Essay on Lord of the Flies

Submitted By AmyRyan2
Words: 716
Pages: 3
Open Document
Life Without Rules: It’s Only Fun Until Someone Puts A Head on A Stake

In the story Lord of the Flies, William Golding symbolically represents the idea that good and evil are in a constant struggle with each other – a struggle within each of us as well as within groups and society. An extreme circumstance often pushes a person over the line. The novel is based during World War 2, when a plane carrying a group of boys to be evacuated from England crashes on a remote, uninhabited island. When the boys become frightened by their feeling that a “beast” inhabits the island, it begins a series of events that leads to the breakup of the group into two warring tribes – one aggressive hunting gang lead by Jack, the other a more civilized and orderly gang lead by Ralph. Jack’s gang gradually becomes the largest as kids ignore Ralph’s leadership and defect to join the hunters. Most of the kids, but the hunters in particular, become more aggressive and eventually turn from hunting to violence and eventually to murder. When they suddenly find themselves rescued and facing a disciplined officer, the boys realize how far they had devolved from the good, civilized boys that crashed on the island.
At the beginning of the story, we see that the boys still adhere to the moral code of their English school lives. This is demonstrated in part when Golding writes, "Roger gathered a handful of stones and began to throw them. Yet there was a space around Henry ... [into] which he dare not throw. Here, invisible but strong, was the taboo of his old life" (62). In this quote we see the original state of the boy’s early behavior, with the fear of authority -- parents, teachers, and police -- still weighing down on them. As the story advances more primitive and savage values seem to rule their island life. The change in Roger is a dramatic example, but the change is also reflected in the other boys who are close to him. Golding represents the change in Roger by showing how in Jack's tribe, he is relied upon to do the killing in defense by hurling a rock downhill at any intruder. Another example of how far the boy’s humanity has deteriorated is seen when Samneric says "You don't know Roger. He's a terror." (189). Samneric are expressing this fear and proving that compared to his past, innocent self, he has become a violent killer. The transformation of the beliefs and morals of the boys as the story progresses is astounding but Golding seems to imply that it could happen to any population of people unburdened by civil society.
In a famous social experiment from the 1970s, Philip G. Zimbardo, a PhD researcher at Stanford University, created a study analyzing the reactions of people put into either a subordinate or powerful, anonymous situation. To do this
Show More

Related Documents: Essay on Lord of the Flies

Lord Of The Flies

Lord of the Flies Major: Ralph- Ralph is the protagonist of the novel. He is the leader of the group. Responsible- Ralph is responsible for the failures of the group since he is chosen to be the leader. He tries his best on everything that could be done in order to get rescued from the island. Brave- Ralph is brave because he is willing to go on to the mountaintop even though he is scared. He also helps Piggy to get back his glasses and fight gainst the hunters by himself. Jack- Jack is Ralph's…

Words 2392 - Pages 10

Lord Of The Flies

A running theme in Lord of the Flies is that man is savage at heart, always ultimately reverting back to an evil and primitive nature. The cycle of man's rise to power, or righteousness, and his inevitable fall from grace is an important point that book proves again and again, often comparing man with characters from the Bible to give a more vivid picture of his descent. Lord Of The Flies symbolizes this fall in different manners, ranging from the illustration of the mentality of actual primitive…

Words 374 - Pages 2

Lord Of The Flies

Ruba Osman Mr. Jackson ENG3U November 6th 2014 Knowing one’s evil: William Golding’s “Lord of the Flies” Since human conscience began, civilization has been built on law and figures of power. Structured society relies on rules with humans naturally conditioned by their own restrictions, contrasting an unsuccessful barbaric, savage or primitive way of life. With the loss of restraint, there would be no stopping humans descent into madness—with a lack of punishment and order, there is a lack of justice…

Words 1399 - Pages 6

Lord Of The Flies

The boys from “Lord Of the Flies” were stuck on an island and had to help themselves and each other, as there was no adult with them to lay down rules. By being by themselves someone had to set rules but these rules helped at the start when they were co-operating as it progresses the boys become wild and do whatever they want. At the start Piggy found the conch and this helped them to keep their assembly’s, also whoever had hold of the conch had the power to talk. These boys had lots of discipline…

Words 788 - Pages 4

Lord Of The Flies

How does Golding portray his ideas in the Lord of the flies? Golding portrays the disagreement between the two boys from the start of the book, during the time when they dispute between who should become the leader, which creates a small anecdote of the smaller world that we have today in society. The beginning of chapter 3 starts with Golding hinting to us that the boys are starting to become less civilised, and becoming more savage, as for Jack, “eyes in this frustration seemed bolting and nearly…

Words 754 - Pages 4

Lord Of The Flies

Lord of the Flies: Setting: Lord of the Flies takes place on an uninhabited island somewhere in the Pacific Ocean, the exact date and time is unknown the reader but it is in the near future, during an atomic war going on elsewhere in the world. The scenery of the island is only extended to the reader when the boy’s knowledge of the island increases. The characters have crashed landed into the jungle of the island. We start off only following Ralph, the protagonist of the story. Ralph finds a…

Words 2040 - Pages 9

Lord Of The Flies

Lord of the Flies In Lord of the Flies the boys are stripped of the boundaries that civilization and society bring and savagery takes over while the evil inside each boy is unleashed. Through the deaths of Piggy and Simon, it becomes obvious that there is no more intellect and morality on the island, and savagery has become more prominent and stronger than civilization. In Simon’s death we see that the boys were so focused on hunting, and killing is second nature to them as they murder Simon thinking…

Words 942 - Pages 4

Lord Of The Flies

In the novel The Lord of the Flies by William Golding, the boys turn from well behaved British schoolboys into savages. There are many things that cause this, like the boy's fear, their young ages, and their hunger, but the biggest cause of the boys turning into savages is Jack Merridew. Jack doesn't care about other people, thinks that he is better than everyone else, and thinks that he is always right and loves violence and bloodshed. After Jack leaves and starts his own tribe, Ralph and Piggy…

Words 402 - Pages 2

Lord Of The Flies

There are those who believe that people are essentially evil. In William Golding's novel Lord Of The Flies, he explores the idea that, even if given a beautiful, untouched island paradise, a group of innocent children would destroy both themselves and their environment. By examining how a group of young, innocent boys are placed on an island paradise but are gradually reduced to savagery, the reader can witness Golding’s view of man. Golding’s novel teaches that, if given the opportunity , people…

Words 562 - Pages 3

Lord Of The Flies Themes

books need a theme to help build onto the plot of the book. William Golding’s Lord of the Flies has many themes that help grow the plot and make the book more interesting. From themes such as loss of innocence to civilization versus savagery, Lord of the Flies contains a numerous amounts of themes that are shown throughout the book by the various symbolic characters and objects. One of the major themes of Lord of the Flies is civilization versus savagery. Jack represents savagery while Ralph and Piggy…

Words 466 - Pages 2