Ralph Lord Of The Flies Analysis

Intelligence vs. Impulse In William Golding’s novel Lord of the Flies, a group of British schoolboys are stranded on a Pacific island by a plane crash. The boys are left without adult supervision, forcing them to choose a leader for the group. The boys are called together when Ralph, described as, “the boy with fair hair”, calls them out from the remains of the crash with a conch shell (p.1). The boys convene to discuss the election of Ralph as chief due to his orderly and civil authority. Jack Merridew, who prides himself upon being head boy of the choir at their school, gains the admiration of the littler boys or “littluns” by promising them meat. Aside from Ralph and Jack’s leadership roles, Simon the spiritual boy along with Piggy,

Although Piggy is physically inferior to the rest of the boys due to his poor vision, asthma, and weight, he is intellectually superior. The item that symbolizes his logistical superiority is his glasses. Piggy’s glasses represent his rationality and maturity throughout the book and also prove useful for starting a fire. Although Piggy has the wisdom that would make a good leader, he lacks the leadership qualities that Ralph and Jack possess. Simon is an outsider to the group because his actions do not entirely reflect his insight and helpful qualities. Early in the novel, he finds a hideout in the forest and spends some time contemplating their situation on the island and begins to develop an understanding of the rest of the boys and their impulses. At one of their assemblies, Simon feels “a perilous necessity to speak; but to speak in assembly was a terrible thing to him” (p.77). Simon’s reluctance to speak during assembly shows how he has the insight and understanding of a good leader, but would be too closed off to thrive in a position of authority. Although he is less outspoken and more introverted than the rest of the boys, he represents the spiritual leader of the group with his insight and thoughts. These attributes of Piggy and Simon make a big impact on the group and prove to be crucial to the novel’s lesson in the

When Simon is murdered, a downward spiral begins that eventually leads to the death of Piggy. When the savages kill Piggy and crush the conch it symbolizes the defeat of Ralph and his attempts to remain civil. Simon and Piggy must die in order to prove what human nature can do to a society when its people are tested to such extremities. The murders themselves and the destruction of the object that symbolized civility bring an end to sanity on the island. The deaths prove how fragile society can be without the protection of a wise and orderly leader to maintain the impulsivity caused by human nature. Golding’s lesson is clear; in order to have a functional society, a wise and authoritative leader must be present and without out one, human nature can get the best of