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Essays on theme of lord of the flies
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What is the role of an individual in society? The Lord of The Flies by William Golding follows some young English schoolboys who are stranded on an island and are forced to make a system of control. Everyone has to contribute to the overall civilization of the island otherwise there will be problems. The theme in this book shows the idea that teamwork makes the dream work. These boys need a controlled environment to make it a working government. The theme is a very important part of every story. There are many themes to this story but a big one is how the individual affects society. William Golding described this theme as: “an attempt to trace the defects of society back to the defects of human nature. The moral is that the shape of a society …show more content…
They try but do not succeed in creating and maintaining order (Smith). Jack tries to be the highest authority by showing leadership qualities and they decide to vote for a leader and Ralph gets elected. Jack, the guy who doesn’t care for Ralph talked to the group after being chosen, “[He’s] had time to think things out. [He] couldn’t decide what to do straight off. If this isn’t an island [they] might of got rescued right away. So [they] must figure out if it [was] an island. Everybody must round up and wait and not go away. Three of [them]- if [they took] more [they’d] all get mixed and lose each other- so three of [them would] go on an expedition and find out” (Golding 23).They tried to make one person a leader, make rules and order, and still satisfy their needs of having food and a signal fire. There is issues when everyone does not agree to the rules and stop participating in what is needed …show more content…
Jack and his crew were working well, they had enough food, shelter, and clothes. But when Ralph came along and people could not agree there was chaos. Jack and his men had their own system of order that had authority. This worked for a little bit. They wore masks which were like their uniforms, which made them differ from the other boys not teaming up with them (Spitz). Each man affects one another. “ It is merely to say that while no human society is completely without evil, the fact that there are differences in the levels of evil among societies indicates that factors other than “man” or “evil in man” play an important role. They make a real difference in the quality of human existence” (Spitz). A big element to how people act, is how the people around them act, there is evil in all places, but it is up to those individuals to let it take over and ruin their society or
Society The novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding is about a group of boys that were in a plane crash in the 1940’s during a nuclear War. The plane is shot down and lands on a tropical island. Some boys try to function as a whole group, but see obstacles as time goes on. The novel is about civilization and social order.
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.
Ralph shows that he has a better understanding of the boys than Jack. He knows that the boys need some sort of order on the island in order for them to survive. He starts a simple form of government and sets a few rules for them. Even though they don’t last very long, the fact that he tried to help the group is what makes him a better leader. Ralph’s wisdom and ability to look toward the future also has an advantage over Jack. He has a sense to keep his focus on getting off the island. When the fire goes out, Ralph gets upset because the chance to be rescued was gone as well. Ralph enforces his role of leadership as he gives the boys a sense of stability of an authority figure. He keeps the boys in pretty good order at the meeting by making a rule that they can only speak if they have the conch. Ralph knows that the littleuns are afraid and they need shelter to feel more secure. They work together for a while, but as the time goes on the smaller boys want to go play. They slowly lose all their help until Simon and Ralph are the only ones left to work on them. Ralph knows that this is a necessity and keeps bringing it up at the meetings. Jack, on the other hand, is doing nothing but causing chaos.
The political system that they had on the island was corrupt. It wasn't the system but the individuals who were responsible for corruption in society. At first they had a leader, Ralph. He made rules, held meetings and tried to keep things in order. Soon Ralph's rules are being ignored and questioned. Jack was too concerned with hunting, to worry about the other things that can keep them alive, like the signal fire that would get them rescued, Madness came into his eyes. "I thought I might kill." "But you haven't yet (51)." Soon, Jack decides he's had enough of Ralph, "I'm not going to be part of Ralph's lot. I'm going by myself. Anyone who wants to hunt when I do can come (127)." He lures the other boys away and makes a tribe. Ralph's community deteriorates. Jack is responsible for the corruption of their society.
One of the reasons that the boys fail to effectively govern themselves is due to their lack of equality, which Rousseau argues is a necessity. Since this component is missing from the island, the result is that the citizens are unsatisfied with the leadership.
The island in Lord of the Flies represents "a microcosm of human society." Stranded on an island where no definite authority is to be obeyed, the boys quickly forget the social standards that their parents have impressed on them. Eventually, the wildness of their ids cannot be suppressed. They lose their pride as "British boys" and choose their leaders, their social groups, and their lifestyles with their basic instincts rather than with practicality. Fear and superstition rule the island instead of the laws of science. Without the constant pressure of society's expectations, the boys display the fundamental elements of human nature in the way that they choose to live.
In the beginning of the novel, Ralph, is a pure child, who is “turning handsprings of joy upon finding an island free of adult supervision” (Oldsey 3). He is a typical boy with average capacities and desires for rescue and enjoyment. Therefore, Ralph is the standard representation of order, leadership, and civilization. Hence, after landing on the island, he does what civilization has taught him to do, using diplomatic means and intelligence to create a democratic leadership that will help the boys attain rescue. For instance, Ralph calls for an assembly with the conch, a representation of civilization’s order and rules, which helps him be the “strong conscience, the one to bar against savagery and instill civilization” (Anjum 5). Furthermore, his urge for a fire to be made for rescue, huts for safety, and a division of power to gain all survival necessities are other ways Ralph hoped to further civilize the boys. Therefore, Ralph’s determination to keep civilization in the boys’ life is what makes Ralph the better leader than the power-driven Jack ...
The boys decide that the first thing they ought to do, to be rescued, is to have a chief and to make rules. The boys want to belong to a group with a leader to feel safe. They decide to have some sort of Government. They chose to have one chief to follow. Once Ralph is selected as chief, he starts assigning jobs and tasks.
Society bounds everyone together, and without societies standards, morals, values, and the basis of wrong and right is gone. Without society 's strict rules, mayhem, and savagery can come to show. In, Lord of the Flies, William Golding displays that when one is faced with the need of survival; savagery overtakes society through internal conflict, to show that desperation can cause one to make unreasonable decisions.
the story of a group of boys stranded on a deserted island to examine a multitude of
During World War II, the United States killed 90,000 to 166,000 people in Hiroshima with an atomic bomb. The bombing of Hiroshima demonstrated the uncivilized behaviors of humankind: hunger for power, misuse of technology, and subconscious reactions to conflicts. Lord of the Flies, an allegorical novel by William Golding, illustrates a horrific tale of boys who are stranded on an island and lose their ability to make civil decisions. Throughout the book, Ralph and Jack fight for power, Piggy’s spectacles are constantly taken to create fire, and several of the boys become “savage” and act upon their subconscious minds. From a sociological perspective, Golding’s novel portrays man’s voracity for power, abuse of technology to the point of destruction, and his venture to inner darkness.
Inside all of man is inherited evil that is concealed by our surroundings, and the society around us. Lord of the Flies reveals that without a structure, man is an evil savage beast. The young group of boys show that humankind is inherently evil through aggressive control and power. When the boys are put to do their duties, Jack starts become more demanding and belligerent towards his group of choirboys. When Jack tells Ralph, “I’ll split up the choir-my hunters that it, “ (Golding 42). Jack tries to show his suppirouness over the choirboys and how they are becoming more and more like savages. Jack then begins show his need for control and power by breaking the rules and doing his own thing, for example he says, “ Bollocks to the rules! Were strong- we hunt! If there’s a beast , we’ll hunt it down! We’ll close in and beat and beat and b...
Theme plays a very important part in this short story. Theme is the idea of a literary work abstracted from its details of language, character and action. The great example of theme that is evident throughout the entire short story is the duty to perform certain acts. We can see here that the Irishman Donovan is very big on obeying his duty to carry out orders that have been authorized to him.
The war is predicated on true devastating destruction which killed many people due to their ID surmounting. Darkness v.s Light, Fear versus joy, is how the island used to operate until the survivors meet the “beast” in person. William Golding wrote the book Lord of the Flies to represent how the island functions as a microcosm of the mind, but also show how the beast represented the ID that eventually took over the island and mainly Jack and Simon for how they conjecture the beast.
It seems as though there is so much more evil than good in the world today. We hear of war and fighting 24/7 but we rarely hear about the good things that happen. Everyone is born with both good and bad within them. We, as humans, must choose which one we want to be. In The Lord of the Flies, Ralph is good while Jack is evil. Ralph represents the good side of us while Jack represents the evil side. Although sometimes it is easier to be evil, it pays off to be good. The novel is a perfect example of how all people are born with both sides. At the beginning, the boys choose the good side, with morals and civilization. But as the story moves on, the boys find it more exciting to be on the bad side. It shows that all the boys are torn between good and bad and there is a very thin line that separates both. We realize that people are born inherently good and bad because in life there are always right and wrong choices, children are born good but are easily influenced to do bad, and it is always harder to do what is right than what is wrong.