Hades In Lord Of The Flies Research Paper

When Boys Become Gods

Could you imagine Ralph as Cronus, the most powerful Titan? What Greek gods do characters like Jack and Roger represent? Are there similarities in the Titanomachy and the fall of humanity? Would these boys fit the gods of Olympus? In Lord of the Flies, William Golding uses mythological allegory in the boy’s personalities, leadership roles styles, and the Titanomachy to show their similarities to Greek gods.

The Titan Cronus and Olympians Zeus and Hades have similar personalities to Ralph, Jack, and Roger. In Lord of the Flies, Ralph has Cronus’ personality traits. Like Cronus, Ralph was the chosen leader of the schoolboys stranded on the island. In Lord of the Flies, the description of Ralph was “But there was

a stillness about Ralph as he sat that marked him out: there was his size, and his attractive appearance...” (Golding 22). Cronus had the same characteristics. He was tall, attractive, a good strong leader, who ruled over the Titans.

Jack from Lord of the Flies represents Zeus.

Zeus is very powerful, persuasive, and brave Olympian. Jack’s personality has similar characteristics to those of Zeus. Even though Golding describes Jack as “tall, skinny, and bony” in Lord of the Flies, we see Jack’s qualities of power, persuasion, and bravery (20). Both Zeus and Jack have leadership qualities in their personalities that make them strong leaders.

Another god represented by a boy in Lord of the Flies is Hades. When I thought of Hades, the character who portrayed him was Roger. Roger was Jack’s right hand man.

As we read the novel, the development of Roger is more prominent. Hades wanted full power instead of his brother Zeus being in charge. Like Hades, we see the desire for power increasing in Roger. Once Jack’s tribe had persuaded most of Ralph’s tribe to become savage, we see the increase of Roger’s desire for power by his actions in killing Piggy. All three of these boys accurately represent the Titans and

gods.

With every leader comes a different style of leadership. Cronus ruled alone. He was the head Titan, controlled the other Titans, and made the major decisions that affected everyone. We see this with Ralph in Lord of the Flies. Ralph lead the boys on the island independently; created the rules; and made the major decisions that affected the boys. Without Ralph’s leadership, we can assume there would have been much more chaos on the island. Similarly, without Cronus leading the Titans, chaos would have occurred between them and nothing productive would happen.

When Jack became jealous of Ralph, his leadership roles are exposed. He lead as he wanted things to be, mainly focusing on killing and savageness. When Jack left the tribe in Lord of the Flies, he said “I’m going off by myself. He can catch his own pigs. Anyone who wants to hunt when I do can come” (127). This statement shows that Jack focuses on killing over other aspects of survival. He had many boys follow him and help. Similarly, Zeus ruled in Olympus with his brothers and sisters. Zeus was head god, the most powerful, and each of his brothers and sisters had a specific role they played in the government.

Roger is Jack’s right hand man, who he craved to overtake Jack. He was violent and savage; murdering Piggy and assisting in killings of Simon and sows. Likewise, Hades was very jealous of his brother, Zeus. He desired to be head of Olympus, but was sidelined as a secondary god. Hades is violent, arrogant, and uses powerful force when he tells others what to do.

Like Roger, Hades tortured people who entered the underworld.

In addition, Hades gave his wife Persephone “the forbidding fruit pomegranate, forcing her to remain in the underworld with him for one third each year” (“Hades”). Overall, Jack, Ralph, and Roger have the same leadership styles as Cronus, Zeus, and Hades.

Cronus wanted to ensure his safety of power, thus he ate all of his offspring. His son, Zeus, was saved by his mother. Using her cleverness and intelligence, Rhea “tricked Cronus into swallowing a rock, instead of Zeus” (“Cronus”). When Zeus grew of age, he poisoned Cronus. All of Zeus’ siblings came out of Cronus, and Zeus overthrew his father. As leading god on Olympus, he drew in his siblings and they ruled together. This change in power was the Titanomachy; “the great war that occurred between the Titans, the old generation of Greek gods, and the Olympian gods, led by Zeus” (“Titanomachy”).

Obviously there was more gore and myths to how Zeus came to power, but it is similar to how Jack overthrew Ralph. As we know from reading Lord of the Flies, Ralph was chief on the island where the boys were stranded. He kept order and peace among the boys, assigning jobs to each and creating rules. As time wears on, we see the boys turn savage and join Jack’s new tribe. With the deaths of Piggy and Simon, there was simply no hope for Ralph, the lone civil

boy.

Like Cronus, Ralph was overtaken by Jack, who is a stronger, more forceful leader than Ralph. Jack is Zeus; fresh, powerful, wise, and craves power.

Once gaining power, he has his tribe to back him up and help him. With Roger being his right hand man, what more could Jack need? Similar to Hades, Roger wants the limelight of power. Though he may not express his jealousy and hatred for Jack as strongly as Hades did towards Zeus, we definitely can conclude by Roger’s actions that he desires the role of chief. He is jealous and has hatred towards Jack, and we can infer that if Lord of the Flies were to continue, Roger would fight for power.
In conclusion, mythological allegory was expressed in Lord of the Flies whether William Golding intended it or not. We see similarities in the boys’ personalities, leadership styles, and the Titanomachy in comparison to the overthrow of civilization. The characteristics of Zeus, Cronus, and Hades match those of Jack, Ralph, and Roger. When it comes to leadership styles, we see the similarities through their actions and attitudes. As for the comparison of the Titanomachy and the overthrow of civilization, we can clearly see the shift in power, the change in attitudes; and switching of power. In relation to modern day, there is similarities within our government, communities, and even in our own classroom to those of Greek mythology and Lord of the Flies. All you have to do to see these similarities; is to open your eyes, listen with your ears; and use your knowledge to make the connections.