Lord Of The Flies By William Golding

Sometimes people wear fake personas like a cloak over their shoulders, used to hide what is really underneath. This harsh reality is witnessed in William Golding’s classic Lord of the Flies, a novel that is famous for not only its sickening plot, but also for the emotional breakdowns all of its characters experience. These issues are akin to those shown in certain real-world psychological experiments. A summary of Golding’s Lord of the Flies, combined with the evidence shown in a psychological experiment referred to as “The Bystander Effect”, describe how the disturbing behaviors in each scenario parallel one another and show the dark side of humanity.

What is to be considered good and evil is a common debate in modern day society. But furthermore, what is stronger, good or evil is the more contradictory question. In reality, good and evil co-exist and without one the other cannot exist. Although, many see evil as being weak and powerless, evil is stronger than good because it is harder to overcome, antagonists often have a higher impact on the protagonist and because good is dependent on evil.

People often say “ We aren 't born evil, the world makes us evil.” On the contrary I believe that people are born inherently evil, based on the book The Lord of the flies, this is how the children reacted in a situation where a civilized society is not present to tell them right from wrong. Even in the book The Lord of the Flies, the boys try to create some sort of normalcy to the island to try and keep a type of order on the island by electing a chief and holding meetings to figure out what they should do next to stay in a civilized mindset. “Meetings. Don’t we love meetings? Every day. Twice a day. We talk.” (Pg. 51) Some of the boys choose to make shelters and others choose a more violent route of hunting wild pigs. As we see throughout the book the boys who choose to go hunt the pig and fight are the ones that turn against Ralph and Piggy and try, and succeed in circumstances of Piggy, to kill them.

Lord of the Flies, William Golding’s famous novel, reveals the influence that personal advantage can convey in human decisions. The novel describes the diversity in the fundamentals and corruption of power, exemplifying the lure of personal advantage in contrast to a moral sense. When first on the island, the boys held a common view of order and leadership, in which they gravitated to the evidence of classical social order they found in Ralph. As time progressed the group of boys stranded on the island experienced a change in mindset and they rebelled against the classic expectations of society, as the lack of adults on the island led the boys to decide what actions needed to be taken. Jack corrupted Ralph’s authority using the lure of personal advantage and reciprocity, and the conflict between Jack’s goals, driven by personal gain, and Ralph 's goals, driven by a moral sense, caused the boys to act against their morals and thrust Jack into power.

The boys, in Lord of the Flies by William Golding, would rather fulfill their individual goals rather than cooperate as a whole group in society on the island, which would require that each individual boy would act for the good of group instead each person working to better themselves or just have fun. Throughout books authors include many different themes to help the reading connect or understand to what is happening in the book and in Lord of the Flies the major and biggest theme is self-interest v. progress but in every big theme there are smaller themes that help tie it together and that’s what creates a good book. The minor theme in Lord of the Flies is a struggle for power. The boys are more into self-interest and self betterness than into group collaboration and progress creating a major theme throughout the book about self-interest v progress. In the beginning of the book the boys did not fully understand the situation that they were in and how grave it was so they were interested in playing around more than building shelter or getting food and clean drinking water. Individualism and community are symbolized in Jack and Ralph. Jack symbolizes self-interest for having fun and better yourself before the group while Ralph symbolizes group progress by getting everyone rescued. The boys would rather play than build shelters and let the fire go out by not tending to it on schedule.

As time passes on the island, the boys are unable to change their clothes; as a result, the clothing become tattered and dirty, which is symbolic of their own human natures emerging as they are disconnected from civilization. Clothing shows the personality of a person, and allows people to express their true selves. In Lord of the Flies, the boys’ clothing becomes stained and filthy, just as their stained and filthy natures slowly emerge throughout the book. At the beginning of the book, the boys’ clothes are clean and free from any dirt:

In society, they are behaviors that the commonality accepts as the norm. Maintaining order through governance, rules and morals are a fundamental facet of a sustainable civilization and suppress the brutality and violence that is primal in humankind. However uncommon, these savage instincts may resurface in those who choose to defy social codes of conduct. Whether it be criminals, commons or nobles, savagery can affect each member of humankind when the situation arises. William Golding chooses to highlight this in his novel Lord of The Flies where he places innocent school boys in a chaotic environment void of this security and governance. This illustrates the overarching theme that savagery is an innate component of the human spirit, but

Ralph represents leadership, the properly socialized and civilized young man. He is attractive, charismatic, and decently intelligent. He demonstrates an obvious common sense. Ralph is the one who conceives the meeting place, the fire, and the huts. He synthesizes and applies Piggy’s intellectualism, and he recognizes the false fears and superstitions as barriers to their survival. He is a diplomat and a natural leader. In Lord Of the Flies, Ralph betrays himself quite often throughout the novel. This can be representative of the fact that he is struggling with how he should behave when the pressures of civilization are still weighing very heavily on him, and at the same time, so are the freedoms of their new life on the island. The first instance of Ralph’s betrayal of

Franklin Delano Roosevelt once said, “When you reach the end of your rope, tie a knot in it and hang on.” He implies that once you feel like it is almost over, do not give up and let go. He expects that we do our best to hold on as if we do, help will surely come. On January 12, 2010 a monstrous 7.0 earthquake struck the poverty-stricken country of Haiti. Around 220,000 people died and 300,000 were injured. This tragedy exacerbated the conditions in Haiti. After 27 days all hope of survivors was lost until Evans Monsignac, a 27-year-old father of two, was found under the rubble, alive. This unbelievable story reached headlines across the world about this young man surviving 27 days under rubble. He had nothing to eat or drink except for the sewage that oozed through the rubble. Monsignac knew it was the end of the rope for him, but he held on believing that as long as he could hold on, help would arrive. These survival stories are the basis for many well-written novels such as Life of Pi, Hatchet, and The Hunger Games. Lord of the Flies by William Golding (LOTF), a perfect example of survival, explains the savagery of young boys as they hold onto their last bit of rope on a deserted island. Jack and Ralph, two main characters of the story, quarrel with each other in hopes of showing the other boys the proper way to live or ‘hang on’.

Man’s natural inclination towards violence has plagued the human race since the emergence of us as a species, to our modern era. In William Golding 's 1954 novel Lord of the Flies, we find ourselves among a group of young schoolboys stranded on an island, without a proper leader or social order. As we observe the morphosis from innocent children into barbaric savages, Golding shows that when man is given the opportunity, he will revert back to a savage state of being.

Nature is an integral part of our lives that often isn’t taken seriously. Many people, commonly big companies, destroy nature to gain status and profit. This has been going on since humans came to be. In the novel Lord of the Flies, this is a prominent theme. In the book, many British schoolboys are stranded on an island after a plane crash. Immediately, roles are developed. Jack is a power-hungry choir boy who disrespects nearly everything- especially nature. Ralph is the leader of the group, a strong, well-built boy. Simon is an outcast. He is often analyzed as a Jesus-like figure and he is truly kind. During the novel, Jack is constantly disrespecting nature; he is always killing animals and destroying plants. Simon is very harmonious with it, he doesn’t harm anything he doesn’t have to. Ralph changes his attitude due to whom he’s with, as he is much more destructive when he is with Jack, and is kinder when with Simon. As the novel progresses, so does the severity of their traits. This theme develops at the same rate as many of the other relevant themes in the book such as ‘civilization vs. savagery’, ‘loss of innocence’, and ‘the nature of good vs. evil’. William Golding’s work, Lord of the Flies, develops a foil triad between Jack, Ralph, and Simon around the concept of ‘man vs. nature’.

The English novelist William Golding often reflects on the common theme of man’s savagery and inability to avoid one’s evil and primitive nature. Man often tries to avoid this return to a basic state just like the boys in Lord of the Flies: “We've got to have rules and obey them. After all, we're not savages. We're English, and the English are best at everything” (40). One cannot escape the inevitable however as seen in Golding’s next novel, The Inheritors: “They killed Nil and threw her into the water. And the old woman. They have taken Liku and the new one” (114). Here, the Neanderthals in this story reflect on the violent and primeval deaths of innocent people, illustrating the savagery the newcomers exhibit. Golding’s final novel, Pincher Martin again proves man’s inability to resist his downfall: "Which one do you think would suit Christopher?" (16). Here the mask in question symbolizes greed, another contributing factor to humanity’s degeneration. Man's destined rise to power or ultimate achievement of virtue, combined with the inescapable fall from grace is a significant aspect of many of Golding’s works. He proves repeatedly there is actually a hidden darkness residing within us all. His comparisons with Biblical figures paint a perfect canvas illustrating this predetermined downfall. Through his writings, Golding symbolizes the ultimate decline of human decency in different manners, ranging from a description of man in his most primitive state to the internal

Gone was a very action pact, exciting, and vigorous book. When I read Lord of the Flies I thought it was the best book ever, but that has changed. Gone was such an intriguing book because something like this could never happen in real life. I love books that could never happen in this world. When I was reading this book it felt like a dream. When I would go to sleep I was dreaming about the part I read, but the main character was me. One day everyone fifteen and older disappears. Then there is this giant dome cover a whole entire city. There was no phone or cable service and all the kids were in school. That is not the only weird thing about the book; some of the characters have power. Caine and Sam can shoot long beams out of their

For this essay, I will be discussing two particular themes from a novel called Lord of the Flies by William Golding. Lord of the Flies was written in 1954 after World War II. Ruler of the Flies is a purposeful anecdote about something that many readers can’t really describe. Individuals can't choose precisely what. It's either about the inalienable underhanded of man, or mental battle, or religion, or personal inclination, or the creator's emotions on war; however William Golding was in the Navy throughout World War II, or perhaps the greater part of the above. At the point when Lord of the Flies opens, a plane convey a gathering of British young men ages 6 to 12 has smashed on a left island in the Pacific Ocean. With no grown-ups around, the young men are left to battle for and represent themselves. Things begin to be fine at first. The young men utilize a conch shell as a talking stick, and Ralph, one of the more established young men, gets to be the boss.

In Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, Jack progressively spirals from a British schoolboy into a mean savage while residing on the island. Jack first showed his signs of savagery with his obsession of killing; which was revealed when the boys hunted the first pig. After the killing of the pig, Jack started to “dance and his laughter became a bloodthirsty snarling.” (64). Jack was so absorbed in the idea that he had just killed a pig that he showed his side of savagery with a “bloodthirsty snarl” (64) as he “danced around the fire” (65). A normal, rule-abiding schoolboy would not be laughing and dancing around the flames that cooked a dead animal; as it is a nasty and heartless action that would certainly not be made by a British choir boy. Later, after Jack kills a second pig, Jack (and the other boys) are involved with the murder of Simon, who they claim is “beastie”. Before during, and after the murder of Simon, the boys chant "Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood!” (152). Jack was “high” on the idea that he had taken the life out of another animal that he felt an urge to kill something else. While it was dark and the boys were sleep deprived an illusional, Beastie is described as a snake, and Simon, a 12 year old boy, certainly does not look nor feel like a snake. Jack’s urge to kill is so strong that he cannot restrain from killing a fellow classmate. Jack’s obsession with killing is evident when his thoughts about