Lord Of The Flies Equality Analysis

Peace and equality are two words that seem to be synonymous with each other, but when looked at closely, are extremely hard to achieve together. A society being peaceful and having completely equal rights amongst people is one that is hard to come by and William Golding’s classic allegorical masterpiece, Lord of the Flies, addresses one of the societies which fails to achieve this. In the midst of World War II, a group of young English boys is left in solitude on an island, because of a plane crash. After some thought, Ralph, a boy who eventually becomes the leader of the group, and his adversary Jack, another prominent figure throughout the story, decide they need to create a government on this island. They approach the task of creating a …show more content…
Voltaire is famous for his views on free speech, but one thing that stands out the most is when his friend explains his views and says, “I disapprove of what you say, but will defend to the death your right to say it,” (Evelyn Beatrice Hall). What this means is that even though one may disagree with something another person says, they should and must be allowed to say that certain thing no matter the circumstances. Voltaire believes that this is necessary for a country to move forward socially and politically as it would help provide various opinions on certain topics resulting in healthy debate which would eventually lead to better decision making. If this component is not adopted, Voltaire thinks the government could become oppressive, leading to dissatisfaction of its citizens which is the opposite of the purpose of society itself. Because the boys on the island do not establish the governing component that Voltaire argued for, they do not make the best decisions in necessary situations which leads previously stated disastrous consequences. At a time in the book when the boys start to worry about a monster that could possibly be inhabiting the island, Jack proclaims, “Conch! Conch!...We don’t need the conch anymore. We know who ought to say things,” (Golding 101-102). The conch being referred to in this quote is an object that gives people the ability to speak in the society that has been created. If one does not have the conch, one may not speak. The quote here displays a failure to follow such a rule which used to empower one to voice their opinion. One reason this happens is because of the fear that has arisen in the minds of a few boys as a result of the possible monster inhabiting. This fear soon turns into panic which

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