Literary Elements In William Golding's Lord Of The Flies

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

Similar to most literary classics, William Golding’s novel Lord of the Flies contains allusions to the Christian Bible and character archetypes that convey universal ideas. Golding’s story focuses on a group of British schoolboys who are stranded on an island and ultimately succumb to their innate savage tendencies. Literary analysts often compare components of Lord of the Flies to various aspects in the Christian Bible. For instance, the setting in Lord of the Flies is often linked to the Garden of Eden, and some characters are thought to have religious-inspired names. Critics believe Simon’s name originates from Jesus Christ’s disciple, Peter, whose name was originally Simon. Biblical allusions exist throughout the novel associated with

Throughout the history of humanity, humans have different behaviors that change depending on what situations they are in. Psychologist Philip Zimbardo spent many years exploring human nature and has developed many theories about human behavior. One of Zimbardo’s ideas is about situational factors that states “one’s behavior is assumed to be dependent upon their current circumstances, situation or the environment that they are in.” He concluded the concept of situational factors after his Stanford Prison Experiment, in which he gave authority to regular people and observed any changes. The experiment proved that people’s behavior will change when they are in different situations. Zimbardo also believes that evilness is the exercise of power to harm people in anyway possible, so a five year old who teases others to Adolf Hitler would be classified as perpetrators of evil.

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.

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.

Many philosophers believe that a correct government can make a strong society. However, these philosophers do not agree on what form of government is the most “correct”. English philosopher John Locke believed that Man is inherently moral and that the purpose for government is to grant the fundamental rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness to its people. Another philosopher, Thomas Hobbes, however, held the belief that mankind is naturally evil and that society needs an absolute central authority to contain this evilness and grant its people with the common protection. Hobbes believes that in a state of nature, when there are no rules and everyone is granted equal power, the inherent evil impulses of Man are exposed. One

In William Golding’s, Lord of the Flies, a few dozen boys are stranded on an island after a plane crash. The six to twelve year old kids turn to savages under the lead of the older males, and ultimately cause their own deaths. However, the smaller boys, such as Piggy and Sam and Eric, are the hope and reason of the group. Golding’s purpose of writing the book was to show that the defects in society originate at the defects in human nature. Golding allows the little ones to have no identities or personalities. This is symbolically showing that in society, the ignorant and innocent children are the only hope to a humane society. Innocence is purity, and the innocent children, in which are not corrupted by the bad people and things in the

English novelist and politician Edward G. Bulwer-Lytton, once said, “The pen is mightier than the sword.”. We,as humans, have always had the feeling of fear. No matter how many people say they don’t have that feeling, they have it somewhere within them. This fear has always thrived us to think in a radical way and has pushed us to make some good and bad choices in life. Because of this fear human beings have felt the need to protect themselves as much as possible and they believe that by having the most sizable, vigorous, and lavish weapons, they will be safe and protected from all harm and will keep order within society stable. But what Lytton wants us to realize in his quote is that you really don’t

Once Roger leaves Ralph’s group he is manipulated by Jack, and he joins his group, so Jack can tell him whatever he wants him to do. Jack, Roger and another hunter one night went and attacked Ralph and Piggy and stole Piggy’s glasses. Ralph and Piggy went to Jack’s camp site to try and peacefully retrieve them. As Ralph and Piggy are walking up to Jacks camp, Roger and other boys are waiting for them as guards. “Someone was throwing stones: Roger was dropping them, his one hand still on the lever. Below him Ralph was a shock of hair and Piggy a bag of fat” (Golding 180). This quote shows that Roger views these two human beings as targets. When they arrived on the island, he was a peaceful boy who was in the choir, who is now so brainwashed by Jack and savagery that he kills Piggy. The island would have brought out the evil in all of them on its own, but Jack sped up the

Can you precisely remember what happened to you exactly five years ago? The odds are that you cannot. If you have forgotten that, what else have you forgotten? Lord of the Flies is a book which places ordinary people in an unordinary situation. Schoolboys are stranded on an island in the middle of nowhere, alone. They quickly realize that having no adults means no rules. It is a novel of forgetfulness. Facts are suppressed, people are forgotten, and far too many are willing to look the other way. William Golding’s Lord of the Flies illustrates how man chooses to ignore unpleasant things through his characters’ obliviousness to the truth to demonstrate how mankind lives his entire life in denial because of his subconscious desire to preserve his own well-being.

“Human nature is divided; it contains both darkness and light. You can choose to accept the darkness and lament it, or you can choose to expand the light until the darkness no longer dominates” (Deepak Chopra). This suggest that each and everyone of us have that dark side inside ourselves, no matter how much we try to cover it with our strengths. The light and the darkness that Chopra talks about represents the idea of savagery and civilization when connected to Lord of the Flies. Even though they have signals of civilization on the island the boys can’t dominate it over their savagery.

In the end of the novel, fire turns to a weapon that burns and destroys anything it touches. Jack sets the whole island on fire to kill Ralph. Fire, starting as a symbol of hope, knowledge and civilization, changes to a tribal weapon for destruction, uncontrollable; and switches once again to hope, when the sailor rescues the kids.

On September 19, 1911, in Saint Columb Minor, Cornwall, England, William Golding a world renowned novelist was born. At the early age of 12, he attempted to write a novel but was unsuccessful and later found that he ‘would describe his childhood self as a brat, even going so far as to say, “I enjoyed hurting people”’ (Biography). After primary school William attended Oxford University where his father wanted him to become a scientist but his choice was to study literature. In 1935, he began teaching English and philosophy in Salisbury, after college, which inspired his novel “Lord of the Flies”. After writing this, he temporarily abandoned this profession to join the Royal Navy to fight in World War II, where he served

In the allegorical novel Lord of the Flies, the author, William Golding uses elements of heat to portray how humans are naturally evil and without guidance and rules will turn to savages. From the heat of the boys' first day on the island, to the foreshadowing of Jack and his tribe splitting, and finally to the hunt of Ralph and setting the whole island on fire, Golding uses subtle literary elements to display his underlying themes. Even though Golding uses the elements of heat to describe the natural elements of the island, he also incorporates the heat of the boys' hunts and the cold of Ralph and Piggy being deserted by Jack and his tribe to further depict his messages.