The book Lord of the Flies written by William Golding is a 1950’s best seller and is read in many schools across the nation today. It is compelling and addictive and the further the reader gets into the story, the easier it becomes to read. Ralph and Jack are the two ‘leaders’ in the book. Although, Jack isn’t chosen as the leader at first, as he descends into savagery and loses innocence, he has more and more influence on some of the boys. The two boys, Ralph and Jack, are very different but they still have some similarities.…
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.…
The author of Lord of the flies, William Golding, uses literary elements such as characterization to support his argument that man’s capacity for evil is revealed in his human nature. Golding uses his main characters- Jack and Ralph- as examples of inner evil. Jack is shown as unjust, mean and self-involved when “[he] took a step and…stuck his fist into Piggy’s stomach” (Golding 71). Additionally, Golding describes Jack as asticious, inimical, and down-right terrible.…
Power is often a source of violence in Lord of the Flies. The desire for power breaks down the boundaries set by rules and order, causes strife and competition, and governs the actions of many of the boys on the island. Once achieved, power has the ability to either improve or corrupt its holder. Ralph, the more noble of the two leaders on the island, is bettered by his position as chief; whereas Jack, the usurper, abuses his…
A well-known American author, Mark Twain, once said; “Everyone is a moon, and has a dark side which he never shows to anybody.” This proves that one’s human nature has a seed, growing inside, consisting of both good and evil. In the novel Lord of the Flies, written by William Golding, as the novel progresses, the nature of hunting changes. This persuades the boys to abandon the values of civilization, leading them to self-indulge themselves with savagery. At first, the main purpose of hunting is for meat. It is evident that the innocence within Jack and the hunters is present when they have a hard time adjusting to their new lifestyle. This can be seen when they fail to follow through with the killing of the piglet. As the novel advances, innocence begins to fade and savagery comes to light. Now that hunting is no longer being utilized for survival, Jack and the hunters exhilaration and enjoyment to kill shows when they murder the sow. The hunters excitement explains how…
Throughout the novel Lord of the Flies there is a continuous battle between order and civilization and its counterpart anarchy and viciousness. This battle is portrayed through two characters Ralph, who represents goodness and civilization and Jack, who represents a want for power and savagery. However,…
What does it feel like to lose humanity, to face an ever present conflict between the roles of civilization, and the urges that lead us to savagery? While many average Americans may be oblivious to this struggle, several characters in Lord of the Flies by William Golding represent this struggle. Characters can be seen giving into the impulse to shirk humanity as they act like savage hunters, constantly fighting for control, and committing great crimes against each other.…
The central theme of the Lord of the Flies is the influence of others. Each boy had to pick between a set of rules and morals to live by, dividing them into two groups. The conflict consisted of Civilization versus savagery. In one group the influence of Ralph was a sense of order and everyone lived by rules. The influence of good beliefs and values generated these boys from committing sinful crimes. In Jacks group, the boys were influenced by evil. The killing of animals empowered them to become sinful people. Jack would measure value in the group by ones immediate desire to kill coldblooded. To obtain authority you needed to act violently. These acts shaped how the boy’s mental state developed. Damaging the human they will grow up to be.…
Oriana Fallaci once said, “The moment you give up your principles, and your values, you are dead, your civilization is dead.” the boys on the island give up their values on the island, and ignore the rules set by Ralph. In Lord of the Flies, William Golding uses contracting characters, Ralph and Jack, to demonstrate how civilization and savagery can affect the world and how the kindest person can turn savage.…
In the novel Lord of the Flies William Golding writes about how a group of a group of civilized of British boys as they slowly descend into savagery. It starts when the boys who crash land on an island where any adults on the plane died leaving them to survive on their own. As they try to keep order they elect a boy named Ralph as their chief and Jack, who lost the election as chief, leader of the hunters. Simon, one of the other boys, is socially awkward but has more of a moral conscience then some of the other boys on the island. The novel Lord of the Flies is an extended metaphor which can be read as a psychological, social, and religious allegory.…
With no near site of rescue, an absence of maturity, and a craving for blood, a civilization will decline at a rapid pace. In the Lord of the Flies it does not take much for the boys’ civilization to crash and burn. This can be concerning, as it shows how rapidly a human can become wild when in a survival mentality. Humans crave power to the extent that it can make people do anything to get it. Jack and Ralph each were turned to power hungry tyrants at the slightest taste of it of its infamous glory .…
The inner savagery of man can be discharged under many circumstances. While the savagery is kept to a minimum with the current state of civilization, a flaw in the system is able to bring about the barbarity. The novel Lord of the Flies reflects on the ways in which savagery can be embraced within a person as shown in the character Jack. According to Lord of the Flies by William Golding, and the article “Leviathan” by Thomas Hobbes, man’s savagery can awaken through competition and selfishness, with their state of nature being capable of overpowering man’s senses and develop further following the loss of law and order.…
Humans are known for being brutal and vicious. Even as a kid when you take great pleasure in smashing and killing the bugs in your back yard, to when you turn 18 and join the army to be trained to kill. These kinds of things happen every day but rarely do you see them portrayed to the extent of what is really happening, in writing. In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, Golding uses characters like Jack Merridew and events like the pig kills to perpetuate the concept of fear and show the more brutal side of human nature.…
He conveys this theme through Ralph’s leadership, Jack’s priorities, and Jack’s leadership. Not only is this theme found in Lord of the Flies, but it is also found in the world today. For example, Hitler was a leader who ruled by fear. Others feared him, so the people, like the Jews, who had something to say did not get to, and they were killed. Hitler’s leadership shows how fear is all controlling and that he is not a good leader. Anyhow, both the Lord of the Flies and Hitler’s leadership show that fear is all controlling, and that a good leader is one who makes the right choice, not the popular…
Throughout the novel, Lord of the Flies, William Golding uses changes in the personality of characters to exemplify the negative effects of savagery and the idea that too much power will result in corruption. Jack’s mental and physical changes throughout the novel represent his and his follower’s descent into evil and savagery. Jack’s transition into his primal and uncivilized state can be directly linked to his growing desire for power. The postmodernist idea that too much power and strength leads to eventual destruction is shown when the rise of leadership wrongfully directs Jack and his crew down a path of savagery and despair.…