Justice In Lord Of The Flies Essay

Which is better- order and civilization, or discord and complete anarchy? This book is about a group of adolescent British boys, ages six to twelve, who are marooned on a deserted island during World War II. With no adults around to tell them how to do things, they are left to create their own mini society. The main character, Ralph, is nominated to be chief. He is in charge of the fire and building shelters. The other main character, Jack, the head choir boy names his boys the hunters of the group. They hunt for pigs. An acrimonious conflict evolves between Ralph and Jack as they both want to be in command. Jack’s “hunters” have become savage and aboriginal, under his control, while Ralph is suffering to keep his group humane. The growing bitterness between the two boys leads to a gruesome and shocking outcome. In the story Lord of the Flies by William Golding the government that is authorized on the island crumbles because of a lack of ideals,

rights, and the organization of their economic and governmental systems.
One of the most significant ideals for a successful island is importance of life. Life is the most important ideal of them all because people should know that they are loved and that their lives matter. On the island in the story the boys do not care very much about preserving life or mourning death. They are only young so they do not see life and death as something to worry about. The boys think this is just a game and that they will be able to go home soon. The boys do not think of life as precious or short. “‘May we believe in and hallow the inherent beauty of the other, the earth, and ourselves, and...may the love we learn to share enrich us all’” (With Or Without God). In other words, the author is saying that everyone should love everything around them and believe in other people, things, and the world. The author is trying to tell the reader that they should value life and value other people. Only a few times did they ever think about the importance of life and death. “His mind was crowded with memories of the knowledge that had come to them when they closed in on the struggling pig, knowledge that they had outwitted a living thing, imposed their will upon it, taken away its life like a long satisfying drink” (Golding 70). In other words, Golding is saying that one of the boys is remembering what the feeling was like when the boys were killing the pig. This quote is displaying that only a few of the boys ever even thought about life or death. The way this boy is thinking shows the way the boys are slowly turning savage because in the quote the author says that the boys take the life of the pig like a long satisfying drink of water. If the boys had thought about the preciousness of life and sadness of death, their government might not have crumbled. This is one way the boys in the story fail to live up to these critical standards for their island to succeed. Which leads to the next ideal to have a successful island.
The second ideal for a succeeding island is equality. The reason equality is the second ideal for a succeeding island is because all people should have the same rights, no matter what gender, race, or ethnicity. The boys on the island do not have equality. They allow every boy the right to freedom of speech, but when certain people want to talk, the boys ignore them or laugh at them. “‘Shut up, fatty!’” (Golding 21). In other words, what the author is trying to show is that the boys discriminate by looks and do not always give everyone a chance for what they have to say. They call the boy, Piggy, fatty because they do not care what he has to say because they discriminate by looks. The boys do not have equality between their people, which causes many problems throughout the story. All of the boys should think they can say whatever they want without repercussions. “All people should be able to think of themselves as worthy of respect and none should have to see themselves as subservient” (Cockshott 153-154). In other words, the author is trying to say that all people should not see themselves as servants, but as equals. The boys on the island all do what they want but when they have meetings, they do not let everyone speak. The boys are not equal. This is another reason why the boys’ island is unsuccessful. Which leads to the last ideal for a successful island.
The last ideal to a successful island is justice.

Justice is the last important ideal because it is the act of keeping good and executing bad or evil. Justice is crucial for having a safe society. The boys on the island want to have justice but they cannot keep it in control. Like when Ralph suggests rules to keep the group in order, Jack becomes elated to set the rules right away. But they never get a chance to set the rules. “The world, that understandable and lawful world, was slipping away” (Golding 91). In other words, the author is saying that the easy world the boys knew is slithering away because of their loss of innocence and maybe a loss of justice. In the story, the boys struggle to keep the rules under control and to maintain justice. People have “...ideas of fairness and justice may be instinctual in nature” (Knauerhaze What Does Justice Mean To You?). In other words, the author is trying to tell the reader that everyone has a natural instinct to deliver justice to evil and keep things fair between

everyone.