Power In Lord Of The Flies Quote Analysis

Power is like a two-edged knife; on one side, it is a tool when used suitably. If it is not, it becomes the cause of irreversible damage. The English Oxford Living Dictionaries defines power as “the capacity or ability to direct or influence the behavior of others or the course of events.” Bryant H. McGill describes power as something “all a person has, so they will protect it even unto their own destruction, for without power they have nothing.” This quote describes how in Lord of the Flies by William Golding, the island society the boys create crumbles when Jack takes the power and uses it for his benefit. Golding shows the reader how the island society starts to fall when the boys start using the face paint and start descending into savagery,

when the boys set the forest on fire, and when Piggy dies. Golding uses Lord of the Flies to show how power can cause the eradication of a society when it is exploited, as Jack did.
Firstly, Golding shows how when Jack kills Piggy, there is no one in his way, and that is when the island society’s downward slope into destruction steepened. When Ralph sees the naval officer and is processing all the events on the island, including Piggy’s death, Golding writes that Ralph “[weeps] for [...] the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called Piggy.” (Golding 225) Piggy is written to be Ralph’s support and advisor. He is the one to state the facts, and think very thoroughly and logically. When all the boys panic about the beast, Piggy gives his opinion that “life is scientific [...] [he knows] there isn't no beast [...] but [he knows] there isn't no fear either. [...] unless [they] get frightened of people." (Golding 90) Piggy symbolizes civilization, a world of logic and reason, whereas Jack symbolizes savagery and the evil in humanity. The two are opposing forces. When Jack kills Piggy, it symbolizes the death of well-mannered society of the boys past. Piggy is the only boy who holds onto the ways of the old society he knows so well. He remains in the mindset that logical thinking and planning everything out will save the boys. As Piggy dies, Jacks only obstacle fell, and his savage ways spread across the island. Jack has more power over the boys because Piggy is not there to spread his reason and logic.
Secondly, Golding shows how the boys setting the island on fire is representative of the boys’ reciprocation of the misuse of power.

At the end of the novel, Ralph runs out to the beach and sees the naval officer. His mind starts to process everything that has happened and “his voice rose under the black smoke before the burning wreckage of the island,” as he “[weeps] for the end of innocence [and] the darkness of man’s heart.” (Golding 224-225) As the boys are chasing Ralph, as per Jack’s commands, they set the entire forest on fire for the second time. The abuse of power causes irreversible damage, and this is proven at the end of the novel. Fire is a chemical reaction with chemical changes; meaning the changes are irreversible, and whatever is burned cannot go back to the original state. When Jack misuses his power and tells the boys to set the forest on fire to draw out Ralph, they cause irreversible damage to the island. This symbolizes the death of the well-mannered ways of the boys. At this point in the novel, the boys are having a manhunt, they are throwing away everything they are taught from their old life, and becoming

savages.
Lastly, Golding shows the boys smearing mud and clay on their faces as a mask, and uses it to show the boys’ downfall to savagery due to the abuse of power by Jack.

At the beginning of the book, the boys start smearing coloured mud and clay when they go hunting. When Jack put on the clay, Golding describes it as a “mask, [...] a thing of its own, behind which Jack hid, liberated from shame and self-consciousness”. (Golding 66) From that point on in the novel, Jack is not seen without his clay mask on. When the other boys put on the clay as well, they all begin to slowly start falling into a savage behaviour. It starts only when they go hunting. They start chanting, “Kill the pig. Cut her throat. Spill her blood.” (Golding 72) The chant and the way the boys hunt resembles a sacrificial ritual, and slowly, the boys start acting that way all the time, not only when they hunt. The Oxford English Living Dictionaries define savage as fierce, violent, uncontrolled, cruel and vicious; aggressively hostile, as well as a people regarded as primitive and uncivilized. When the boys wear the masks of clay and mud, they are brazen and forget the ways of their old life in civilization. The boys follow Jack in his ways, and he uses the face paint as a tool when he overthrows Ralph and takes power of the

island.
The island the boys live on is a microcosm. A microcosm is a community, place, or situation used to symbolize something much larger. The island is a microcosm of the society that majority of the world's population lives in. Lord of the Flies is a warning to society, advising that unless there is a change in society, there will be a societal collapse. Societal collapse is the fall of a complex group of people living together in a more or less ordered community, where there are common rules and beliefs. On the island, there are many fights and this caused division among the boys. As the naval officer arrives, the island is on fire, the boys chase each other with spears, their faces painted, hair long, and the naval officer describes them to look like savages. If the naval officer did not find them at that time, they would have most likely have killed Ralph. Ralph is the only one who cares about keeping the fire lit, in hope of rescue. With Ralph dead, the boys probably would not have been rescued, and they would die on the island; their society dying. In today’s society, there are many divisions among different groups of people. Golding reveals how today’s society could fall, using the point of view of young boys. Golding uses symbolism throughout the entire novel, to help readers understand his underlying message. Symbolism invokes the reader’s mind to draw a further understanding of Golding’s message by connecting his complex ideas to common, well-known ideas.
Therefore, as Jack misuses the power he has, it causes desolation of the island society, causing irreversible damage. Golding proves this throughout the novel when Piggy dies, when the boys set the island on fire, and when the boys start to paint their faces. Madeleine L'Engle once said, “To take away [someone's] freedom of choice, even [their] freedom to make the wrong choice, is to manipulate [them] as though he were a puppet and not a person.” The abuse of power can lead to someone’s free choice being taken away, thus, causing societal collapses and incessant repercussions. How much desolation will be caused in the pursuit of power, and when is it enough to break society?