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Reflection on lord of the flies by William golding
Summary of Lord of the Flies by William Golding
William Golding Lord of the flies analysis
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“In a democracy, you either believe it or not. However, in a dictatorship, you believe it or else” (Evan Esar). Many people in this world believe democracy is far off better than dictatorship because obviously, they want freedom and the chance to express their own opinions. Similarly in Lord of the Flies by Golding, Ralph was a democratic leader while Jack was a dictator. They both had very different views and beliefs on what they wanted to do on the stranded island. Ralph was more of keeping order and assigning responsibilities to everyone, including himself while Jack was the chaotic one, who was just giving orders to the boys. Therefore, the boy that would make the best national leader for his tribe would be Ralph. From the beginning of this novel, Ralph showed equality among all the boys as well as …show more content…
He had always wanted control over the boys and wished to be the leader at the beginning. Jack believed that he would be the best leader because he was in charge of the choir boys. Even though the boys voted him out he still gave orders to them. In the novel, Jack states, “Shut up, fatty!” (Golding 20). This quote shows the reader how Jack wants to take control over everyone and what they should and should not do. By shutting the boys up and stopping them from expressing their opinion on something Jack created fear inside them. Moreover, Jack intimidated the boys into obeying him. By creating this fear inside them, the boys obeyed him and agreed to whatever Jack ordered them to do. In the text, Golding states, “Jack, painted and garlanded, sat there like an idol. There were piles of meat on green leaves near him, and fruit, and coconut shells full of drink” (Golding 149). This quote displays Jacks’ comparison to the idol and how he uses fear to control the boys. Jack shows his rebellious personality and control over the boys, through the book, which makes him a dictatorship
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.
Also, Golding describes the forest like he describes Jack. for example when he says ‘the forest and he was very still’. This emphasises the close connection between the two. Another way in which the author conveys Jack’s regression to a more. savage state is by making him seem more animal like.
Ralph is the novel’s protagonist and tries to maintain the sense of civility and order as the boys run wild. Ralph represents the good in mankind by treating and caring for all equally, which is completely opposite of Jack’s savage nature. Jack is the antagonist in the novel and provokes the most internal evil of all the boys. Jack is seen at first as a great and innocent leader but he becomes t...
Ralph is one of the few boys who realize that the only way to survive is through peace and order. Because he summons the boys at the beginning of the novel with the conch he and Piggy find, they look upon him as the most responsible of the boys and elect him as a chief over the humiliated Jack. Ralph creates a stable and peaceful society for the children to live; this significantly bothers Jack because he wants to have fun and do things that he never did back in the civilized society. Jack is eventually successful of pulling nearly all of the children out of Ralph’s control to form savages. Ralph represents the civilization, and Jack represents the primitive society.
Ralph has several positive characteristics but he also has several crucial weaknesses that prevent him from being the perfect leader. In chapter one the boys decide who they want to be leader. The boys decide on Ralph, “”Vote for a chief!”…every hand outside the choir except Piggy’s was raised immediately. Then Piggy, too, raised his hand grudgingly into the air.” (Golding 18-19). From the very beginning Ralph is seen as the leader. He becomes the one the boys look up to and depend on to make decisions in their best interest. Ralph has natural leadership skills. Landing on the island with no adults to take control, the boys chose to follow the one boy who seems to be doing something productive, Ralph. An example of Ralph being purposeful and productive is when he blows the conch to get the attention of all the boys on the island and bring them together for a meeting. When Jack and his choir find the other boys gathered he asks where the man with the trumpet is, Ralph replies, “There’s no man with a trumpet. We’re having a meeting. Want to join?” (Golding 16). Ralph asks Jack and the choir boys to join the meeting because he wants all the boys to work together so they can be rescued as soon as possible. Other than his leadership and purposeful qualities, Ralph is also hard working. When tasks are given out to the boys, such as building shelters, hunting, gathering food, the hard work of most boys turns into play and exploration leaving Ralph to do most of the work by himself with little help from others. When the other boys gave up on their tasks Ralph continued working, this proves his hard work. Leadership, purposeful, and hard working are all positive qualities that helped Ralph succeed in the novel, but Ralph also had some majo...
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.
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.
...ing him advice. However, they are tortured into revealing Ralph’s escape plan. Things like this show that Jack’s tribe have little respect for others. They do things that they wouldn’t do alone, because the rest of the group takes the blame. By this William Golding demonstrates what happens to society if order is not imposed by a 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.
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
... Ralph has proven to have a much better understanding of people and their needs and this makes him a much better leader than Jack. With Ralph's understanding of the need for order and rules, he improves the condition where the boys are living in. Jack's condition was horrible. Also, Jack treated the boys very badly and like he better. Ralph, on the other hand treated the boys all equally and with respect. Ralph's priority to get off the island shows his wisdom and ability to make good decisions. Although Jack was popular on the island for the short amount of time the boys were there, he would not have been popular for much longer. He does not have any of the qualities that a good leader should have and turned himself and the rest of the boys into complete losers. Jack's plan would have soon faded but if Ralph had become leader, his wisdom would last much longer.
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...
Ralph first takes on the position as leader at the beginning of the story, when the rest of the boys vote him in as chief. He carries this position until Jack and his fellow hunters break away from the group. Ralph makes it his job to set out the rules to organize a society. Ralph always thinks of what is best for everyone and how they will all benefit from his decisions. Rules and standards are set when Ralph is the chief. He orders the group to build the basic necessities of civilization, shelters, and most importantly to keep the fire going, in hope that they will be rescued and return to humanity. "But I tell you that smoke is more important than the pig, however often you kill one" (Golding 75). Jack, on the other hand, takes on the idea of every man for himself. He does not care about making homes, only about hunting. When Jack is the leader, evil takes over and all good is destroyed. Under Jack's power both Simon and Piggy are killed.
Golding immediately shows how voting procedures of a democratic society can help stop evil from taking over. During the first encounter between Jack and his choirboys and Ralph and his group, it becomes clear the differences in between both groups. Jack, during the first meeting, yells at the boys to “Stand Still!”(Golding 20) and even when “one of the boys flopped on his face in the sand” he makes the others choirboys move “the fallen boy to the platform and let him lie” (Golding 20). With this brief peek into the leadership of Jack, it is evident that Jack has no concern for the common men in his choir, furthering the illusion of his dictatorial skills. The theme of leaving the masses of common citizens uncared for, while the elites are given exclusive powers is a major notion of the totalitarian government. When these boys see how mistreated Jack’s choirboys are, the vote for chief is affected. When Ralph asks, “Who wants Jack for chief?” the choirboys “With dreary obedience [they] raised their hands”(Golding 23). Then, when Ralph asked, “Who wants me? Every hand outside the choir except Piggy’s was raised immediately. Then Piggy, too, raised his hand”(Golding 23). Evident here is how the public and Golding perceive the two contradicting types of government. This tiny glimpse shows that even when a dictator has all the power over his citizens, he cannot beat a democratically elected leader in an election. The undertone of this situation shows that citizens prefer a democratic leader that they elect than somebody who attempts to usurp the throne. While this was only the first time the two sides meet, the two sides only become more distanced by every time they meet.