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Lord of The Flies Essay

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Lord of the Flies was published in 1954 by William Golding. Today Lord of the Flies is a well known literary criticism. Many schools require their students to read Lord of the Flies because of the literary criticisms in the book. In this paper three themes or literary criticisms are talked about: good vs. evil, symbolism of characters, and maturity of characters.
Another topic in Golding's Lord of the Flies is the battle of good vs. evil. Everything seems to start out just fine on the island; the island seems to be rich with fruit and game and the climate is favorable. The real problem that arises among the boys involves their own inner nature, and emerges from an argument between those who wish to keep a fire burning on the island's …show more content…

The boys are wearing black cloaks "from throat to ankle" showing the subdued state of the boys before puberty. When they are given permission from Jack to uncover, they emerge as powerful drives. This is seen when they begin to run wild fetching for wood for the fire, and hunting like savages (Martin; Golding 34). The competition between good and evil starts with the gradual struggle between Ralph and Jack, the two oldest boys, for priority. Ralph is the natural leader by virtue of his superior height, strength, and beauty. His mild expression proclaims him “no devil.” He possesses the symbol of authority, the conch. Jack, on the other hand, is described in completely different terms; he is distinguished by his ugliness and his red hair, a traditional demonic conception (Rosenfield). Ralph and Jack do not get along well throughout Lord of the Flies; Jack has his clan rob and steal from Ralph's camp. Also Piggy and Simon are killed by Jack's choir boys. After the boys are murdered Jack wants all the power and tries to kill Ralph by burning down the island. In the process of burning down the island a Navy helicopter rescues the boys from the island so evil does not overcome good on the island. After all the conflicts between good and evil; the murder of Piggy and Simon, robbery, violence, and the burning of the island good still came out on top

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