Lord of the Flies by William Golding

In the beginning of the Lord of the Flies we are introduced to two young boys, who have survived a tragic plane crash. The aircraft was an evacuation plane and it was transporting the group of boys out of England. One of the boys named Piggy is trying to catch up to the other boy, Ralph. Piggy is described as being very fat and shorter than Ralph. He wears “thick spectacles” (William Golding 7) and he is the first to determine that they are on an island. Piggy is also the one that knows how to use the conch shell and comes up with the use of it, which is to call everyone else to the beach. He believed the conch created order. Once the conch had been used we are introduced to more boys and they gain interest in Piggy’s glasses. They discover that Piggy’s glasses can start fires and they refer to them as “burning glasses” (Golding 40). The boys also rejoiced when they discovered that his glasses could create the fires. They proclaimed, “His specs - use them as burning glasses!” (Golding 38). The spectacles symbolize Piggy’s intelligence, which distinguished him from the others. Without the glasses Piggy would be blind and he would not know what to do. Although Piggy is portrayed as being physically weak and not having a great chance at survival, he is the only one that seemed to know a few survival skills. He is the one that created the fire, sundial and shelter. Without his glasses he would not be ‘intelligent’. His appearance and personality cause him to be shunned

The island in William Golding’s novel, Lord Of The Flies, is one of wonder and a great deal of natural resources. However what develops on this oasis is war, bloodshed and cruelty. This could also be said for Earth, as the same traits occur in the global society as well. Therefor, the island symbolises the entire outside world in three key ways, social relationships, war, and politics.

In today’s world, there are many different and effective types of governments. They range from republics to dictatorships, with each of them having pros and cons regarding their effectiveness and how happy the people living under them are. In Lord of the Flies, author William Golding tells the story of a group of boys stranded on an island, with only their wits to keep them alive. 2 boys eventually take power. The first to take power, Ralph, uses a democratic government in order to keep things fair for all of the boys. However, this fails, and the second boy Jack takes power. He uses a totalitarian government, and while it is very effective, Jack’s inability to lead becomes a major problem, and his poor decision-making eventually burns down the entire island. William Golding uses Lord of the Flies as a political allegory in order to prove that both democratic and totalitarian governments will only succeed if the people in their systems support the goals given to them by their government.

“A leader is one that knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way” (Maxwell). When put into a desperate situation someone has to be a leader. There are plenty of obstacles that go into leading and the ones that can manage and master the obstacles are the best leaders. Two boys fight to be leader one prevails and does his absolute best to make sure the island remains intact. In the story Lord of the Flies by William Golding, he builds a competition between two characters named Ralph and Jack both fighting for leadership and in the end Ralph is the best leader by personal freedoms, environmental policy, and labor/industry.

William Golding utilizes Lord of the Flies to prove that the inherent nature of man is truly savage and cannot be contained by any form of civil government. Characters, setting, atmosphere, and other elements are all used by Golding in the novel as metaphors and symbols to ultimately reveal the natural intention of man. In Thomas Hobbes’ Leviathan, John Locke’s Concerning Civil Government , and Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s The Social Contract, they share their own personal interpretations on man’s inherent nature, with the closest to Golding being Hobbes. Although both Golding and Hobbes state that man’s true nature is evil and selfish, Hobbes advocates for an absolutist government as capable of controlling man through fear of punishment, as opposed to Golding’s belief that no form of government is sufficient to control man. Conversely, Rousseau argues that men are born with morality and inalienable freedom, and John Locke believes that man is free but is neither inherently reputable nor immoral but a blank slate. Both want the people to be in control to prevent corruption from changing man, although Rousseau insists that a direct democracy to completely give power to the people would be more effective rather than only a representative democracy where the people would have individuals represent them which Locke suggests.

Many people have their own views on humanity. They can either be that humans are essentially good but can become corrupt or that people are just essentially evil. They have their own opinions, some people can tell their perspective on humans in other fashions. If people are essentially good, they how do they become corrupt? Or if are truly evil, then why do some people seem like they are kind people and they can never do such things? To take both of these into account, a person may saw that people are good but deep down have evil within them. People may ask how does the evil within a person come out, the answer to that is that it is thanks to their environment. The environment around a person can undoubtedly draw out the evil within them

According to Lord of the Flies is still a Blueprint for Savagery by Eleanor Learmonth and Jenny Tabakoff, the words “I’m afraid. Of us” first appeared in Golding’s novel 60 years ago. Lord of the Flies by William Golding follows a group of schoolboys trapped on an island after a plane crash during a world war. At the beginning, they celebrate as they have total autonomy as there are no adults around. They attempt to establish a civilization but when order collapses, they go on a journey from civilization to savagery. In Lord of the Flies by William Golding, Jack mostly represents id, Ralph mostly represents ego, and Piggy mostly represents superego.

Does every human have an inbred evil quality within their soulful selves? Nobel-Prize winning author, William Golding accurately exemplifies the fact that evil is an inborn characteristic in “Lord of the Flies” one of his finest books explaining to his readers the acrimonious truth about human nature. Golding started establishing his pessimistic view about human nature throughout his times at World War Two where he came to realize that everyone has some sort of cruelty within them and it is a natural part of mankind. Set during the time period of World War Two, the book is about a group of English boys being evacuated safely out of the country, but the plane crashes, leaving the boys stranded on a deserted island, the boys try to manage themselves in a civilized way, but instead end up becoming savage. Lacking of being in a civilized area, Roger one of the characters, starts attaining pleasure from hurting others. Jack the antagonist of the novel, due to his immense lust for power, he started showing attributes of savagery. Ralph the protagonist of the book who started off kind and supportive towards the idea of civilization, he too became a victim of savagery later on. As portrayed by Golding through the symbolic representation of the “Beast”, evil is an inborn characteristic that cannot be evaded and is forever within humankind. Similar to the Yin-Yang, a Chinese symbol for qualities in life, states that there is a bit of bad within everything good and a bit of good within

Imagine yourself in one of the characters shoes in the novel “Lord of the flies.” You would see yourself loaded with responsibilities, major decisions, etc. “Lord of the Flies” represents a microcosm of adult society. The island can act as a democratic government, demonstrate knowledge, and each character can demonstrate an aspect of adult society. William Golding was in the Royal Navy during WWII. He creates a smaller image for what’s really happening in the world.

Henry David Thoreau once said, “The savage man is never quite eradicated.” Clearly, he is implying that in every person there is savageness. Therefore, under the right conditions their savage nature will emerge once again. In Lord of the Flies by William Golding, the author utilizes symbolism to convey the regression the boys undergo from being civilized to being barbaric. The mask symbolizes the boys' freedom from society's expectation and there is the brutal killing of the sow, which illustrates their loss of innocence and fall to savagery. By portraying this relapse into barbarism, Golding seems to be commenting on the violent nature of humanities’ basic instinct.

A good leader is one who knows how to lead with control and has strong leader characteristics. In the novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding, some readers support the fact that Jack was a better leader than Ralph, but others feel that Ralph was the better leader. Although many supporters feel that Ralph is the best leader, it is evident that Jack is the better leader because he can effortlessly control the group on the island.

William Golding wrote Lord of the Flies as a way to counteract an existing thought at the time, that those who would overcome adversity would become significantly more compassionate, peaceful, and respectful to the many surrounding them. Living in the midst of war, are a group of English schoolchildren, whose plane is shot down, landing on a deserted tropical island. Two of the school children, Ralph and Piggy, quickly come across a conch shell on the beach, realizing that it could be used to assemble the other boys. Following this gathering, the group of boys decide on having Ralph as leader and Jack to be in charge of the boys who hunt for food. Soon, a few military planes become engaged in a battle occurring far above the land which the boys are on. As the many boys continue to sleep, they fail to notice the lights and explosions in the night sky. In the midst of this battle, a parachutist drifts to land on the signal-fire mountain, however, he is dead. The twins, Sam and Eric who are placed responsible as to watch the fire throughout the night, are asleep, and are unsuccessful of seeing the parachutist. Once awake, they see the silhouette of the parachute, large, mimicking the beast of the island which they fear. Running back to the camp, they tell of their encounter with the image of the beast, and a hunting expedition is quickly organized for a search. Traveling up the mountain, they view the silhouette of the parachute as an enormous ape. Jack tells the others of what

In Lord of the Flies by William Golding, there are many characters that are great examples of good and bad leaders. Most readers perceive Ralph as a good leader, while Jack is a bad leader. Other characters, such as Simon and Piggy, are seen as somewhere in the middle. There are many qualities, good and bad, in all of these characters throughout the book. Looking at the events that happened on the island can help a reader see which character is the best leader. There are multiple qualities of a good leader. A good leader must be confident, approachable, knowledgeable, motivated, and compassionate. On the contrary, all of the boys have qualities of bad leaders. A bad leader is shortsighted, negative, violent, controlling and narcissistic. All of the boys have these qualities to a certain extent.

The theme of The Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, is the reason society is flawed is because people are flawed. Although Piggy is knowledgeable, he has many flaws including his laziness and physical inabilities. Ralph is an authority seeker. He sets rules and laws, yet does little to enforce them. Ralph wants to be the ruler, without doing the work to enforce his laws. Jack is persistent. He is rude, harsh and violent in order to get what he wants. He wants to be supreme. Piggy’s flaws are impactful in the story. His laziness and lack of physical ability hurt him in his quest for survival.

Reading the novel Lord of the Flies, by William Golding has been an experience some will never forget. Most people never knew islands and children could be a disaster. Some believe Ralph demonstrates the best leadership on the island. Ralphs ability to successfully get everyone quiet at the meeting. Organizing everyone into groups on what they should do like building shelters so he gained the followers at the start. One of the best reasons Ralph shows the best leadership is when he is showing productive leadership by giving the others instructions. Furthermore shows good order and civilization throughout the novel. In addition leadership in the real world when the leader talks less and listens more to the people that follow them. Finally some may say Jack is a good leader because he can kill a pig but that’s not all a good leader should be able to do.