Responsibility In Lord Of The Flies

Why do people allow their pride and selfishness to overtake their thoughts and their actions? Why do they want to look out for themselves rather than help out a group of people? They will act on their thoughts based on selfishness but not of what is right or wrong, which will eventually cause them to make decisions that affect others in negative aspects. The people around them will sometimes allow the selfish actions influence them, and change how they act and their thoughts. In the novel, Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, Jack’s decision making is based on his prideful and selfish thinking, which creates conflicts and hardships with the other boys, making their challenge to get back home even more difficult.

In Lauren Slater’s novel, Opening Skinner’s Box chapter four involves having two psychologists named John Darley and Bibb Latane experimenting to see why some people choose to ignore those in need of help. If we were to associate this chapter to the boys from the book Lord of the Flies by William Golding, we would see how their behavior contradicts Darley’s and Latane’s experiment. The two young psychologists experiment shows that if there is a group of people witnessing an act of crime or an emergency occurring that they are less likely to help the person or persons who are in need of help because responsibility is being passed around amongst them (diffusion of responsibility). By solely focusing just on diffusion of responsibility, Darley and Latane overlook the deeper problem of other factors being involved in not being compassionate enough to help the person out. For this reason, is why I disagree with Darley and Latane saying diffusion of responsibility is what prevents people from helping others.

In the story “Lord of the Flies” by William Golding, he shows how the boys lost all innocence and civilization. The boys went from having innocent child minds to taking lives of other people, acting savage, and losing all civilization due to problems on the island. The boys had forgotten where they came from and became savage in order to survive; it was the need of survival that caused the loss of innocence among the boys.

He even goes on to imply that killing is more important than being rescued when he says: “all the same, I’d like to catch a pig first,” while Ralph notices “a mad look… [in] his eyes.” Jack and his followers fall so deep into the darkness that they murder an innocent boy: Simon. As the boys chant, “Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood,’ Jack leads them on to kill “the beast” which is actually Simon. The next day Jack goes on to beat another child and shows no remorse for anything that he has done. That is when it is apparent to readers that he has officially lost all humanity and is completely savage. Golding is showing that anyone, even a young child, if pushed far enough, can give in to that evil inside them. Everyone has a choice, but some seem to give in a little easier than others.

It is a very arguable subject on whether or not people are born with good intentions, and therefore taught by others the ‘evil’ side of their personality. Whether it is the absence of ethical conduct in human nature, or just the way one perceives a situation, evil seems to be prominent in our everyday lives. Humans seem to have a moral code that follows them with every decision they make, yet despite the laws of morality and society, people of this world still seem to behave inhumanely because of the act of self-preservation, human interest, and who exactly the authority figure is at the time.

Possessing a personal dignity is a contemporary value to all people, a title in which the society places upon the worthy, the respected, the valued. However, the process of removing this title is a humiliating one and a situation that we instinctively despise as we are left feeling degraded and shunned from civilisation. P.D.James address the fear of loss of dignity by humiliating the characters in the dystopian society, by threatening them with the reality of infertility. In the novel the human race is no longer able to reproduce and continue their existence. As an outcome society is desperate and ashamed as they cannot reproduce like the animals who multiple subconsciously without complication. As quoted, “For all our knowledge, our intelligence,

“Telling us to obey instinct is like telling us to obey ‘people.’ People say different things: so do instincts. Our instincts are at war...Each instinct, if you listen to it, will claim to be gratified at the expense of the rest” (C.S. Lewis). C.S. Lewis, a world-renowned author, believed that human instincts battle against each other in order to influence one’s decisions. Similarly, in the novel, Lord of the Flies, William Golding describes a scenario in which animalistic instincts prevail over societal intuition when a group of boys are stranded on a deserted island without any adults. At first, the boys are generally civilized, working together to maintain a signal fire and holding assemblies. However, as time

Sometimes we wonder: What truly makes one an adult? Do they have to be over 18 to be an adult? Do they need to have a good job or a home and family? Although there is no clear-cut answer for this question, in my eyes, adults are seen as responsible people who are able to properly function in the “real world” and have a clear mind to think of solutions for conflicts that may arise. The roles of these types of adults are a key factor in William Golding’s Lord of the Flies. This is seen in many places throughout the story, such as in the boys’ society, their struggle and eventual loss of order, and their actions when reunited with an actual adult. Overall, adults are seen as a symbol of order for the boys on the island, a symbol which

“It was a recognition that the teen-age years were very tumultuous and that, although they are full-grown and can do damage, … they can't really be held responsible” a man named Dr. Kraemer explains (Sachs). There are times in which children can take others’ lives, which happens for a variety of reasons. The children do not actually understand what has happened, so responsibility cannot be thrust upon them. The same occurs in The Lord of the Flies by William Golding. A multitude of young boys survive a plane crash and end up stranded on an island with no adults, nothing salvageable, and no societal ties. They create a fragile society of their own on the island, but order is falling as the boys are left there longer and longer. Inevitably, arguments

In the novel, "Lord of the Flies," a group of British boys are left on a deserted island in the middle of nowhere. Throughout the novel, they have conflicts between civilization and savagery, good vs. evil, order vs. chaos, and reason vs. impulse. What would it be like if the boys were replaced by a group of girls? Would they behave the same way they did in the novel? I believe that the girls would act in the same behavior as the boys in all ways because, everyone is installed with evil inside them which is their natural instinct, also because in life there is always a power struggle in all manners, and the outcome with the girls would be similar-since both sexes would plan on getting rescued.

The emotional behavior and irrationality of human nature guarantees that any society created by people will be plagued with defects and flaws, particularly the disownment of logic and reason. This is due to the reality that people act on emotion and instinct rather than on logic and rationality, causing humans to be, by nature, corrupt and narcissistic. As a result, people are inclined to fulfill their selfish desires, causing them to reject order and democracy, and instead embrace the development of chaos and anarchy. William Golding’s Lord of the Flies documents the story of a coalition of schoolboys, stranded on an island, and how the society that they form devolves into turmoil. Evaluating how Piggy is rejected due to his unseemly appearance and ideas, his respect for order and peace in contrast with the boys’ lust for destruction, as well as Piggy’s attempts and overall

After World War II countries were in shambles, overran with fear that was fueled by the abundance of hate and violence that stemmed from Germany. The plentiful amounts of evil William Golding was witnessing drove him to write Lord of the Flies. Form this, we can conclude that aspects of his story are an allegory to what Golding observed throughout the war. In his story, William Golding expresses the importance of a civilization’s nature to be ethically correct and explains that without the precise guidance, the natural savageness of humans can prevent society from thriving. Golding’s statement is correct because without society’s moral compass humans would revert to their savage nature, pray on the weak, and would be driven toward aggression.

The main theme of Lord of the Flies is that moral nature is not instinctive in mankind. There is a capacity for evil in all people, and their morality is superficial. Nonetheless, it is this moral integrity that must continue in order for a person to be ethical, for society to be maintained, and to keep society from falling in on itself. Society holds everyone together. Without the rules and the structure, evil in everyone becomes more prominent, and ideals, values, and basics of right and wrong are forgotten. Without society's rigid rules, chaos and savagery come to light. There are also a number of secondary themes in the book such as: people will abuse power when it is not earned; people will degrade others to

According to Lord of the Flies by William Golding, man is fundamentally evil at their core and war is inevitable. The boys on the island, much like men within war, suffer the fight within themselves between good and evil. Some of the children on the island, such as Piggy and Ralph, notice their loss of innocence but characters such as Jack and his hunters do not see this change because they are blinded by their own evil misdoings. From the plane crash to the inevitable rescue by the British naval officer, Golding uses irony to prove that war shows mankind’s hidden evil.

If the instinct for savagery lies latent in all human beings, can they truly be held personally accountable for their actions? In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, one of the overarching themes of the novel is the conflict between savagery vs civilization, and explores the concept of the individual vs the society. Civilization, society and its righteous and morally good ideologies are represented by Ralph, and those of aggression, individualism and the morally bad are associated with Jack. Ralph, as first elected leader of the tribe of boys argues for organization and self sacrifice for the better good of being rescued and maintaining peace, whereas Jack slowly and insidiously wins over the support of the boys by promising fun and freedom- under his tyranica rule, naturally. It is plainly obvious, with both the reader’s good sense and Golding’s obvious inclination towards Ralph, that he is the most appropriate leader and that a civilized society is the correct and right way to go about governance.