Lord of the Flies
Authority on the Island
Fairness, fear, and intellect; it can all be found today in present society. Moral leaders who rule with the voice of law, choice, and the standards of civilization; evil tyrants that manipulate the power of fear so that their subjects are forced to succumb to their rule and authority; and finally the intellects with their sheer brain power and keen thinking to convey ideas of how society ought to be governed. In Lord of the Flies by William Golding, the characters of Ralph, Jack, and Piggy are attached to symbols to convey their authority, which can represent different types of leadership and power in modern civilization.
Ralph is one who rules based on order. In the beginning of their adventure, Ralph gains leadership as chief of the island as he is the one in possession of the conch –a symbol of society’s rules and civilization. Ralph’s authority is connected to the conch; its state of power among the boys reflects directly on him. The boys first follow Ralph after he calls them together for assembly after blowing the conch. They immediately agree who will be leader on this island, as they say “let him be chief with the trumpet-thing” (Golding 22). The younger children immediately respect Ralph and his position as they recognize the conch as being the closest thing to order and structure, as it called them together in a civilized state and allows anyone that holds it to speak and share their ideas among the group. They are also able to vote and make decisions, which alludes to a democracy-like government so far. As the boys say, one obeys the summons of the conch because “Ralph blew it, and he was big enough to be a link with the adult world of authority” (59). Through the conch, Ralph is able to state his authority and voice his ideas of productivity and the use of the fire as a signal across to the entire group of boys. He is the ideal leader that the boys have grown to be accustomed with back home in England. Overall, Ralph is a
Fairness, fear, and intellect; it can all be found today in present society. Moral leaders who rule with the voice of law, choice, and the standards of civilization; evil tyrants that manipulate the power of fear so that their subjects are forced to succumb to their rule and authority; and finally the intellects with their sheer brain power and keen thinking to convey ideas of how society ought to be governed. In Lord of the Flies by William Golding, the characters of Ralph, Jack, and Piggy are attached to symbols to convey their authority, which can represent different types of leadership and power in modern civilization.
Ralph is one who rules based on order. In the beginning of their adventure, Ralph gains leadership as chief of the island as he is the one in possession of the conch –a symbol of society’s rules and civilization. Ralph’s authority is connected to the conch; its state of power among the boys reflects directly on him. The boys first follow Ralph after he calls them together for assembly after blowing the conch. They immediately agree who will be leader on this island, as they say “let him be chief with the trumpet-thing” (Golding 22). The younger children immediately respect Ralph and his position as they recognize the conch as being the closest thing to order and structure, as it called them together in a civilized state and allows anyone that holds it to speak and share their ideas among the group. They are also able to vote and make decisions, which alludes to a democracy-like government so far. As the boys say, one obeys the summons of the conch because “Ralph blew it, and he was big enough to be a link with the adult world of authority” (59). Through the conch, Ralph is able to state his authority and voice his ideas of productivity and the use of the fire as a signal across to the entire group of boys. He is the ideal leader that the boys have grown to be accustomed with back home in England. Overall, Ralph is a