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Lord Of The Flies By William Golding

Decent Essays

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. In the beginning stages of electing a chief on the island, the boys focused on the first signs of a classical order that they witness in those around them. On first thought, in the opinion of the boys: “what intelligence had been shown (by Ralph) was traceable to Piggy, and the most obvious leader was Jack.” (Golding 22) When the ‘boys’ had deduced this, Golding described Jack as exuding confidence, Piggy as intelligent but shy, and Ralph as generally kind, but to a certain extent oblivious as he heavily relies on the guidance of

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