War has always been a universal controversy. Whether it be for or against, everyone is expected to have an opinion. Throughout history, authors like have used books to analyze war within their pacifistic views. Perhaps the most artfully crafted book comes from a veteran who knows the truth of combat. In Lord of the Flies, William Golding expresses his pacifistic point of view by presenting the separation of humanity into good and evil, the exaggeration of evil, and the abuse of knowledge.
Foremost in the evidence of Golding's pacifistic belief is the separation of the boys into good and evil. Although he exaggerates Ralph's evil as a leader, Ralph himself is portrayed as the victim. He is rendered to “shuddering spasms of grief” (202 Golding),
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because he feels so much sorrow for his own losses to the evils of humanity. Golding portrays as a protagonist because he regrets what is lost due to the violence of the boys. Jack, on the other hand, is the picture of malevolence, stopped only by the naval officer, who would ironically be going off to kill potentially innocent people. Throughout the novel Jack continuously succumbs to the power and bloodlust of war. He pridefully exclaims “I cut the pigs throat!” (69). For his violent tendencies, he quickly becomes the antagonist of the novel. This separation of the two boys into good and evil based on if they yield to violence is a classic reminder of Golding's pacifistic view, although he exaggerates evil in all the boys. Within the actions of the boys, Golding often exaggerates evil in three different types of character:the leaders, the mindless followers, and the hunters. Although bringing the boys together was their only hope for survival, Ralph's ascension to leadership is portrayed in an interesting way, considering he is the protagonist. “His face was dark with the violent pleasure of making this stupendous sound [the noise of the conch]” (18). Golding chooses an ominous tone for what was a moment of hope, showing that Ralph, used to symbolize humanity and their leaders, was quick to abuse the power he discovered. He, as well as the other boys, don't begin with bad intentions, but their mindless actions are often presented with a malicious tone. While the Ralph is trying to scold the boys for letting the fire go out, they gloat over their kill (69). While they claim they killed the pig because there otherwise wouldn't be enough food, Jack laughs as he says “There was lashings of blood”(69). This is startling reminiscent of when soldiers raid enemy camps for rations and kill without care, although they are supposedly there for provisions. Golding uses Ralph to point out Jack's fallacy . “There was a ship […] and you let [the fire] go out” (70).The boys were used as a metaphor for the soldiers become mindless killers for their countries instead of helping to resolve the problem as they are supposed to do. Perhaps the most exaggerated evil lies with the hunters. From the midless chant of “Kill the pig. Cut her throat. Spill the blood” (69) to the brutal killing of the sow (135), they evolve into blood thirsty killers. This is similar to the actions of the soldiers who go into war and only wish to survive if covered in the blood of their enemies. Although most soldiers are not like this, Golding still emphasizes these evils in order to portray his anti-war view point. Along with these acts of general evil, Golding uses the abuse of knowledge as a destructive property of war. Golding shows the abuse of knowledge through the undoing of Piggy and the destruction of Piggy's glasses.
When Ralph finds the conch, Piggy is the one who understands its purpose, but Golding exemplifies the abuse of knowledge as Ralph becomes absorbed in the conch and its power to unite the boys, dismissing Piggy although he learns how to use the conch from Piggy. ”A conch he called it. He used to blow it and his mum would come” (15). This may only seem a slight infraction, but it represents Hitler's use of social Darwinism to encourage the unification of his people to slaughter others, but his quick dismissal of scientists who disproved social Darwinism. Another symbol of knowledge continuously abused throughout the novel is Piggy's glasses. They are stolen to create the fire, a symbol for hope.”[Piggy's] voice rose to a shriek of terror as Jack snatched the glasses off of his face. […] Ralph moved the lenses till a glossy white image appeared” (40-41). Although for good, wisdom is still taken by force and then the results ignored, and the fire so greedily created is allowed to die out (68). In Piggy's final stand, he tries to reson with the mindless evil one last time. “Which is better:to have rules and agree, or to hunt and kill?” (180). Although he is only trying to retrieve his glasses, he is killed and the conch shatters, a metaphor for how the boys destroy knowledge and social order while they are blinded by bloodlust. This is yet another parallel to the soldiers who go into war to help bring peace and soon get caught up in the rush of killing that Golding uses to express his pacifistic
sentiments. The eternal conflict between between humans will always be a controversial topic, and authors will always use their books to discuss their opinions on topics such as war. As history moves along, these books become more sophisticated in their hidden meanings. William Golding uses Lord of the Flies as a tool to express his pacifism by the emphasized evil of war, the constant views of good versus evil, and the misuse of intelligence.
William Golding, the author of the novel The Lord of the Flies, lived through the global conflicts of both world wars. World War II shifted his point of view on humanity, making him realize its inclination toward evilness. His response to the ongoing struggle between faith and denial became Lord of the Flies, in which English schoolboys are left to survive on their own on an uninhabited island after a plane crash. Just like Golding, these boys underwent the trauma of war on a psychological level. Ralph, one of the older boys, stands out as the “chief,” leading the other victims of war in a new world. Without the constraints of government and society, the boys created a culture of their own influenced by their previous background of England.
Ralph is the novel’s protagonist and tries to maintain the sense of civility and order as the boys run wild. Ralph represents the good in mankind by treating and caring for all equally, which is completely opposite of Jack’s savage nature. Jack is the antagonist in the novel and provokes the most internal evil of all the boys. Jack is seen at first as a great and innocent leader but he becomes t...
Moreover, Ralph is Golding’s symbolic method of democracy. To the audience, Ralph seems like Franklin D. Roosevelt during the World War II—he was certainly capable of stopping the World War II from breaking out, but he could not force anybody thus letting the War break out.
Ralph has several positive characteristics but he also has several crucial weaknesses that prevent him from being the perfect leader. In chapter one the boys decide who they want to be leader. The boys decide on Ralph, “”Vote for a chief!”…every hand outside the choir except Piggy’s was raised immediately. Then Piggy, too, raised his hand grudgingly into the air.” (Golding 18-19). From the very beginning Ralph is seen as the leader. He becomes the one the boys look up to and depend on to make decisions in their best interest. Ralph has natural leadership skills. Landing on the island with no adults to take control, the boys chose to follow the one boy who seems to be doing something productive, Ralph. An example of Ralph being purposeful and productive is when he blows the conch to get the attention of all the boys on the island and bring them together for a meeting. When Jack and his choir find the other boys gathered he asks where the man with the trumpet is, Ralph replies, “There’s no man with a trumpet. We’re having a meeting. Want to join?” (Golding 16). Ralph asks Jack and the choir boys to join the meeting because he wants all the boys to work together so they can be rescued as soon as possible. Other than his leadership and purposeful qualities, Ralph is also hard working. When tasks are given out to the boys, such as building shelters, hunting, gathering food, the hard work of most boys turns into play and exploration leaving Ralph to do most of the work by himself with little help from others. When the other boys gave up on their tasks Ralph continued working, this proves his hard work. Leadership, purposeful, and hard working are all positive qualities that helped Ralph succeed in the novel, but Ralph also had some majo...
After this incident we can see continual conflict between Ralph and Jack. We can see this when Jack proclaims that Ralph, “Isn’t a proper chief.” Golding is trying to show us that this conflict is very similar to the conflict between humanities inner barbarism and the living influence of reason. We can see other evidence of this conflict within ourselves, with the masks that Jack and his hunters put on. We are informed that Jack, “ rubbed the charcoal stick between the patches of red and white on his face” The mask represents the dark line (charcoal) between good (white) and evil (red) within ourselves. These masks also let the boys hide f...
Civilization versus savagery, order versus chaos, reason versus impulse, law versus anarchy, or simply good versus evil infinitely describe the dreadful encounters of humanity. Every battle, every political struggle, every account of internal strife embodies these conflicts. World War II demonstrates the key clash of good versus evil within society, being the most deadly, destructive and consequential war in history. After beginning in 1939, the war raged for six more years. The war’s estimated fatalities reach as high as 70 million, opening everyone’s eyes. Two significantly influenced individuals were John Knowles and William Golding, who wrote novels in response to World War II. Concerning Knowles, he joined the war effort as a part of the U.S. Army Air Force’s Aviation Cadet Program. Knowles’ novel A Separate Peace alludes to his view of World War II. Also, Knowles’ novel found its genesis in the author’s own experiences with discovering the emotional truth in his life. The story depicts a young man overcoming his immature and malicious ways through the death of a friend. Knowles acknowledges that he modeled Gene Forrester, the narrator, after himself and that Phineas, Gene’s friend, was modeled after Knowles’ own classmate. Similarly, Golding also demonstrates the dark side of human nature in his novel, Lord of the Flies. Golding’s novel focuses on a group of innocent boys that crash on a deserted island, causing them to fall into conflict and chaos. Golding’s pessimism regarding human nature derives from his experience in the Navy during World War II, where he served on mine sweepers, destroyers, and cruisers. Ultimately, both Knowles’ A Separate Peace and Golding’s Lord of the Flies display the themes of in...
He blows the conch and summons the deserted children together” (Li & Wu 1). While all the boys are interested mainly in playing and setting out to satisfy their own needs, Ralph is focused on building shelter and keeping a fire going to facilitate their rescue. As one can see, Ralph is “the representative of civilization and democracy, lives by rules, acts peacefully, and follows moral commands and values the good of the group, who dramatically reveals the condition of civilization and democracy in Golding’s time” (Li & Wu
When Ralph and Piggy find a conch, Piggy says, “A conch he called it. He used to blow it and then his mum would come.” One could view this as a subtle hint that Piggy has knowledge. The conch is also a symbol for law and order and Piggy is the person who starts the use of the conch. This parallels to the intelligentsia being smart enough to see the negative effects of Hitler’s rise. Before being killed piggy says, “Which is better, law and rescue, or hunting and breaking things up?”(180). chaos on the island is beginning to happen. This is important because like the intelligentsia During stalin’s reign they tried to maintain peace and order but in the end weren’t successful. But with democratic ideas comes justice and
Golding was such an excellent writer because even though his plot was incredibly simple it makes us think about the true meaning behind his words. Golding is able to convey vast information in simple ways through characterization such as when we see Jack manipulating the boys through pathos, Ralph establishing himself and relying on his ethos, and Piggy ineffectively attempting to use logos. The devote use of symbolism throughout the novel creates a unique writing style and conveys an elegant tone. When the novel is examined for rhetoric, knowledge of ethos, logos, and pathos is gained because of Golding’s ability to deliver a message through visual imagery, vivid character descriptions and the underlying messages in his
In the novel, Piggy represents intelligence and rationality because of how he thoroughly thinks through all situations that he faces and due to his exceptional ability to create simple solutions to any problem. At very beginning of the novel, shortly after emerging from the wreckage of the crashed plane, Piggy and Ralph first meet each other. As the pair walk along the beach, Ralph finds a conch, which gives Piggy the idea of using the conch to “‘call the others. Have a meeting. They’ll come when they hear us’” (Golding 16). Even after the initial shock of crash-landing on a presumably deserted island, Piggy is able to gather his wits and realize that their best chance of survival to gather all the boys and get some kind of organization established. Although Ralph found the conch initially, he was only attracted to it because it looked like “a worthy plaything” (16). Piggy however, unlike Ralph, immediately thought up a novel idea of how to use the conch to better their situation, by using it to gather everyone else, and to assess the overall predicament they found themselves in. Piggy was focused on long-term survival and sustainability rather than the short-term entertainment that the conch presented. People who have high levels of intelligence often possess extremely rational thinking methods. The Beast had begun to terrorize the mountain, particularly in the vicinity ...
As Ralph is trying to hide from them overnight, he wonders, “Might it not be possible to walk boldly into the fort… pretend they were still boys, schoolboys who had said, ‘Sir, yes, sir’- and worn caps? Daylight might have answered yes; but darkness and the horrors of death said no” (186). No matter how hard Ralph tries, he cannot discard his new knowledge of Jack and his tribe’s potential for evil and corruption. For a long time Ralph seems to be in denial; like many others, he seems to want to stay true to his belief in the overall goodness of the human heart. Ralph’s expectations for human kindness are finally challenged to the point of irreversibility when Jack attacks him and tries to pursue him on a vicious manhunt. When Ralph collapses on the beach and a naval officer arrives, “With filthy body, matted hair, and unwiped nose, Ralph wept for the end of innocence, [and] the darkness of man’s heart...” (202). One might think it strange that rather than rejoicing over rescue, Ralph and the rest of the boys cry out in grief. The young schoolboys come to understand the enormity of human greed and evil, and unfortunately it is a lesson that they will not be able to ignore or forget. They witness and play a role in their own loss of innocence, and the time they spend on the island teaches them what
William Golding said “I learned during World War II just how brutal people can be to each other. Not just the Japanese but everyone”. In the book “the Lord of the Flies”, Golding tells us about World War II and the Holocaust by making Ralph represent democracy and Jack represent dictatorship.
Ralph and Jack are characters that hold important symbolism in Golding’s novel and the significance of their relationship is quite evident as events begin to unfold. When Ralph gets elected as leader of their group, Jack Merridew is evidently mortified at the prospect of losing leadership against Ralph. In an effort to pacify Jack’s anger, Ralph negotiates with Jack and gives him authority over the choir boys. Satisfied with Ralph’s courtesy, both boys develop mutual respect and their relationship advances into acquaintanceship which only takes a matter of time to fall apart.
Golding first dramatizes the children's Id response in the first election. When faced with choosing a leader from amongst themselves, the children choose the strongest, tallest, and most beautiful: Ralph. They impulsively do what humans do everyday; they wanted to pick the most beautiful and powerful as a means to strengthen themselves....
William Golding’s Lord of the Flies is an author’s painting of the evil that resides in all of the human race. The tropical island setting presents an environment free from civil order introducing a battle ground for the war of good and evil. Showing different side of human nature one can ponder the question “What would I do?” Golding explains the good, bad and balance of human nature, revealing that in times of despair man can easily regress to a primitive state, leaving the strong willed to promote civil order, but often be extremely out numbered.