it in the jungle to face the beast. Simon had won the battle with his subconscious that held him against his will, but came to an unfortunate end at the hands of his own people, the boys.

Piggy may represent civilization, but the society of the boys is too harsh and primitive for him. He always tries to uphold civility and logic, yet his pudgy build and whiny demeanor label him an outcast to be ignored and disliked. On page seventeen

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Lord of the Flies by William Golding tells the story about a group of English boys who are stranded on an island after a plane that they were on was shot down. On this island the boys have the freedom of living without adults. They must find a way to set up a society that is livable in and that maintains order. However as time passes the characters see that those tasks are easier said than done. In Lord of the Flies, there are many different characters that show development and growth. Characters like Piggy, Ralph, and Jack all show signs of maturing and growth near the end of the book. Some of the characters were humane and try to maintain order, but other characters fall into the savagery that is within everyone. This statement is best depicted…

    • 689 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In William Golding's 'Lord of the Flies', a group of schoolboys find themselves on a deserted island alone after a plane crash. They attempt to form a society and elect a 'chief', however this fades and the boys begin to destroy the island and each other. Ralph, the main character and 'chief' of the society the boys initially form, is a character who drastically changes throughout the narrative.…

    • 926 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In The Lord of the Flies by William Golding, Golding emphasizes the conflict between two opposite impulses that are inside every one of us: whether to follow the rules and be in order, or to go into violence and turn into savages. Golding expresses this by using the protagonist and antagonist of the story, Ralph and Jack.…

    • 645 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Secondly, conflict is a big factor in the process of one losing innocence, for it causes not only physical damage, but psychological damage as well. The conflict between Ralph and Jack is clear from the beginning of the novel. Jack is clearly jealous when Ralph is chosen to be chief instead of him, but he still tries to gain power by becoming the head of the hunters. The readers see the struggle of Jack keeping himself in check during meetings. He always takes the conch away from the other boys and speaks without the conch. Jack is the centre of most of the conflict in the book. He is the one who feels like he is a better leader than Ralph and makes a whole new tribe to prove the statement. He constantly bashes on Ralph’s leading styles and…

    • 327 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ralph realizes that the savages would not know when they crossed the line because the broken conch and “the deaths of Piggy and Simon lay over the island like a vapour.” The deaths deluded Ralph’s mind making him think that there was no hope for the savages. The author implies that Ralph could not mentally deal with all the disasters that happened and lost all hope in the other boys.…

    • 579 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The boys hardly listen to Piggy because he is an outsider. The most obvious reason the boys consider him an outsider is because of his…

    • 738 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    There is no end to fear, no one can be saved from it, and nothing can make it forgotten. In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, a group of young, British schoolboys’ plane crashes on a deserted island during a war, leaving these young boys to fend for themselves with no adults. Throughout the book, the boys are driven by their fears of the island, eventually leading them to savagery. The boys become beasts within themselves as they tear and burn the island down to ash. Once the boys have lost all sense of humanity, and they stand amongst a burning civilization, a naval officer arrives on the island to rescue them. Realizing there is no true end to the fears they have all experienced, the boys break down, sobbing as the officer stands, waiting to take them all back to a war stricken world. By looking at the conclusion of Lord of the Flies, one can see how Golding uses it to show the effect of fear on the boys’ personalities; this is important because fear is the driving factor of society’s dismay.…

    • 913 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Piggy Lord Of The Flies

    • 244 Words
    • 1 Page

    Piggy is one of the main characters as well as one of the first characters we, the readers, meet. He is characterized by his glasses, asthma, and a level of decorum that direct decorum that any stereotypical Brit could envy. Within their community, he is seen as the voice of reason(see: direct). This makes his character particularly important as he is surrounded by other boys who would rather treat their crisis as a playground. However, this cynicism, on a deeper level, can be seen as a method of deflecting and a power play. On page 46, he looks upon the others with disdain as they rush up the mountain to start the fire. This separates him from the other boys, in case something goes wrong. And, of course, it does. Towards the end of chapter two, as the mountain is burning, Piggy scolds them for both not thinking, but also(and more importantly) not listening to him in the first place. These actions enable Piggy to pass the blame to everyone else and thus, allowing him to walk away with a free conscience even though their main hope for food just burnt and one of their own might be dead.…

    • 244 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Lord of the Flies William Golding uses allegories to illustrate the human psyche. Different characters are used to represent different parts of an individual 's mental structure: the impulses of the Id, the rationality of the Ego, and the moral understanding of the Superego. Golding carefully describes each character 's actions to coincide with each part of the psyche. Jack, Piggy, Simon, and Ralph are characters in the story that represent the psyche.…

    • 1014 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Piggy is a symbol of "civilization", because he supports rational thought along with a system of laws. He functions as a symbol for the values of a "civilized society", in contrast to a savage society created by Jack which lacks the values of a civilized society.. The conch is an example of law and…

    • 737 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In conclusion, although Piggy and Simon are categorized as outsiders, they could not be more different from each other. In a society without order, in which children are exposed to violence and murder, Piggy and Simon symbolize the civilized and the good of humanity. To quote “The Lord of the Flies”: ““What are we? Humans? Or animals? Or savages?”…

    • 634 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Piggy might have the most useful ideas, but he does not have authority in his voice. Any time he tries to speak the other boys interrupt him. None of the kids ever listen to him because no matter what he says they don’t care. For instance, on page 81 Piggy says “I don’t believe in no ghosts” and Jack responds to him “who cares what you believe fatty!” This proves that no one cares what piggy says or…

    • 437 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    He demonstrated that even when being shut out from others, you should always state your opinions within the community. His responsibility was to be different and share different ideas. Piggy always thought about consequences and put the boys before himself. However, Piggy was a coward. This lead him to being pushed around and blocked out. Many of the boys didn’t listen to what he has to say because they seen him as “less than”. It’s clear to see when piggy says,”I just take the conch to say this. I can’t see no more and I got to get my glasses back. Awful things has been done on this island. I voted for you for chief. He’s the only one who ever got anything done. So now you speak, Ralph, and tell us what. Or else –” (Golding 541). It is also evident when talking to Ralph he says, “Come away. There’s going to be trouble. And we’ve had our mean” (Golding 21). Piggy had a major responsibility of creating difference within the…

    • 1030 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Lord of the Flies Essay

    • 617 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In The novel Lord of the Flies, written by William Golding in 1954 a group of British boys is on a plane that crashes onto an island. As the boys attempt to fend for themselves, distinct personalities emerge. Piggy, who is bullied and teased, is a symbol of maturity. Meanwhile, Ralph is elected chief when they first arrive on the island, but he loses his leader ship to Jack. He is a symbol of optimism. Jack is evil and is a symbol of savagery.…

    • 617 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Golding characterizes Piggy as the outcast to give reason a voice so that readers can consider what could have happened had the boys listened to Piggy. This exemplifies the impact logic and reason could have in society. At the assembly discussing whether the beast was real, Piggy said, “I know there isn’t no beast…but I know there isn’t no fear, either...Unless we get frightened of people” (84). The boys laugh and completely ignore Piggy’s comment. Jack fosters the boys’ fear caused by the beast as they try to hunt it down. The fear and hunting helps turn the boys into the sadistic savages they are at the end of the book. This begs the question of what would have happened had the boys listened to Piggy’s comment. Their fears might not have…

    • 268 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays