Dissent In Lord Of The Flies, By William Golding

A recurring theme among leaders in many societies today is that “absolute power corrupts absolutely” (John Acton, a 1700’s English Catholic historian, politician, and writer). In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, this idea of leadership, power, and corruption is put in the spotlight. Jack, one of the boys on the island, forces his way into the leadership position without actually earning it. It is clear that Jack has become corrupt as he turns into a person who is intimidating, egotistical, and selfish. Ralph, on the other hand, is a quality leader under most conditions as he appeals to the boys’ sophisticated side and has a

wrote this after publishing Lord of the Flies. It is our world, in the form of a story. The two leaders in the story are Ralph and Jack. Ralph starts off a comfortable leader of the boys, but by the end of the book, Ralph and his companion Piggy are alone facing Jack and the rest of the boys. As the novel progresses and the society on the island starts to change, so does Ralph. He begins thinking he has all the answers, but comes to realize that without Piggy he would have never gotten this far. By the end of the book, Ralph and Jack are complete opposites. Jack is about savagery and fun while Ralph is holding on to society, rules, and civilization. Appearing to be a weak leader due to defection of his followers, Ralph is actually dedicated and insightful, only loosing his followers because he could not compete with one category that attracts nearly everyone in the world: fun.

There is always a leader to lead you in the right direction, but that is up to you and who you think is a good leader as in this book. Commanders show people the right direction and prove themselves as good role models. Through the revolt of two boys, Golding demonstrate that civilization can be either destroyed or made better by the right leader.

While William Golding was writing Lord of The Flies, he came up with many theme statements. Some of which were more visible than others, such as good v.s. bad, but it goes way deeper than that. Civilization v.s. savagery, order v.s. chaos, and fear are good themes but I think that power rising over leadership is one main theme. To illustrate this theme the author describes on pages 22 and 23 is the first input of authority and leadership and also power by saying “Him with the shell. ” Ralph! Ralph!” “let him be chief with the trumpet-thing.” Ralph raised his hand for silence. “All right. Who wants Jack for chief?” With dreary obedience the choir raised their hands.” In other word the group is saying that they want Ralph to be chief without knowing how he will lead, or even taking in consideration any others. I think the author was trying to suggest that the choir already follows Jack because he is the leader of the choir and they have to respect his power. Also that Ralph was elected leader with little power. I think Ralph has little power because he had not done anything to gain the groups respect, with little respect comes little power.

It may have taken millions of years for humans to evolve enough to create the sprawling civilizations known today, but it only takes a few months for a group of civil, educated boys to regress back into savagery. In his novel Lord of the Flies, author William Golding depicts a group of young British boys getting stranded on a deserted island sans adults. The boys must look out for themselves, forming a basic governing system and trying to survive. But the challenge soon proves too much to handle, and order deteriorates. William Golding conveys the universal theme of civilization vs. savagery in his novel Lord of the Flies using the literary elements of plot, setting, and characterization.

Literary devices are techniques often used by authors to portray in-depth analyses of major characters, storylines, and central themes, which take place in a story. These analyses help readers understand a message the author is trying to convey. In the novel Lord of the Flies, William Golding uses different literary devices in order to demonstrate the boys’ struggle against the lack of society and law on the island, as well as the consequences that have transpired due to this loss. This conflict is evident through the different instances of irony, foreshadowing, and symbolism that occurs throughout the novel.

One reason why I feel dissent allows you to gain a societal voice are due to my experiences at school. I can recall an experience in middle school where we were often told to solve math problems and shows our work in very restrictive and slow ways. As such, I expressed my distaste towards these methods by solving math problems using my own strategies and ideas. However, many of my classmates did not want to create disagreements with the teacher, thus making me the lone dissenter. While I was eventually reprimanded by the teacher for my disobedience, my acts of defiance gave me a strong, opinionative voice and encouraged others to combine their efforts to create change. As a result, our teacher eventually decided to allow us to use our own methods provided that we displayed our work and reasoning. This shows that while dissenting from society may spark change in others, it certainly does not come without consequences. Furthermore, I learned that

Lord of the Flies by William Golding is a classic novel and portrays just how the society surrounding us can corrupt our once pure nature No one is born a killer, no one is born with an intense compulsion to kill, the island that the boys are stranded on has a very unusual, corrupting society; A society that erodes the boys innocence through the power struggle between Jack and Ralph, readers see the transfer from innocent to savagely through the hunting and Piggy’s death.

William Golding's Lord of the Flies "Everything is breaking up. I don't know why." - Ralph What is going wrong on the island and why?

Charles Dickens, a well-known writer, once said "Subdue your appetites, my dears, and you've conquered human nature." While the thought of not having complete control of my actions and thoughts means I'm doing what's in my nature is uncomfortable, I see the truth and reasoning behind the statement. The quote can be clearly reflected in the book Lord of the Flies by William Golding. In the book, a group of boys get stranded on an island with no grownups. As the boys struggle to survive and stay connected with society, the primitive nature of the boys begin to appear. In the end, the group has completely disconnected from society and seem to have reverted to a more tribal like behavior. The boys fall to savagery is described in several ways.

      In the novel, Lord of the Flies, William Golding tells the story of a group of boys on an island left out to self survive. The time was World War II when the plane the boys were in was shot down leaving young survivals on a deserted island without any adults. The whole story is about what happens during their stay on the island representing metaphoric ideas of humanity in each incident as Golding describes. Golding has reportedly said that he wrote the novel in response to his personal war experiences. “ (The war)… taught us not fighting, politics or the follies of nationalism, but about the given nature of man.” (Golding) By looking at Lord of the Flies, it is clear that Golding’s view of

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

Should I conform? Should I rebel? This has and always will be, a constant battle struggled individually, or as a society. A certain amount of conformity needs to exist in life in order to avoid disorder. This is the reason we have laws. Take those laws, rules, control, or even expectations, to an extreme, and some form of rebellion is probable. Struggle with these opposites, and you have a catalyst for war, or perhaps, being fired from a job. Literature represents life, and this theme can be found at the root of many literary works.

The author, William Golding uses the main characters of Ralph, Jack, and Simon in The Lord of the Flies to portray how their desire for leadership, combined with lack of compromise leads to the fall of their society. This desire for leadership and compromise led to the fall of their society just like multiple countries during times of wars.

Gangs are considered a group of people that have a common link together. Gangs are typically ethnically, racially, economically or geographically based. In William Golding 's Lord of the Flies, gangs rise up within the group of boys. William Golding gives us a glimpse of the savagery that underlies even the most civilized human beings. The bullying and group mentality demonstrated in gangs has resemblances to the characters in Lord of the Flies.