Essay On Morality In Lord Of The Flies

957 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Society analysis in lord of the flies

In society people often face situations that challenge good morals, causing some people to face consequences for ignoring their sense of morality. In Lord of the Flies by William Golding, Ralph struggles in maintaining his good morals he faces many obstacles challenging him to give up and become savage, but he always find a way to overcome the complication to retain his values. On the other hand Jack has strong difficulty sustaining his morals he faces many different obstacles but rather then overcoming said obstacles he succumbs to them. After spending little time on the island his sense of morality becomes overtaken making him willing to do anything to gain authority. When individuals are faced with an obstruction it can prevent or hinder …show more content…

The boys vote him in as the leader, as a result he gains respect from most of the boys. Ralph creates assemblies and uses the conch to symbolize who can or cannot speak, these represent rules which makes Ralph feel safe and comfortable because there is a sense of order on the island. Even though the island has zero discipline to misbehaving or not following the rules, Ralph’s civilized upbringing is stuck with him he wants there to be rules and laws to keep some sort of order. This backfires on him though because the majority of the boys don’t want there to be rules, they want to have fun while there are no parents around. At the first assembly, in hopes of preventing chaos from occuring, Ralph decides that hands need to be raised and the conch has to be in the hands of the person who wants to speak. (pg 33) Although Ralph’s rules were successful at the first assembly this sense of order didn’t last. As time went on the boys started to act less civilized, talking without the conch and succumbing to their savage ways. Ralph on the other hand was able to retain his morals. One of Ralph's main priorities was always to keep a signal fire on the top of the mountain. He wants to make sure the fire is always going so the boys will have a chance at being seen and rescued. Ralph explains to the boys the importance of the fire but the boys to not listen to him and let the fire go out. When a ship passes by the island it is unable to know that there are occupants because of no sign of life, Ralph can’t help to feel a large amount of anger towards the others but rather then letting this defeat him, he stays positive and makes a plan to start the signal fire for the next time someone passes by. (67) Communication between Ralph and the other boys is difficult, especially with Jack since he has no interest in resolving their issues so they can work together and be rescued.

Show More
Related

  • Ralph Leadership In Lord Of The Flies Essay

    607 Words  | 2 Pages

    My Essay is about Ralph and and his Motivation’s and did he contribute to the tragedy in any way. Also about if he prevented any of the deaths and what would I have done differently in his situation. I defend Ralph’s actions as leader, He had tried his best but everyone fell apart. Did Ralph contribute to the tragedies? Ralph had tried his best but he was struggling at handling the problems on the island, He was unaware of the boy’s and what was going on. He had tried to contribute to all of the tragedies but there was too much going on around him it was just hard. What was wrong with Ralph too was that jack ignores everything and try’s to do his own thing the whole time instead of working together with everyone. All Jack wants is his way or his way to him there is no other way. So yes Ralph had try to contribute to the tragedies but Jack and other boys had just did what they wanted to do instead of doing what they should have done. So Ralph had really struggled dealing with everybody. In my opinion Ralph was doing a good job, Yes he kind of gave up for a little b...

    Read More

  • Free Lord Of The Flies Essay

    639 Words  | 2 Pages

    From 1947 to 1991, the United States and the Soviet Union battled without a war. This conflict, the Cold War, was also notorious for the rivalry between the two countries. In literature, these rivalries also occur but are between characters or groups. In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, two clans of boys, led by dueling protagonists Ralph and Jack, have their own battle on a desert island about how to survive. However, the title, Lord of the Flies, is not a complete representation of the themes. Although a “Lord of the Flies” would bite heavily due to being noble, the conflict is not basic and the title Lord of the Flies does not convey the plot effectively. The title Tribes of Fate is a culmination of all of the aspects of the story because the title incorporates the three-sided conflict of person versus person, person versus nature, and person versus fate.

    Read More

  • Cruelty And Violence In Lord Of The Flies Essay

    1055 Words  | 3 Pages

    The irony of the plane crashing to start the story, the environment of an unknown island and many other cruel acts function into the work as a whole because it really does set up the major plot in the story. Cruelty will bring out the worst in people and this phrase proves to be true when it comes to Jack. The killing of the pig and the obsession of blood lust drives Jack into savagery and reveals that he is not morally strong. The violence also shows that Jack is manipulative as he uses the fear of the beast to gain power. While cruelty transforms Jack, Ralph stays morally strong and represents civilization throughout the novel. Cruelty proves to shows that Ralph’s character is very intelligent as he is able to think deeply. Cruelty also reveals how strong morally he is and how he will not succumb to savagery like the majority of the boys do. Lord of the Flies by William Golding, just proves to show that the cruelness of our savage, beast like instincts will take over without the order, rule, and conduct that civilized societies have to

    Read More

  • Immorality of Human Nature Depicted in Golding's Lord of the Flies

    922 Words  | 2 Pages

    Man’s immorality is expressed in the steady decline of human decency in the civilization that the boys create on their island. In the few weeks after their plane crash which strands them on a paradise-like island, Ralph organizes the boys into an ordered civilization. However, the boys soon realize that nobody is around to reprove them if they hurt, bully, or even kill each other and the animals on the island, and start following the sadistic Jack. He encourages them to become savage by showing them the joy of hurting and killing lesser animals. The actions of the boys show that Man’s morals were not imbedded in his being, but bred into him by the pressures of civilization. Without civilization to keep people in check, they start to run wild, because nobody is restraining them. This property is shown especially by Roger in Lord of the Flies. In the beginning ...

    Read More

  • Lord Of The Flies Literary Analysis Essay

    1004 Words  | 3 Pages

    Lord of the Flies is a novel written by William Golding in 1954 about a group of young British boys who have been stranded alone together on an island with no adults. During the novel the diverse group of boys struggle to create structure within a society that they constructed by themselves. Golding uses many unique literary devices including characterization, imagery, symbolism and many more. The three main characters, Ralph, Piggy, and Jack are each representative of the three main literary devices, ethos, logos, and pathos. Beyond the characterization the novel stands out because of Golding’s dramatic use of objective symbolism, throughout the novel he uses symbols like the conch, fire, and Piggy’s glasses to represent how power has evolved and to show how civilized or uncivilized the boys are acting. It is almost inarguable that the entire novel is one big allegory in itself, the way that Golding portrays the development of savagery among the boys is a clear representation of how society was changing during the time the novel was published. Golding is writing during

    Read More

  • Lord of the flies essay - excellent

    777 Words  | 2 Pages

    Lord of the Flies: Final Essay Exam. Are the defects of society traced back to the defects of human nature? The defects of society, and how it relates to the defects of human nature, can be explained with the savagery that drives the defects of society and the same savagery that drives the defects of human nature. In this story, Lord of the Flies, Golding shows the id, ego, and superego within the characters in the book. Golding represents the id with Jack, whereas the id says “I want, and I want it now,” and Jack constantly wants and needs power, and wants his way in every situation.

    Read More

  • Ralph is the Best Leader in Lord of the Flies

    921 Words  | 2 Pages

    While the boys are under Jack's control, they quickly went back into how they started when they first got there. However, Ralph was able to keep the boys under control by holding meetings. At the meetings, a sense of order is instilled because the boys are not allowed to speak unless they have the conch shell. "I'll give the conch to the next person to speak. He can hold it when he's speaking." (p. 31) By making this rule, he gains respect from the boys and becomes for confident as a leader. Ralph uses his power to tries to make the boys better people. He shows his by building them shelters. "They talk and scream. The littuns. Even some of the others." (p. 53) Ralph is saying that the boys need the shelters because they are afraid and the shelters will help the boys feel more secure. This shows he has better knowledge of people making him a better leader than Jack who does not understand this. Jack does not realize that the boys need to feel secure and need someone in control.

    Read More

  • Essay On Man's Capacity For Evil In Lord Of The Flies

    621 Words  | 2 Pages

    William Golding’s Lord of the Flies portrays the lives of young British boys whose plane crashed on a deserted island and their struggle for survival. The task of survival was challenging for such young boys, while maintaining the civilized orders and humanity they were so accustomed too. These extremely difficult circumstances and the need for survival turned these innocent boys into the most primitive and savaged mankind could imagine. William Golding illustrates man’s capacity for evil, which is revealed in man’s inherent nature. Golding uses characterization, symbolism and style of writing to show man’s inhumanity and evil towards one another.

    Read More

  • Responsibility In Lord Of The Flies Essay

    892 Words  | 2 Pages

    At the meetings, a sense of order is instilled because the boys are not allowed to speak unless they have the conch. He knows that the boys “can’t have everybody talking at once.” (31) This is something that Ralph establishes very early in the novel in order to avoid chaos and remain civilized. So to make communication during a meeting easier he announces that they will “have to have ‘Hands up’ like at school” which he will follow up with handing the person the conch. (31) Ralph is able to keep the boys under control by holding meetings. Ralph doesn’t fear about others acknowledging his leadership in the same way as Jack. While Jack continuously strikes fear in others to keep his power, Ralph only confrontates when someone is going against what is good for the community. One such example is when the fire goes out and Piggy calls Jack out on failing to tend to the fire, Jack becomes enraged and punches Piggy and breaks his glasses. When this happens, Ralph stands up and scolds Jack for his behaviour, and later, his apology, saying that it was “a dirty trick.” (76) After Jack leaves their group and war breaks out, Jack attacks Piggy and takes his glasses. Ralph goes up to Jack and offers him that they both could have used Piggy’s glasses for fire. Ralph still attempts to take responsibility for everyone and is still trying to get everyone rescued. He attempts to sort out this problem with Jack by negotiating in a civilized manner rather than resorting to savage violence. Only Ralph and Piggy know the need for rescue. Ralph struggles to keep a shaky peace and prevent violence. His meeting with the Lord of the Flies teaches him about the darkness in a human’s heart, which he finally comes to understand when he is rescued by a naval

    Read More

  • Virtue In Lord Of The Flies: Literary Analysis

    893 Words  | 2 Pages

    Now, after analyzing the examples of people falling from a place of virtue to a place of vice due to an inability to resist desire, an interesting similarity has arisen. The similarity pertains to what each character does towards the end of their story. In Lord of the Flies, the story ends with the boys being found on the island by the naval officer who saw the forest fire that they had started. When the officer finds the boys, he remarks on the fact that they had done such terrible things at that they should have been able to maintain better behavior than that, and when the officer says this to the boys something interesting happens. As Ralph listened to the officer’s criticism “tears began to flow and sobs shook him.

    Read More

  • Lord of the Flies essay

    894 Words  | 2 Pages

    Ralph shows that he has a better understanding of the boys than Jack. He knows that the boys need some sort of order on the island in order for them to survive. He starts a simple form of government and sets a few rules for them. Even though they don’t last very long, the fact that he tried to help the group is what makes him a better leader. Ralph’s wisdom and ability to look toward the future also has an advantage over Jack. He has a sense to keep his focus on getting off the island. When the fire goes out, Ralph gets upset because the chance to be rescued was gone as well. Ralph enforces his role of leadership as he gives the boys a sense of stability of an authority figure. He keeps the boys in pretty good order at the meeting by making a rule that they can only speak if they have the conch. Ralph knows that the littleuns are afraid and they need shelter to feel more secure. They work together for a while, but as the time goes on the smaller boys want to go play. They slowly lose all their help until Simon and Ralph are the only ones left to work on them. Ralph knows that this is a necessity and keeps bringing it up at the meetings. Jack, on the other hand, is doing nothing but causing chaos.

    Read More

  • The Lord Of The Flies Character Analysis Essay

    1212 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Lord of the Flies by William Golding is a peculiar story about boys stranded on an island, and the plot and characters relate to many prevailing events and problems. A specific problem that is currently occurring is the mutual hatred and enmity between North Korea and South Korea. This is a current event, but the North and South’s hostility has been ongoing since 1945, when Korea was split into North and South, Communist and Capitalist. When the 38th parallel(Border between North and South Korea) was created, Kim Il-Sung ruled the North, and Syngman Rhee ruled the South. As of now, a power hungry dictator, Kim Jong-un rules the north, and an optimistic president who wants to see change was recently elected in the South, named Moon Jae-in. In Golding’s book, Ralph is a character who aimed to keep everyone alive and to stay together. Jack on the other hand, wanted to have fun and hunt, and although he also wanted to be rescued, he made no effort to help. In this sense, North Korea is a clear representation of the character Jack and his quest for power, and opposingly, South Korea is a representation of Ralph and his strive for order, democracy, and civilization.

    Read More

  • Lord Of The Flies: Character Vs. Society

    580 Words  | 2 Pages

    “I cannot believe there is caste system in society; I cannot believe people are judged on the basis of their prosperity.” No matter how much you’ve got to bring to the table, society will always find a way to put you down and aim for something else whether that something is worst or better than what you have to offer. In the novel Lord of the Flies, William Golding has shown this external conflict several times throughout the story with characters such as Ralph and piggy. The conflict of character vs. society is present in these characters: Ralph, the elected chief of the group of British schoolboys is constantly having to remind the group of the bigger picture; Piggy, ultimately the brain of the

    Read More

  • Morality In William Golding's Lord Of The Flies

    1339 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Lord of the Flies, the boys take into account the context they are acting in. Upon realising their freedom from the rules of society, they defy morality by giving in to their human desires of violence and power. Nurture limits these unscrupulous desires, but human nature overrides nurture when nurture lacks constraints. This pattern occurs within any society. Whether the norms of a society are ethical or unethical, the beliefs are enforced upon that particular group. Society norms make an immense impact on individual

    Read More

  • Why Is Ralph Important In Lord Of The Flies

    590 Words  | 2 Pages

    This is illustrated when he says "There was a ship… you said you'd keep the smoke going". Ralph's leadership is what keeps the order among the boys on the island. Ralph's desire for home is what drives him to lead the group of boys and to keep an orderly society on the island. Creating the signal fire was Ralph's only way to get home and it is clear he knows this when he tells Jack "No fire, no smoke, no rescue.

    Read More

More about Essay On Morality In Lord Of The Flies

Open Document