Literary Analysis of Lord of the Flies

Many elements have the ability to interfere with our humanity and civilization. One element in 2013 that can change our humanity is technology. As Einstein once said, “I fear the day when the technology overlaps with our humanity. The world will only have a generation of idiots.” In The Lord of the Flies, William Golding shows us through the symbols of Jack Merridew and the Conch Shell that the desire to have power and instant gratification surpasses the importance of a civilization. Technology in the hands of people may surpass the importance of a civilization.
Jack Merridew is an ignorant yet intimidating 12-year old boy with a desire to be the most powerful and get everything the easy way. He becomes uncivilized and ends up wanting the easiest forms of satisfaction he can get. The hunters are at Jack’s beck and call. With his casual, bitter tone, Jack says to the hunters, “I’m going up to the mountain to look for the beast – now. Coming?” (Golding 119). The boys forget their urge to do anything but listen to him. Jack preys on their fears which fuel his desire for power. Their conspicuous fear makes him crave the power even more and gives him immediate satisfaction. The ritual dances that the hunters and Jack engage in with the white and red face paint “hide the chief’s blush” (Golding 161). Hiding his features gives Jack the feeling of more power and control. When Jack demands that the boys “take the fire from the others and hunt and get meat”, his lust for power shines through (Golding 161). Exploiting other people’s resources gives him the feeling of satisfaction; Jack wants the fire the easy way rather than making his own. Similar to Jack’s desire for power and his mentality of getting everything the easy way is technology in our world today. Technology gives instant gratification to many people just like Jack’s control, power, and exploitation over other people give him instant gratification. Jack’s desire for power is fueled by the hunters listening to everything he says.
The Conch Shell represents law and order, civilization, and authority, and it is surpassed by Jack’s desire for power. The shell is utilized in the ‘meetings’ that the boys have. Piggy takes a hold of the conch and declares “I got the conch. I got the conch, ain’t I Ralph? I got a right to speak” (Golding 45). Jack and the ignorant hunters “start to giggle and shriek with laughter” (Golding 45). Jack’s lust for power and satisfaction is revealed, and it makes the conch seem unimportant and futile. While Jack and the hunters are ritual dancing, “the conch is smashed to powder” (Golding 186). The symbol of law and order, civilization, and authority is destroyed. The smashing of the conch symbolizes how useless a civilization is to Jack and his followers. In our world today, technology, like the desire for power, can make a civilization less important. The immediate answers, results, etc. that we receive from technology can make us forget what a civilization is, similar to how Jack’s desire for power and instant gratification causes him to forget the importance of a civilization.
The desire for power and instant gratification, symbolized by Jack Merridew, surpasses the importance of a civilization in William Golding’s The Lord of the Flies. The conch symbolizes what a civilization is, but Jack’s desire for power and immediate satisfaction of his needs becomes more important than having a civilization. The conch shell is completely insignificant to Jack and the hunters. The symbol of Jack illustrates that there are many elements that have the ability to interfere not only with our humanity, but with our civilization as well. Sometimes our humanity itself cannot save us from fervent desires that can cause the failure of something very important like a civilization. In our world today, the instant gratification that technology gives us can make us forgetful of what truly matters in life. Similarly, Jack’s desire for power and satisfaction causes him to forget the importance of a civilization.