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Lord of the flies character development analysis
Lord of the flies character development analysis
How authoritarian parenting affects children positively and negatively
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In the novel. Lord of the Flies, the author develops Ralph’s desire to remain civilized, and to create a structured society that is similar to a dictatorship, government which the leaders have absolute authority. Additionally, Jack’s actions reflect fascism, authoritative leadership emphasizing aggressive nationalism. Initially, Ralph embraces the adventure and risk in regards to the island. This sense of escapade was illustrated when he imagined the island as a ship going on a great voyage. However, it becomes evident that he desires structure when he demands that conch is to allow its holder to speak freely, though only he and Jack apparently have such a prerogative. By doing so, it shows that Ralph wants control that is similar to an authoritarian
The Lord of the Flies is one big allegory, the way the boys are formed on the island is similar to different governments our world has had before, and currently have. The type of government that the island has, changed throughout the book. In the beginning the government is a democracy, but towards the end it changes to a dictatorship. This dictatorship is run by Jack who gathers followers when he promises pig meat, and fun. This idea is shown throughout the book, in many places, through objects, and actions.
The Lord of the Flies is a gruesome story about young boys stranded on an island, who underwent a transformation from polite British choir boys to savage hooligans. One of the main difficulties the boys face during their adventures upon the island, is their method of government, they either follow the path of Ralph, the democratic leader whose main focus is to escape the despairing island; or Jack a power-hungry monarchical leader who won't ever take no for an answer. The two boys are constantly bickering and arguing over who deserves the leader-position. We all understand Ralph wants to be leader so that he can ensure that the boys will return back home, but in Jack's case, it is a constant mystery to us about why he wants power over the other children. But we do get much small hints from the author, William Golding, that Jack's biggest fear among the other children on the island is public humiliation. This becomes more and more evident the farther on into the book, and his fear seems to be what persuades him to reach for a powerful position.
In Lord of the Flies, there is a theme that runs throughout the book that relates to a historical instance that changed society. Throughout the book there is a power struggle between Jack and his hunters and Ralph, the Littluns and Piggy. Jack represents a dictatorship and Ralph and the others want a democracy where everyone’s opinion and vote matters. This correlates with the civil war times, when the North wanted freedoms and equality for all people and the south wanted to dictate how others lived. Jack represents the oppressive southern states that wanted to rule over the black Americans. Ralph represents the northern states that wanted a democracy where everyone’s ideas mattered.
In the book The Lord Of The Flies , the characters all have a need for approval, recognition. Alot comes into play when it comes to seeking approval or at least know that they have somewhat of a big role on the island. Ralph is someone who naturally has leadership qualities but doesn’t expect respect, and recognition. Ralph was the one who always had the conch and called assembly's and set rules. In part of the book Ralph gets fed up with all the littluns not listening to the rules so he calls an assembly, and starts talking about the rules after he finishes his speech ¨the circle of boys broke into applause¨( Golding 23).After the boys broke into applause Ralph felt a breeze of pride he also felt importance because “ we all have what we may call the desire for reputation or prestige, recognition,attention, importance or attention”( Maslow 6).
William Golding’s Lord of the Flies is a story much like the true events of the totalitarian Soviet Union. The original leader in Lord of the Flies introduces himself simply as “Ralph”(Golding 8). Althought his priorities are good, his way of governing is certainly harsh: “ ‘You voted me chief. Now you do what I say ’ ”(115). Later in the book, power is switched to another leader of the group, Jack Merridew. Golding shows his style of rule as also very forceful. “‘There isn’t a tribe for you anymore… I’m chief!’” (261) Jack states. Although both of the leaders are very commanding, Ralph was elected, like a democracy, and Jack forced his way into power through false hope. The result ended up more like a dictatorship.
Lord of the Flies by William Golding is a novel that represents a microcosm of society in a tale about children stranded on an island. Of the group of young boys there are two who want to lead for the duration of their stay, Jack and Ralph. Through the opposing characters of Jack and Ralph, Golding reveals the gradual process from democracy to dictatorship from Ralph's democratic election to his lack of law enforcement to Jack's strict rule and his violent law enforcement.
In the book, Lord of the Flies, William Golding connects a disaster to a bunch of little English kids with the government and civics. There are at least five different ways William Golding connects the civics and the boys that were stranded on the island. Some of the events are reflected directly from our government. The Constitutional principles tie into the book a lot by the popular sovereignty, limiting powers, sharing powers, separation of powers, and protecting against tyranny. There are many different elements of the government which includes voting, symbol of government authority, and committees which are of the most important.
Without government, society degenerates and people lose their capacity for moral behaviour. Survivors in Haiti say that if other countries had not provided aid and restored order, there would be much more violence and everyone would only serve themselves. In the novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding, the author uses the events on the island to demonstrate that people require government to restrain their impulses. The creation of a democratic government with Ralph as chief allows the inhabitants of the island to make decisions together and take everyone’s viewpoint into consideration. Soon, however, the democracy begins to be disregarded. When Jack creates a dictatorship, he fails to restrain the impulsive behaviour of the boys, which demonstrates the superiority of Ralph’s government.
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.
At the meetings, a sense of order is instilled because the boys are not allowed to speak unless they have the conch. He knows that the boys “can’t have everybody talking at once.” (31) This is something that Ralph establishes very early in the novel in order to avoid chaos and remain civilized. So to make communication during a meeting easier he announces that they will “have to have ‘Hands up’ like at school” which he will follow up with handing the person the conch. (31) Ralph is able to keep the boys under control by holding meetings. Ralph doesn’t fear about others acknowledging his leadership in the same way as Jack. While Jack continuously strikes fear in others to keep his power, Ralph only confrontates when someone is going against what is good for the community. One such example is when the fire goes out and Piggy calls Jack out on failing to tend to the fire, Jack becomes enraged and punches Piggy and breaks his glasses. When this happens, Ralph stands up and scolds Jack for his behaviour, and later, his apology, saying that it was “a dirty trick.” (76) After Jack leaves their group and war breaks out, Jack attacks Piggy and takes his glasses. Ralph goes up to Jack and offers him that they both could have used Piggy’s glasses for fire. Ralph still attempts to take responsibility for everyone and is still trying to get everyone rescued. He attempts to sort out this problem with Jack by negotiating in a civilized manner rather than resorting to savage violence. Only Ralph and Piggy know the need for rescue. Ralph struggles to keep a shaky peace and prevent violence. His meeting with the Lord of the Flies teaches him about the darkness in a human’s heart, which he finally comes to understand when he is rescued by a naval
Firstly, a notable trait that distinguishes Ralph from the other children on the island is his ability to think more rationally. As the boys become influenced by Jack’s rule, they regress into uncivilized savages that lack discipline. Whereas, Ralph is wisely able to keep the boys under order, which is particularly apparent through the meetings that he regularly holds. It is in those meetings that circumstances can be confronted with rationality and equanimity. For example, Ralph instructs the boys with, “I’ll give the conch to the next person to speak. He can hold it when he’s speaking,” (Golding 36). By saying this, Ralph enforces his role of a leader by making rules for the boys on the island to
Throughout the novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding, many different conflicting societies develop. These groups of young English schoolboys have conflicts between them for many different reasons. Some of them are so spread apart in age that their beliefs and actions are very different. Other groups are conflicting because they have different opinions about who the leader of the entire group should be. The groups also argue about what their priorities should be while trapped on the island. These conflicts continue to grow until the very end, when one group finally gains supremacy.
In William Golding's novel, Lord of the Flies Ralph though not the stronger person, demonstrates a better understanding of people than Jack which gives him better leadership qualities. Ralph displays these useful human qualities as a leader by working towards the betterment of the boys' society. He knows the boys need stability and order if they are to survive on the island. He creates rules and a simple form of government to achieve this order. Jack does not treat the boys with dignity as Ralph does. Ralph understands that the boys, particularly Piggy, have to be given respect and must be treated as equals. This makes Ralph a better leader as he is able to acknowledge that he was not superior to any of the other boys. Ralph's wisdom and ability to look to the future also make him a superior leader. Ralph has the sense to keep his focus on getting off the island. He insists on keeping the fire burning as a distress signal. Ralph's leadership provides peace and order to the island while Jack's leadership makes chaos.
He tries to keep a democracy, but Jack's aggressive nature does not allow it to last very long. Ralph is probably the most likable person in the book, because of his good nature and his handsome looks, "His size and attractive appearance". Ralph means "counsel" in the Anglo- Saxon language, and he's the one who calls all the meetings by blowing the conch, and he's chosen as the leader. The conch is seen as a powerful symbol, and he holds it. Ralph does not specialize in any area of human behaviour, except maybe for having common sense (building shelters, climbing the mountain to see if it is an island) and Jack can be seen as his opposite.
For years, Lord of the Flies by William Golding, has been a staple in college, high school, and even middle school classes. The eloquent story follows a group of young boys stranded on a jungle island. They are left thousands of miles away from civilization and are left to survive by themselves. Throughout the story, many insights in leadership are seen through the power struggle between Ralph and Jack. Both have extremely different styles of leadership with varying levels of success. Lord of the Flies teaches me about leadership in the initial selection of the leader, how they solve problems, and how they motivate others.