Lord Of The Flies Character Analysis

Lord of the Flies is often claimed to be an allegory of modern society. While this is true, Golding’s intentions in writing this novel are much deeper. William Golding’s Lord of the Flies provides an enlightening insight into the true nature of human beings; along with why people refrain from acting upon the evil that resides within them. He presents these ideas through symbolism within the novel and it proves effective in many ways. Through symbolism, Golding can unfold the excellent plot of his novel, while subsequently sharing his ideas on the relationship of mankind and society. Golding uses the beast, the conch shell, and Piggy’s glasses to symbolize the human impulse towards ‘savagery’ and the social constructs put in place to prevent it.

(Golding 33). Being stranded on the island has majorly changed Jack, he is praised for killing pigs because of it supply of meat. The amount of praise and the feeling of victory after a kill has caused Jack to go mad. The society within the island has corrupted Jack and many of his hunters because they are praised so greatly for killing a pig that they have now adapted this hunting as an evil game, the hunts are no longer for food but instead for self pride, and praise, and power.

When the boys first encounter a pig, Jack plans on killing it. However, with the opportunity in front of him, Jack hesitates and ends up not stabbing it. This failure leads to Ralph remarking; Jack, what are you waiting for? Jack claims that he is unable to choose the correct spot on where to stab it. However, the real reason is his good conscience. Jack is unable to kill a pig because of his values, his conscience is telling him not to do it. Although Ralph questions why he doesn't stab the pig, Ralph and the boys know why Jack doesn’t stab it. “They knew very well why he hadn’t; because of the enormity of the knife descending and cutting into the living flesh; the unbearable blood” (Golding 31). This viewpoint is held by the boys, as originally, upon arrival at the island, the boys consciousness prevents them from killing a pig, as initially Jack and the boys are innocent and good natured.

I thought, by myself…I thought I might kill.”. The reader can see from this that Jack’s vocabulary is composed of only monosyllabic words as he is preoccupied only with thoughts of slaughtering. We can also interpret that Jack feels as if he has to kill in order to gain respect for himself. Jack shows this pride when he does eventually kill a pig and he retells the story of the hunt to the rest of the boys. He and some of the boys re-enact the murder in a savage and primitive style. Therefore, we can see how his behaviour has been affected as a result of his compassion and need to hunt. This change in his behaviour is very significant as hunting is how Jack begins to establish his power over the group. Soon after the killing of the first pig, Jack is able to become more powerful and Ralph begins to realise this so he says, “I’m calling an assembly.”, as he feels in danger of losing control.

Lord of the Flies by William Golding, is a novel that explores the impact of setting on human nature through the perspectives of young British boys who are trapped on an island. Simon, one of the boys, is a shy, yet responsible friend of Ralph, the group’s leader. After arriving on the island, Simon is one of a few boys who are willing to help Ralph make the island safe, unlike the other boys who are only concerned about playing and having fun. Simon adapts to the new environment by finding comfort in his surroundings, taking on more responsibility and observing the other boys actions.. Simon seems to be the only boy who notices the beauty of the island.

In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, Ralph, the fair leader, responds to his unique setting in many ways. At first, Ralph is ecstatic to be on the island and to have freedom from society’s rules, adult supervision, and authority. However, he soon finds that an irrational fear of a beast threatens to cause chaos amongst the boys. When all rules are forgotten and savagery reigns without adult authority, he takes it upon himself to enforce the island’s laws in an effort to maintain order and morality. In the end of the novel, Ralph starts to lose the specific character traits that define him as a productive leader as the boys around him turn savage

All people have evil inside them, sometimes deep enough for it to not come out. William Golding’s novel Lord of The Flies theme is that all people have evil inside them, and only rules and order can keep them from acting upon it. Ralph’s character disputes this theory because of his knowledge and wisdom, him seeking civilization and his leadership skills.

A need to hunt begins to rise in Jack after his first kill, he has tasted blood and now he wants more. This need is contagious among the boys, who will soon become Jack’s tribe, and responsibilities become forgotten. The hunts are treated as a game, similar to cat and mouse, and become more brutal as the novel progresses. The latest kill, embedded in readers memories forever, targeted and tortured a nursing sow:

Lord of the flies is a book that was written by William Golding a British novelist, playwright and poet in 1954. In the book we learn about a group of boys who after a plane crashed in a desert Island they ended up creating their own dysfunctional society. The purpose of this book is to represent the flaws of society through the group of boys trying to survive.

In the novel ‘Lord of the Flies’ by William Golding, a group of schoolboys are marooned on a tropical island after their plane crash-lands on it. At first, the boys see it as a fun adventure but it doesn 't take long for them to descend from boys to savages. The novel ends with the boys being rescued, but not before the death of several of them. In the novel, the character of Jack personifies the the evil that lies within man. This is shown through Jack’s tendency towards violence, him becoming a dictator instead of establishing a fair, democratic government when he seizes power, and the brutalization of the pig by him and his group when hunting. Overall, Jack was an evil person, and caused the most damage to the boys on the island.

Sam Thompson this story represents a war where fear became the enemy of the mind

Everyone has desires, power and committed some immoral acts in their life but at what point do these assets effect the amount of corruption present in a person.

William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, gives a look at what life would be like without any rules of civilization and how society would be when influenced by evil. Jack and Ralph battle to be the alpha male and to lead all young children to do what they think is best. Jack later decides that Ralph’s leading skills is aren’t substantial and decides to break off into a new society, taking with him many followers. Ralph believes that everyone’s goal should be to get off the island while Jack believes their society should result to chaos and war. Jack wants to lead the whole island to evil which make Ralph have to decide whether he should fall to evil or stay good. Jack's actions toward Ralph affects Ralph’s outlook on life and his choices. Jack's savage influence on Ralph’s integrity represents how easily evil can corrupt society when impacted by wrongdoing.

In the beginning of the novel, Jack is a child who has morals and is restrained by the rules of society. Jack chases after a pig, he is then faced with the situation of killing the pig with his knife. Instead of writing that he stabbed into the pig with no problem, Golding writes, “He raised his arm in the air, there came a pause, a hiatus, the pig continued to scream and the creepers to jerk, and the blade continued to flash at the end of a bony arm”(31). Jack is seen to hesitate because he has never before killed which showcases his morality. Golding writes about Jack’s “bony arm” (Golding 31) holding a shining blade; it focuses on the fact that he

In Lord of the Flies a group of innocent boys become victims of a brutal national conflict, displaying a fine example of how war leads to destruction. Jack one of the boys, relies towards his thirst for blood after he did not receive the role of chief, sparking the downfall at their attempt of an civilized life. These boys have to learn how to survive on an island without any parental figures to guard or lead them, forcing them to make decisions for themselves. It is not surprising that their first instinct is to add fun to the equation, only showing how immature these prepubescent boys really are. Golding really wants readers to understand that in order to receive the full gist of how much these boys develop from their innocent beings to “demoniac figures” (Golding 140). Without a real leviathan to establish and withhold power, their rules quickly diminish as one character influences most of their population’s adolescent minds.