The Role of Adults in Lord of the Flies

775 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Society in Lord of the Flies

Sometimes we wonder: What truly makes one an adult? Do they have to be over 18 to be an adult? Do they need to have a good job or a home and family? Although there is no clear-cut answer for this question, in my eyes, adults are seen as responsible people who are able to properly function in the “real world” and have a clear mind to think of solutions for conflicts that may arise. The roles of these types of adults are a key factor in William Golding’s Lord of the Flies. This is seen in many places throughout the story, such as in the boys’ society, their struggle and eventual loss of order, and their actions when reunited with an actual adult. Overall, adults are seen as a symbol of order for the boys on the island, a symbol which they, unfortunately, completely lose control of.

After realizing that there were currently no adults on the deserted island, Ralph blew on a conch shell he found with Piggy to gather the boys together. It was then that the boys decided to form a society under a chief (who was later chosen to be Ralph) and then assigned jobs (such as hunters), built shelters, and even decided on a system for group meetings centered around the conch. This society seems to be built in an attempt to maintain order on the island, like the adult world it was based on.

Although some boys like Ralph were exited to realize that there were no adults on the island, as seen when Ralph had “the delight of realized ambition [overcome] him” (8) once he saw that there were no adults on the island, the excitement didn’t last as their make-shift society dissolved due to conflicts. Some of the boys tried to maintain order in their society by reminding one another of authority adult figures, such as when Ralph reassured the ...

... middle of paper ...

..., mourning their horrid experience on the island, as seen when the text states, “…Infected by [grief], the other little boys began to shake and sob…and in the middle of them…Ralph wept for the end of innocence, and the darkness of man’s heart…” (202.)

Overall, although the boys tried to mimic adult society, they lacked the life experience needed to maintain a functioning, stable society and resolve conflicts. Ultimately, they needed to rely on a real adult to rescue them and ultimately restore order in their lives. The role of adults in Lord of the Flies was order, and without them, order completely collapsed on the island. Without adults and order, our world and society could become just like the one portrayed on the island in Lord of the Flies: completely savage.

Works Cited

Golding, William. Lord of the Flies. New York: Berkly, 1954. Print

Show More
Related

  • Jack's Transformation In Lord Of The Flies

    845 Words  | 2 Pages

    The book Lord of the Flies by William Golding is an exhilarating novel that is full of courage, bravery, and manhood. It is a book that constantly displays the clash between two platoons of savage juveniles mostly between Jack and Ralph who are the main characters of the book. The Kids become stranded on an island with no adults for miles. The youngsters bring their past knowledge from the civilized world to the Island and create a set of rules along with assigned jobs like building shelters or gathering more wood for the fire. As time went on and days past some of the kids including Jack started to veer off the rules path and begin doing there own thing. The transformation of Jack from temperately rebellious to exceptionally

    Read More

  • Peer Pressure In Lord Of The Flies, By William Golding

    983 Words  | 2 Pages

    Most children are obedient and well-behaved when they are supervised by adults, but how would they be if they are left to themselves? In the novel, Lord of the Flies, written by William Golding, a group of boys, all under the age of thirteen, are stranded on an island and left unsupervised. At first, the boys are innocent and civilized, but as time goes by, they turn into savages. The children in this novel turned into savages because of peer pressure, their desire have fun, and the fear and chaos that evokes from children when they are left unsupervised.

    Read More

  • We Wear The Mask And Lord Of The Flies Comparison Essay

    1256 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Lord of the Flies, the newfound freedom on the deserted island and liberation from authority allows the adolescents to

    Read More

  • Comparing Lord of the Flies with The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn

    998 Words  | 2 Pages

    In today's society each one of us have our very own responsibilities and moralities. The development of responsibility comes from how well we have matured. And our sense of morality comes from our experience and knowledge. Theses two skills develop with the aid of parents or any adult, maturity teaches us about the path of understanding things in the society and it leads to the decision to choose from right or wrong. The events of Lord of flies can be easily compared to those in the book The adventures of Huckleberry Finn. In these two books , it deals with the two main characters who are not old enough to hold such responsibilities. Therefore, in both books a change in society enabled the characters to experience and develop important life values. The characters of the story are lead to freedom but learn about the huge responsibility they have which is taking care of themselves and others around them. They are able to distinguish from good and bad. Self taught sense of moral responsibility. Throughout the book the characters contends with the influence of society's values and in the end makes a decision.

    Read More

  • Epilogue: Lord of the Flies

    791 Words  | 2 Pages

    His voice rose under the black smoke before the burning wreckage of the island; and infected by that emotion, the other little boys began to shake and sob too. And in the middle of them, with filthy body, matted hair, and unwiped nose, Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man’s heart, and the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called Piggy (Golding, 290).

    Read More

  • Lagoon In Lord Of The Flies Essay

    718 Words  | 2 Pages

    Just by the idea of having no one to rescue these boys because there are , “‘No grownups!’” (Golding 80). The main part of creating things that symbolize civilization enters when the boys start to discover the island. Starting from Ralph and piggy, they found something that turned the group into a society: “It’s a shell! I seen one like that before. On someone's back wall. A conch he called it [...] ‘We can use this to call the others’” (Golding 16). This conch that they found is a shell, when you blow into the shell it makes a large echoey noise. Piggy thought that the larger noise would be great to call the other boys. This idea really helps the boys to know each other and their names. This is a start to a life and society with a group of people. One main thing that Ralph started is a way to be neighbors or a community: “We’re having an meeting. Come and join in” (Golding 20). In fact Ralph started something that makes these boys interact to the group, talking about survival or discoveries. For example, Ralph talks about “look after ourselves” (Golding 21). Which gives a meaning to the boys, that they will have to help and work to survive on the island, without the help of humans. They are now adults, and their mission is to go back

    Read More

  • Lord of the Flies

    845 Words  | 2 Pages

    To begin, survival is the key in every ones mindset. You only live once as most people say. However, with Jack and Ralph and the rest of the boys, they all seemed that all hope was lost. They had been stranded in the island for months, hoping that one day, someone will find them and return them home. Ralph was the most panicked person in the group simply because he hadn’t cut his hair and it was growing. He also did not shower at all, and he did not shave or eat as much simply due to the lack of surviving. He had given up on the hope for rescue, until in chapter 12, he, along with Jack and the rest of the boys, were saved by an officer which saw the destruction and the vicious bodies of the ...

    Read More

  • The Importance of Government As Shown In "Lord of the Flies"

    862 Words  | 2 Pages

    At the beginning of Lord of the Flies, the boys create a democratic government. As the story progresses, the initial democracy on the island is ignored, and a dictatorship rises in its place. This dictatorship fails to keep the boys in order. The author, William Golding, shows that without the institution of a strong government and set of rules people will become impulsive and seek instant gratification. In the absence of order, people tend not to become disciplined of their own accord, but rather dissolve into destructive chaos.

    Read More

  • Loss Of Innocence In Lord Of The Flies Analysis

    1158 Words  | 3 Pages

    As Ralph is trying to hide from them overnight, he wonders, “Might it not be possible to walk boldly into the fort… pretend they were still boys, schoolboys who had said, ‘Sir, yes, sir’- and worn caps? Daylight might have answered yes; but darkness and the horrors of death said no” (186). No matter how hard Ralph tries, he cannot discard his new knowledge of Jack and his tribe’s potential for evil and corruption. For a long time Ralph seems to be in denial; like many others, he seems to want to stay true to his belief in the overall goodness of the human heart. Ralph’s expectations for human kindness are finally challenged to the point of irreversibility when Jack attacks him and tries to pursue him on a vicious manhunt. When Ralph collapses on the beach and a naval officer arrives, “With filthy body, matted hair, and unwiped nose, Ralph wept for the end of innocence, [and] the darkness of man’s heart...” (202). One might think it strange that rather than rejoicing over rescue, Ralph and the rest of the boys cry out in grief. The young schoolboys come to understand the enormity of human greed and evil, and unfortunately it is a lesson that they will not be able to ignore or forget. They witness and play a role in their own loss of innocence, and the time they spend on the island teaches them what

    Read More

  • Human Morality In Lord Of The Flies By William Golding

    1082 Words  | 3 Pages

    The boys find their id being challenged by their ego. Ego is described as the “part of the id which has been modified by the direct influence of the external world,” meaning it is the part of the psyche which suppresses basic impulses according to the norms or “rules” of a person’s situation (Freud 1923). In the initial days on the island, the boys actions are greatly affected by the rules of their previous society or their “ego.” When Roger was throwing rocks at the young boys, there was still “a space round Henry...into which [Roger] dare not throw.” Here, Roger is still affected by “the taboo of the old life” and still concerned with social norms as he hasn’t been on the island long enough to revert to his inner primitive nature (Golding 83). The boys are also being held back by something else- their desire for order and leadership. When Ralph and Piggy happen upon the conch, it isn’t ever seen as just a shell. They almost immediately see the conch as a way to gather the boys and a way to provide structured speaking. Ralph’s first thought is that they “ought to have a chief to decide things," because it’s what he and the other boys are used to (Golding 27). The positive reaction to the idea of having a chief shows their trust in leadership and societal structure. Once Ralph’s leadership is challenged, and the structure is lost, the barbaric behavior begins, and the boys become more susceptible to groupthink and

    Read More

  • Immaturity In Lord Of The Flies

    524 Words  | 2 Pages

    A community that has immaturity in itself leads to chaos. The immaturity on the island starts on the very first day with the boys taking of all their clothes off. Following after the clothes, Jack tries to tell Ralph what he is going to do which is hunt for pigs. Instead of the fire job Ralph gave Jack. Since, Jack is unhappy with all of Ralph’s rules, Jack creates another immature community to be chief. In the end, when Jack to tries to kill Ralph the plan backfires, and gets all of the boys rescued. Therefore,

    Read More

  • Evil in Humanity in Lord of the Flies by William Golding

    837 Words  | 2 Pages

    ... people are out in the wild, and also have no civilization or government to keep their evil suppressed. At the very end of the book when the boys are rescued Golding writes, “ His voice rose under the black smoke before the burning wreckage of the island; and infected by that emotion, the other little boys began to shake and sob too. And in the middle of them, with filthy body, matted hair, and unwiped nose, Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man's heart, and the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called Piggy” (202). In this quote Ralph is crying because he has now lost all of his innocence that he once had before he got on that horrible island, due to everything that has happened on the island. He is also crying because he had just lost his friend Piggy because of the savagery acts of the boys and now he realizes how evil everyone is.

    Read More

  • True Portrayal of Children in Lord of the Flies

    1438 Words  | 3 Pages

    (24 ).&nbsp ; The boys are drawn to Ralph because of his physical characteristics and because he had blown the conch.  The fact that there are no adults has caused the boys to be attracted to Ralph as a leader.  The physical characteristics of Ralph remind the boys of their  parents or other adult authority figures they may have had in their old

    Read More

  • Childhood In Lord Of The Flies Essay

    654 Words  | 2 Pages

    Loss of innocence occurs throughout the novel. Piggy realizes the change between innocence and savagery when he questions, “What are we? Human? Or animal? Or savages?” (Golding 79). Simon soon follows when he states, “What I mean is…...maybe it’s only us” (Golding 89). Both boys realize the true beast is the group and they end up paying for the uncontrolled actions of others with their lives. The drastic change between civilization on the island causes the group to become savage and feed off of violence. When Golding writes, “Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man’s heart, and the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called Piggy” (Golding 202), Ralph shows his understanding that they need adult authority in their lives and Piggy was the one trying to warn him. Ralph starts to think, “The world, that understandable and lawful world, was slipping away” (Golding 91), when the group starts to lose innocence along with civilization. The late realization adds to the theme of civilization vs savagery and drives the plot to loss of

    Read More

  • Character Development in Lord of the Flies

    1094 Words  | 3 Pages

    The ability to create characters of depth plagues many a contemporary writer. Many of those writers should look to William Golding for expertise on this issue. Golding diverges from the path of contemporary authors and sets an example of how character development should be accomplished in his novel, Lord of the Flies. Golding's Ralph exemplifies this author's superior style of character development in this novel.

    Read More

More about The Role of Adults in Lord of the Flies

Open Document