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Jack And Ralph In Lord Of The Flies Essay

Decent Essays

Jack and Ralph have contrasting strategies when leading the boys on the island. Ralph, who represents the primary good, prioritizes creating a smoke signal in order be rescued. Ralph also promotes order, representing the civilized instinct of humans. On the other hand, Jack lacks foresight, and prioritizes hunting. Jack also fear-mongers, and appeals to the emotions of the other children, ultimately embodying the savage instinct of humans. The way in which the dynamic of the island devolves reveals Golding’s views of human nature, as well as the importance of a central power, which aligns with the views of Thomas Hobbes. Additionally, Golding’s perspective resembles Hobbes’s, as they both oppose the division of power. Ralph’s priorities while leading represent the primary good, however his passive and weak leadership exposes the evil nature of the boys, and the island degenerates into chaos.
Ralph’s philosophy aligns with utilitarianism, which advocates for decisions to be made based on what benefits the greatest good for the greatest number. His priorities lie in maintaining the smoke signal, in hopes of being rescued. Ralph understands that the children …show more content…

In the novel, Simon represents pure-good. This is demonstrated when Simon compassionately returns Piggy’s glasses to him, assists the younger children in picking fruit, and shares his meat with Piggy. As Simon confusedly stumbles through the forest, he stumbles upon a pig’s head on a stake, or the “Lord of the Flies,” which explains to Simon that the only beast is within the boys. When Simon is going to tell the rest of the boys that there is real no beast, he is brutally murdered. When the rest of the boy’s murder Simon, Golding is disagreeing with Simon, suggesting that the beast is within them. Golding expresses the idea that humans are not naturally good when the only representation of pure-good is

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