Authority In Lord Of The Flies

The children landed uncharted island far from any semblance of police, parents, or even teachers. The island was almost like the “Neverland” that Disney taught us about years ago, but without Tinkerbell and a magical home with all their needs. Jack and the children in this adventure were in a heap of trouble. They were many, some smaller and some bigger (littleuns and bigguns). These kids had to organize themselves into some sort of unit, to more efficiently find a way home. That is where the trouble begins. When one or more humans come together, a hierarchy is always established. Similar to when one goes to a restaurant and the waitress only addresses our father for the majority of the tables decisions. When this hierarchy forms, the decisions this leader takes will always be classified as good or evil, and the society will be judged by the character at their forefront. In William Golding’s novel “Lord of The Flies”, Jack Merridew is the character that takes leadership in the society and proves humanity is inherently evil by demonstrating human’s: selfish tendencies, competitive nature, and hopelessness.

In the Lord of the Flies, the boys are challenged when their plane crashes and they have to survive on a deserted island. To survive the boy’s find it necessary to establish a leader in the beginning. The boys face many of challenges throughout the whole book because of their lack of respect for their leader. Ralph, the stories leader, struggles to lead because of Jack, who opposes Ralph’s view of what needs to be in order to survive. Jack in turn, reverts to savagery and only wants to hunt and have fun. Whether the leader is good or evil, he or she needs to be assertive, be able to take action, and think about the “long-term”.

Jack is still a young boy, so he's scared of blood and the thought of death. He's described as "tall, thiny, and bony" which means he's not tough even though he acts like he is. He's embarrassed because he was unable to kill the pig, but says he will next time.

Civilization can be destroyed as easily as it is created.  Without the walls of society, humans are capable of committing actions that they would have never thought possible.  Lord of the Flies focuses on a group of boys who are alone on an island without authority. The novel reveals what can become of humanity without the presence of authority.  In Lord of the Flies by William Golding, the protagonist Ralph symbolizes leadership, civilization,  as well as the loss of innocence.  Ralph is the closest resemblance to authority that the boys have on the island.  His appearance plays an important role in him signifying authority, “You could see now that he might make a boxer, as far as width and heaviness of shoulders went, but there was a

“‘The rules!’ shouted Ralph. ‘You’re breaking the rules!’ ‘Who cares?’ Ralph summoned his wits: ‘Because the rules are the only thing we’ve got!’” (91). In Lord of the Flies, Ralph says this to Jack at one of their assemblies, after having berated the boys for neglecting the shelter building and the signal fires. Ralph’s leadership is built on these rules, and Jack’s breaking of them causes an ideological conflict between them which eventually leads to Ralph’s loss of power among the group. He tries to create a just and orderly society to fulfill their needs and allow them to be rescued, but the boys eventually find Jack’s churlish lethargy and excess to be more desirable. Desirable, as defined by the Oxford English Dictionary, can be

First of all, the hunt of the very first piglet is a demonstration of the boys’ civil habits that are still engraved in them from their home lives. Ralph, Jack, and Simon are on their hunt for their first pig on the island when they come across squealing sounds that lead them to their prey. After they stare at the piglet for a while, they have the chance to kill it but Jack decides against it. Jack didn’t want to kill the piglet “because of the enormity of the knife descending and cutting into live flesh; because of the unbearable blood” (Golding 29). Jack attempts to cover up his reasoning by saying that he was thinking of a good spot to stab the pig, though Ralph and Simon knew why he hadn’t. The boys were still living in a civil society on the island as they had a leader, rules, and they all got along for the most part, so the thought of killing a pig was terrifying and unrealistic for Jack. Evidently, Jack is embarrassed in front of the boys because he did not kill their chance at food. During a meeting later that day, the other boys are asking about the pigs on the island, and Jack and Ralph are explaining why they couldn’t kill it. Jack interrupts Ralph, and tells the boys that the pig ran away “‘Before I could kill it - but - next time’” (Golding 31)! Jack says this in an aggressive tone as he is defending himself and proving he is more than capable to get them meat. The boys have not yet adapted to a life filled with chaos and savagery, so they are still hesitant about harming animals since they never had experienced anything like that back in England. However, the boys’ attitudes towards bloodletting start to become more realistic as their lives on the island progress to a life of evil.

The pieces of evidence from both sources support the fact that without authority, man will complete violently with one another. For example, the primary source “Lord of the Flies” by William Golding shows a situation on page 181 in which the symbol of authority, the conch, is destroyed. Immediately after this occurs a massive fight breaks out and Jack, a young boy from “Lord of the Flies”, attempts to kill Ralph who also has a chance at gaining authority. The previous two quotes from “Lord of the Flies” also show situations where there is a lack of authority so the young boys compete violently for their own personal gain. The secondary source “Why Do We Need Morality?” by Louis P. Pojman also supports the topic. The source states that during

The true nature of man is revealed when faced with arduous challenges that test one’s character. Golding's novel, Lord of the Flies, is set during world war two when a group of boys’ plane crashes onto an undocumented island with no adults. The story follows the journey of the band of misfits as they try to survive with the taunting pull to leave civilized behavior behind. As seen throughout the novel, Lord of the Flies, the evil side of man is challenged through the symbolism of the conch, mask, and glasses.

Leadership in the novel Lord of the Flies, It’s present in the book that leadership is someone who is always there no matter what, try’s there hardest and don’t give up, help others. Leadership in my family your family leading you down the right road. I’d choose to follow ralph because he show’s that they need to keep the boys doing their best and keeping them in line to get off that island. Keeping the boys doing the right thing like keeping the fire going, hunting, and building the huts.

Having a sense of structure and power is crucial to remain control of the boys. In the novel “Lord of the Flies” The Novel starts with a group of boys stranded on an island after a plane crash. The goal was to create a civilized society with rules to make sure no one steps out of line. Ralph and Piggy were the first characters in the novel and found other boys to create a tribe. Piggy found a conch shell and Ralph is elected Chief by the boys on the island. Ralph’s job is to make sure everyone is controlled and has a voice. The other boys Ralph, Piggy, and Simon have great responsibilities in this book. Jack is the antagonist in the novel and his job is to be the leader of the hunters, hunt meat, and tend the fire. Jack causes a lot of problems

Leadership, by definition, is the action of leading a group of people or an organization. However, leadership exceeds barking orders and receiving favors. Leaders are responsible for the well-being of the people they conduct. Regardless of variations in power, the vital aspect is how they use that power. In the novel Lord of the Flies, the author elucidates the different forms of leadership, how the people react to these leaders, and how effectiveness of these leaders can be the cause of triumph or catastrophe of society.

The pig ran away and made an awful noise-It turned back and ran into the circle, bleeding-We closed in-I cut the pig's throat-"(pg.75). As seen from this quote, Jack kills the pig in a merciless way by slicing the pigs throat. His way of killing the pig goes to show that Jack has started to lose his morality and has leaned more toward a savage mentality. Jack's civility eventually goes away as the book progress and is due to the lack of proper authority to set rules to not allow Jack to change into what he eventually becomes. Jack is able to get the other boys to be savages by coming up with a dance and chant about killing pigs.

To celebrate their successful hunt, they hold a feast and invite the members from Ralph’s group to join them. At the feast, the boys are enjoying themselves. Meanwhile, Simon slips away into the forest and runs into the pig’s head on a stick which was an offering made by Jack to the beast. Simon discovers that the beast was actually a man with a dispatched parachute. As he hurries to the feast to inform the others about the beast’s real identity, he is killed by the boys after being mistaken for the beast.

What would happen if humans were left alone without authority? Would they want to help each other or go off and try to satisfy their own needs? William Golding’s Lord of the Flies entertains the idea that all humans are cruel and selfish within. Golding has a group of young boys stranded onto a secluded island. Having to fend for themselves the boys begin to act violent and selfish for their own personal agendas. The longer the young boys stay on the island, the more selfish, cruel thoughts and actions emerge from within them.

Power and Authority shows, how those in charge act when having access to power. Golding's book Lord of The Flies provides and analyzes. A well-off theory of power and authority, in situations of abuse of power; and how it influences one's moral actions.