Power In Lord Of The Flies Research Paper

Piggy's death is the symbolization of the breakdown of order and the beginning of disunity on the island. This breakdown of order is clearly delineated in the book. Jack sees the chance to kill Ralph right after Piggy is killed because Ralph is vulnerable, and alone against Jack and his tribe. Jack takes it upon himself to declare himself as the leader, “I’m chief!” (Page 181). Jack sees the opportunity to proclaim himself as leader of the boys after Piggy dies and the conch is destroyed. Jack then proceeds to barrage Ralph with spears in an attempt to kill him, “Viciously, with full intention, he hurled the

Society tends to base one’s judgement on more of a physical build rather than an intellectual mindset. Piggy begins to be bullied to an extent that his glasses have been shattered by the other boys. Although everyone tends to bully his physicality, which is his lack of a good eyesight, what should matter more to the group is the insight he can provide. Even as seen in his final death scene, “The rock struck Piggy a glancing blow from chin to knee; the conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist” (181), we see that the conch throughout the novel, has shown to represent pure government structure. And because Piggy and the conch were both destroyed, society turned into complete chaos. His death is not only symbolic of the end to civilization, but also the way he died was quick and almost meaningless. Piggy died protecting what he believed was right, and his death represents the intellectuals of society who are completely shunned by more dominant figures, which in this case is Ralph. He pursued what he believed was right, however, Jack’s group of boys

According to Ursula K. Le Guin, “The desire for power feeds off itself, growing as it devours.” Throughout history, the desire of power leaves behind a destructive mark, through wars, betrayals and deaths. This stays consistent in William Golding’s “Lord of the Flies”; a story of young boys who are stuck on an island after a plane crash. . Jack Merridew, the head boy of his school, slowly reveals his evil nature while trying to take over the tribe. Throughout the book, his humanity enervates, while his desire for power strengthens and grows. By utilizing Jack Merridew’s actions and reasons, Golding suggests that the appetite for power manifests man’s true evil nature and results in violence.

Power can be beneficial to a society but it can also be poison. In Golding’s Lord of the Flies a plane full of schoolboys crashes on a deserted island with no civilization and no adults. The boys, left the manage themselves, vote on a leader, create a plan to maintain a fire, and build shelter. Theoretically the boy should be safe until they’re rescued, but with every government there is controversy. After the boys begin to adapt to the island the head of the hunters, Jack, begins to grow unhappy with this leadership. Using symbolism Golding creates a government and a place of power that is bother very desirable and very dangerous that is present in many novels like Orwell’s Animal Farm. Jack’s constant struggle for power and validation illustrates

To be a good leader, one must be willing to listen to suggestions, make tough decisions for the betterment of the group, and know boundaries. Ralph had good intentions in the beginning but soon begins to think only his way is right. But even when something can bring a whole group together, it can tear that same group apart. As soon as the power moves to Jack, the conch’s power over the boys disappears. Jack, Piggy, and Ralph start to fight and in the middle of the tousle, a boulder falls, killing Piggy and shattering the conch. Golding writes, “The conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist” (Golding 181). As the conch disappears, the dictorial system vanishes also, leaving the boys with no structure. The broken conch represents all civilization and ideas that pertain to it. The conch was the glue that held everyone together. By blowing on it, all the boys met in the same spot and came together as a group, but by fawning over the thing, it eventually drove a stake in between them with jealousy and aggravation and hunger. With no structure, people begin to change. They allow themselves to change, but not by their

Piggy urges Ralph to use what power he has left by calling a meeting: “’What’s grown-ups going to say?’ cried Piggy again…The sound of mock hunting, hysterical laughter, and real terror came from the beach. ‘Blow the conch, Ralph...You got to be tough now. Make ‘em do what you want.’ Ralph answered in the cautious voice of one who rehearses a theorem. ‘If I blow the conch and they don’t come back; then we’ve had it. We shan’t keep the fire going. We’ll be like animals. We’ll never be rescued.’” In this situation, Piggy is still worried about the punishment of his previous life. He is the closest thing to an adult on the island, and Ralph is the only one who advocates listening to him, illustrating Ralph’s connection to the rules of traditional civilization, which the other boys despise and want to escape through the island. After showing blatant disregard to their “chief’s” rules, they decide to escape the constraints of Ralph’s assemblies and embrace their inner savagery with Jack. Piggy urges Ralph to blow the conch, the symbol of his power throughout the book, but Ralph understands that his form of leadership is becoming the less desirable option to the boys: if he calls an assembly and the other boys do not respond, its power, and his civilization, will have completely disintegrated. Ralph constantly emphasizes their responsibilities on the island—specifically, tending to the signal fire.

In William Golding’s novel The Lord of the Flies, power is something that everyone wants. Golding conveys one democracy with a single leader is more beneficial than having multiple commanders attempting to lead the group, but the boys all want power for themselves. Firstly, the boys assign the lead role to Ralph, but soon come to conflict and end up having Jack lead the savages while Ralph lead the civilization tribe. Secondly, Jack isn’t very happy with the group's choice because he feels that he would be the best choice. There is conflict between the boys because they see each other as a threat. Secondly, having one democracy would lead the boys to guaranteed success because it would require them to work as a team and strengthen their brotherhood. Thirdly, Piggy struggles to gain recognition and power to help the group and share his knowledge for the best. He has lots of knowledge, but doesn’t get a chance to show it. It might have also prevented the tragic deaths and experiences faced. The boys demonstrate how power will always be something everyone wants, but only will be given to the most worthy.

He refused to accept his faults of losing the fire. Piggy’s disapproval and the crowd’s agreement causes a harsh reaction from Jack: “He took a step, and able at last to hit someone, stuck his fist into Piggy’s stomach. Piggy sat down with a grunt. Jack stood over him. His voice was vicious with humiliation” (71). Jack chooses the route of violence over understanding his wrongdoings. Although this action comes from cowardly judgement, it establishes Jack’s start of dominance to gain power. By selfishly using his physical advantage to spite Piggy, Jack excludes others to save himself from further embarrassment and frustration. In further opposition against Piggy, Jack deflects the conch’s significance. Piggy tries to defend his right to speak when Jack bursts in, “‘Conch! Conch!’ shouted Jack. ‘We don’t need the conch any more. We know who ought to say things’” (101-102). The immediate disrespect to Piggy’s defense creates a distrust between them, but it lets Jack obtain more power. Jack also subtly suggests the ease in suggesting who should speak which further lessens order in everyone’s contribution. The pursuit to shut down equal speech decreases Piggy and Ralph’s influence. Jack’s willingness to completely disregard others for control makes him appear more selfish, but he gains greater dominance with these interactions, which is all he cares about. Jack displays social ignorance

There is something in all of us that is the strongest desire we have, to have power. You see it everywhere, in our nation’s leaders, in our sport’s programs, even in something as basic as a middle school class. In Lord of the Flies, you witness multiple characters striving to be leaders, even though they only focus on one thing at a time. Once they have that power, it’s often taken too far or not even represented at all. William Golding used the desire for power in his book to fuel it with a very life-like feeling.

A Place Full Of Power From Evil The quote by Edmund Burke, “the greater the power, the more dangerous the abuse” relates to the theme of William Golding's novel, Lord Of The Flies. William Golding's classic novel exhibits that the greater the need to have and keep power, the more evil it brings forth through the use of symbols, characters, and plot. To begin, in the novel, Golding enhances the theme of the need for power leading to evil through various symbols used within Lord Of The flies. One way power leading to evil is shown is through the conch, the shell allowing the person who has it in their grasp to speak freely.

All humans seem to be obsessed with the need for power. Something about being in control is attractive in some sort of way or another to people. It seems like in all novels that there is at least one character who is evil, and that element that makes that personage evil is their need for power and control over other people. There are also other types of people who don’t want to have power, but still need to free themselves from the bonds of other citizens who have accommodated that power. Nevertheless, humans in general have doubtlessly come across situation where they needed to either gain power, or escape the grasps of those in desperate search for it. In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, Ralph and Jack are in a nonstopping fight over power and control over the boys of the island.

Having a sense of structure and power is crucial to remain control of the boys. In the novel “Lord of the Flies” The Novel starts with a group of boys stranded on an island after a plane crash. The goal was to create a civilized society with rules to make sure no one steps out of line. Ralph and Piggy were the first characters in the novel and found other boys to create a tribe. Piggy found a conch shell and Ralph is elected Chief by the boys on the island. Ralph’s job is to make sure everyone is controlled and has a voice. The other boys Ralph, Piggy, and Simon have great responsibilities in this book. Jack is the antagonist in the novel and his job is to be the leader of the hunters, hunt meat, and tend the fire. Jack causes a lot of problems

What comes to mind when you think of power of the masses? One may think of people marching in unity or people rioting, causing havoc. Power of the masses is one of the most impactful types of power whether it’s positive or negative. This type of power generates a change, even if it is just a small one. Within the power of the masses, there is always a goal that the group is working towards, although, it’s arguable whether this goal will actually make a beneficial impact.

How did you see power being used and/or abused in this book? How would you feel if you were the main Character?

There is a certain need for power in a human’s day-to-day life. Those who are the natural leaders of the world strive to get things to be the way they want them to be. But this is not how the world works. Even when stranded and a desert island there is still some sense that the power should not be given to those who might want to cause discord in the world. There is still a sense, and a need for the kind of calm authority that all know from being in school. The strive for power is a strong one, a need so strong it will rip a community to shreds if this power is not satisfied. In the novel, Lord of the Flies, Jack has this deep desire to have the power on the island, he will sacrifice many things to get where he wants to be, and what he finds with power may not be what he had thought it would be.