'Lord of the Flies': Chapter 1 Analysis

Lord of the Flies is the masterpiece of William Golding. With its medium size, the author exerts his imagination and creativity, and successfully produces plenty of vivid and appropriate symbols, which

In Lord of the Flies by John Steinback a group of young boys are stranded on an island. To survive the boys decided to vote who should be their leader, Ralph or Jack. Piggy is a smart, fat boy who is not respected by the boys. Ralph is the face of leadership but not the best for the job compared to Piggy. Piggy is the brains behind Ralph who gives the essential idea to further progress the island.

Write an analysis of the opening chapter of the novel. How successfully does Golding convey the positive and negative aspects of the island and mans impact on it?

“In a 2005 survey about gay bullying statistics, teens reported that the number two reason they are bullied is because of their actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender expression”, according to bullyingstatistics.org. It has also been shown that those who are bullied themselves often go on to bully others because it is all they know, or that bullying covers up their own shames. The character Jack Merridew in Lord of the Flies is not evil like many would argue, but rather is ashamed of the fact that he is gay and closeted. This is supported by the hunter’s casting off of religion and government, Jack’s inability to hunt unless in front of other boys, and the beast as a symbol.

The first chapter of the novel, The Lord of the Flies, by William Golding is effective in establishing the characters, concerns and language for the remainder of the book, as well as introducing the main themes of the novel; that the problems in society are related to the sinful nature of man and good verses evil. In Golding's first chapter, the main characters are introduced, we see many ominous signs of what's to come through the authors choice of language and the beginning of rivalries, issues and concerns are portrayed which are to continue throughout the rest of the book. The

Shortly after Jack’s rebellion and the forming of a new tribe, his violence transitions from insults to murder. Instantly, After the death and murder of Piggy and the destruction of the conch, Jack tells Ralph, “there isn’t a tribe for [him] any more” and proceeds to claim that “[he’s] chief”. Jack’s reaction to another individual's deaths shows the evil that resides within him as he no longer cares about human life, only power. He wanted to break the conch, because that’s what inforced the rules and was like magnet pulling the boys to Ralph’s tribe. Jack would do anything to get rid of it, even at the life of another. Piggy’s death signified the things Jack

Ralph's antithesis in the novel is Jack, the book's antagonist. Jack is uncompromising as well as domineering and represents impulsive savagery and violence; he has a desire and craving for power, which is shown early in the book when he is infuriated that he loses the election of island leader to Ralph. However, Jack soon learns how to become the real leader over all of the boys. He begins by instinctively appealing to their base instincts, becoming more savage and barbaric; he hunts pigs and obsesses over this violence. He eventually learns to control the boys with their fear of the beast. Jack is the quintessential example of one who misuses free will; Jack chooses to use his knowledge and power to bring out the savagery in the little ones. Jack's savage mindset becomes even more power-hungry and violent after he kills his first pig, "His mind was crowded with memories; memories

“We all have a social mask, right? We put it on, we go out, put our best foot forward, our best image. But behind that social mask is a personal truth, what we really, really believe about who we are and what we 're capable of” (Phil McGraw) one once said. In Lord of the Flies the characters wear a social mask that opposes their true feelings. Written by William Golding, the story revolves around a group of boys who become stranded on an island and must depend on themselves to survive. They elect a chief, a boy named Ralph. However, as the story progresses, the group become influenced by Jack, an arrogant choir chapter boy. Intriguingly, although they desire to be with Jack and join his tribe, the boys remain with Ralph for most of the story. The rhetorical triangle, which analyzes a speaker or writer based on three ideas- ethos, pathos, and logos-, helps many to better understand the children’s actions and mentality; ethos focuses on the credibility and ethics of the speaker while pathos concerns how the speaker appeals to the emotions of the audience and logos is about the speaker’s use of evidence to appeal to the audience’s sense of reason. The boys stay with Ralph because of Ralph’s use of ethos but prefer to be with Jack because of Jack’s use of pathos and ethos which shows Golding’s message- humans were masks.

A few days after the boys are stranded, the way Jack is described shows how quickly he is regressing. Jack is described as "Bent double... down like a sprinter, his nose only a few inches from the humid earth" (Golding 50). Jack is the head of the choir boys and not too long in the book he seems to be growing more animal like. This description suggests that no matter a person's status, everyone has a primitive nature in them waiting to be released. Golding further enforces this belief when Ralph spears his first pig. "Ralph talked on excitedly. 'I hit him all right.'" Ralph is the good leader trying to get everyone rescued and not get caught up in the killing while Jack is supposed to be the immature, animalistic savage. Readers were disturbed when they realized that good people, such as Ralph, can become just as twisted as people like

Jack Merridew quickly finds himself, losing all civilized traits he once had. When the boys wash up on the deserted island , Jack clearly asserts himself into the leader, and the best thing going on the island. Jack then loses a leader vote to Ralph, Jack and his choir boys are quickly assigned the duties of hunters. But when Jack is met with the first animal he sees out hunting he is quickly met with internal conflict, “The three boys rushed forward and Jack drew his knife again. He raised his arm in the air.. The pause was only long enough for them to understand what an enormity the downward stroke would be. Then the piglet tore loose from the creepers and scurried into the undergrowth… ‘I was choosing a place. Next time!’ “ (31). While Jack originally deems himself as the best and bravest, he has areal moment of weakness, when he finds himself being incapable of being able to kill the pig. He really has a battle within himself, so when he was given the hunter job he gladly accepted. At this time he became a hypocrite and not only made a mockery of himself, but as Jack represent his choir boys which are now known as hunters. Jack’s action however, foreshadows an event to come when does infact see another pig, there will be no hesitation. Further in the novel, the group of survivors have lost all civilized traits they once had. The boys are divided on who really is the true leader and the impending

In Lord of the Flies, Golding writes from the perspective of a young boy, reliving the experience for himself the adventure and chaos of boyhood. But, throughout the story, the themes get exponentially darker, as boys begin to die and fight over power. The unnecessary violence between the boys spurs many fatal problems, and their disability to coexist brings disaster to their “ civilization”,mirroring the goings on of the outside world during the Cold War.

Have you ever wondered why the author adds in the little details about specific matters in their texts? Do these characteristics really make an alteration? In the story, The Lord of the Flies by William Golding, there are many significant messages behind his words. Some examples in his novel are Piggy’s glasses, the conch, and the scar. When you first read this novel, you may not ponder on these inanimate objects, but, if you take time to reflect on the context, you will encounter a greater meaning that Golding is trying to express.

The first chapter of the novel, The Lord of the Flies, by William Golding is effective in establishing the characters, concerns and language for the remainder of the book, as well as introducing the main themes of the novel; that the problems in society are related to the sinful nature of man and good verses evil. In Golding’s first chapter, the main characters are introduced, we see many ominous signs of what’s to come through the authors choice of language and the beginning of rivalries, issues and concerns are portrayed which are to continue throughout the rest of the book. The microcosm on the Island is presented from an early stage, as well as themes that emerge and remain important throughout

In reading the book “ Lord of the Flies” a theme that the reader would notice is the fight between civilization vs. savagery. This theme can be observed in the roles that the character establish, their actions towards their companions, and what each character symbolizes.

“Isolation is a dream killer” (Barbara Sher). In the novel Lord of the Flies written by William Golding, kids stranded on an island must figure out how to survive. By hunting pigs and building shelters the kids tried to subsist on the island. Through the process of hunting, the kids became cruel, evolving to the point of being barbaric. Thus, through the barbaric actions of the boys and the outside world, Golding shows that savagery exists in all people.