Literary Criticism Lord Of The Flies

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Lord of the Flies Literary Criticism

In the book Lord of the Flies, there is a major conflict in who should and who does have the leadership role. Jack and Ralph the two main characters have a constant fight at who is the leader which in turn causes major problems for them and the other kids survival. In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, the main character, Ralph’s leadership qualities at the beginning of the book are created by the symbolism of the conch shell which indirectly gave him the leadership role throughout the book and in the end once the conch lost its power, it’s dignity, and it’s sign of peace, hope, and freedom, Ralph did too.

The first piece of evidence is at the very first part of the story.They had already began …show more content…

Then at the same time, Jack did too, on page twenty, “ The group of cloaked boys began to scatter from close line. The tall boy shouted at them. “Choir! Stand still!” that was his command to his choir which they obeyed this is showing how Jack also had leadership qualities, how his “boys” followed, and listened to him and then how they supported him. This implied that they had respect for him, which he had to of earned, thus showing he may have had what they were looking for. It all came down to the the symbolism of the shell. On page twenty it went to show how the shell was symbolized when even Jack took notice of it, he …show more content…

On page ninety-nine it said “...Ralph took the conch from where it lay on the polished seat and held it to his lips; but then he hesitated and did not blow. He held the shell up instead and showed it to them and they understood.” This then shows a good bit of symbolism relating to his leadership qualities, by making that specific choice making another could have aroused much more trouble than needed, wanted or, appropriate. This went on to affect how they reacted to the beast’s possibly presence. It showed major leadership and smart thinking on the part of Ralph all of which is symbolized by the shell. In the story the shell represents the bravery, courage, intelligence, skill, and even patience Ralph ahd dealing with the others and surviving on the

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