Lord of the Flies – What’s the Point? Lord of the Flies, a literary classic, examines specific social and human nature issues. The boys experience power and leadership struggles, a battle with sadism, and the never-ending fight for the role of intellectuals in society. The author William Golding, presents human nature as a contrast to the reality of the boys on the island. Jack and Ralph were two boys who both wanted to be the leader. From the very beginning of the book the two boys had disagreements. Jack thought that he should be leader.
Ralph was the central character and he had a lot of pressure put on him to come up with ideas for survival. That’s where Piggy comes in; he was the never noticed sidekick of Ralph. Piggy always came up with the acceptable ideas to help Ralph be the preferred leader. Ralph was a democrat, he wanted order and things to be accomplished. Such as the rescue fire and huts being built.
At first everyone wanted to help and get everything achieved, but soon after the tasks went to a few people. The boys who did not want to work wanted to play. That is when Jack started to do whatever he wanted. Athirst Jack preferred rules, but after the book progressed he slowly put the things he wanted first; that’s when the battle for leadership starts between Jack and Ralph.
Jack wanted to have fun and to hunt. He was the appointed leader of the hunters and he had an addiction to kill. Jack got satisfaction out of slaughtering animals, it made him feel commanding and powerful. Jack represented dictatorship and showed how everything should be his way. He played on the fear of the boys and persuades them to join his tribe. Jack had his own agenda to follow.
The Term Paper on Fat Boy Ralph Boys Jack
... strong and clear through the madness and chaos. Jack Jack is the leader of the choir boys who become the first band of hunters. ... going on with me at the time. For example, when Ralph wanted to give up being chief, I was in the mindset ... that I wanted to give up on myself. Ralph didn't give up, however, and many of ...
Now that he had control over so many boys, he could have his own fort with guards. Anytime he wanted Jack and his hunters could go kill without Ralph getting mad at them for not working. Jack won the battle for leadership. Jack was the evil or the dark side of the island. The beginning of the story started out with Jack and the rest of the boys painted as innocent. Jack was just a choir boy, but slowly his human nature was tested.
He turns in to a bully, he picks on and fights with Piggy. Piggy is made an outcast by Jack teasing him about being a “fatty.” Jack also isolated Simon from the group by making fun of Simon’s view of the beast, shown in this example:’ Maybe,’ he said hesitatingly, ‘maybe there is a beast’ The assembly cried out savagely and Ralph stood up in amazement. ‘You, Simon? You believe in this?’ ‘I don’t know,’ said Simon. His heartbeats were choking him. ‘But… .’ The storm broke.
‘Sit down!’ ‘Shut up!’ ‘Take the conch!’ ‘Sod you!’ ‘Shut up!’ Ralph shouted. ‘Hear him! He’s got the conch!’ ‘What I mean is… maybe it’s only us’ ‘Nuts!’ That was from Piggy, shocked out of decorum. Simon went on.
‘We could be sort of… .’ Simon became inarticulate in his effort to express mankind’s essential illness. Inspiration came to him. ‘What’s the dirtiest thing there is?’ As an answer Jack dropped into the uncomprehending silence that followed it the one crude expressive syllable. Release was immense. Those who had climbed back on the twister fell off again and did not mind.
The hunters were screaming with delight. Simon’s effort fell about him in ruins; the laughter beat him cruelly and he shrank away defenseless to his seat.” (pigs 95-96).
The order that Ralph tried to make turned to chaos by Jack. As Jack starts to go to the dark side he instills a fear of ridicule in the boys. Without rules and order Jack turned evil and brought the rest of the boys along with him. He even becomes a pig by painting his face to camouflage and making it easier to kill the pigs.
The Essay on Rest Of The Kids Ralph Jack Piggy
... the beast themselves. Towards the end of the story, the dislike that Jack has among Piggy is what creates the definite war between Ralph ... he accepts, for the time being. Among the boys of the choir, Roger and Simon are introduced into the story. Roger is ... first seen as a shy and quiet boy but in the ...
The painted faces let the boys hide behind their own masks and not be responsible for their actions. They turned into bloodthirsty savages and started their own rituals and chant, for example: “Kill the pig! Cut her throat! Spill her blood!” The one evening with the thunder and lightening was Simon’s last. He had just confronted the beast and found out that there was no beast. As he ran back to relate this information to the boys, he stumbled into their chanting circle. They boys thought that Simon was the beast, but they were mistaken and that proved that the boys were capable of murder. Now that Jack and his tribe had the potential to have control over everything, they reeked havoc on the island.
They ended up killing Piggy, but not before they stole the one thing that mattered to him, his glasses. By the lack of order Jack went after the last person who wanted that order. Jack and his tribe hunted Ralph like a pig and in the process ended up burning the whole island and killing the main outcasts, Piggy and Simon. Piggy and Simon had so much understanding of the world and sadly this played a primary role in their deaths. Piggy was what someone today would call a nerd. Piggy always thought scientifically.
He always spoke of his “auntie” which showed how he desperately wanted to be back in England with the grownups. Piggy was an intellectual, he wanted to know the names of everyone on the island and needed rules to live by. He always had to have the conch and even then Jack would not let him speak. By comparing Piggy to a modern day nerd he was ridiculed for being smart, just like nerds are. He was fat, wore glasses, and his hair never grew. These factors made him an outcast.
People like Piggy are successful in society because of their intelligence. Piggy was never properly recognized for coming up with most of the ideas, until after his death. When Piggy died Ralph finally realized how important he was in their society. Piggy lived for their survival and the fire; when the fire burned out so did Piggy.
Simon was never appreciated by anyone for the role he played in the boys ” society. Simon was a very insightful person, in being able to relate to the while having the knowledge of the big uns. Simon was never properly given a chance to show his intelligence. He was the Christ figure out of the boys and by being on the ‘good’s ide, he had his own personal battle.
The Essay on Boys Hunt And Kill Piggy Jack Asthma Ralph
Piggy is represented throughout the novel The Lord of the Flies as an annoying intellectual boy who possesses the only order and reason left among the boys remaining on the island. Just as Piggy's name is literally symbolic for his connection with pigs, which the other boys hunt and kill, Piggy's disabilities such as his obesity, asthma and near blindness creates a barrier between Piggy and the ...
Not just with Jack, but the Lord of the Flies; whose significance to Simon was the evil in the soul and minds of the boys. Only Simon understood what the real beast was, but he sacrificed himself when he tried to tell the boys. Simon’s ability to be intellectual made it easier for him to see inside of people, and realize the true beauty of nature. His death was the loss of any shred of good that might of been left on the island. Golding has presented some very debatable ideas.
His examples of human nature are very controversial, but have a good point. Many times in life we see power struggles, like the struggle between Jack and Ralph. A theme that is widely used of good and evil is portrayed by Simon as the symbolic of Jesus or good, becomes a threat to Jack, a symbol of the devil. Simon versus Jack was good versus evil. The opposing forces in every decision made the dividing line between the loyalty of the boys. Many people could believe that Jack represents the evil in all of mankind and what is lying in our subconscious, therefore the role of intellectuals would be gone because of the opposing forces against them.
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