Explore how the struggle/desire/theme of power is presented in ‘Lord of the Flies’ and ‘The Tempest’ In ‘Lord of the Flies’, by William Golding, and ‘The Tempest’, by William Shakespeare. Golding and Shakespeare present a variety of ways of showing power. There are similar and different types of power, throughout the novel and play, shown through the characters; Jack and Ralph in ‘Lord of the Flies’ and Prospero and Caliban in ‘The Tempest’. In ‘Lord of the Flies’ the first display of struggle for power is Jack wanting to have power over everyone but when Ralph gets it Jack struggles to get the power over everyone at the beginning but towards the end everyone takes Jack’s side so now he has all the power. Jack in ‘Lord of the Flies’ acts …show more content…
When Ralph first came to the island he didn’t want to be the leader. He had no idea what to do, unlike Jack who knew. However throughout the book and when Ralph realises that he won’t be chief anymore he wants it more than ever. Ralph has a lot of arguments with Jack because they are opposites; they have nothing in common except the fact of wanting power. However they both fight each other so they can control everyone and as soon as one of them is able to have the power they know that they can control one …show more content…
All of the characters show that they are struggling for the power. Piggy from ‘Lord of the Flies’ and Caliban from ‘The Tempest’ are similar because they are both put as slaves. Piggy has to do everything for Jack and Ralph; when Ralph, Jack and Simon leave to go and look around the island Piggy must stay back and look after the little’uns. Caliban is Prospero’s slave and is treated horribly because of the society in the 17th century they were marginalised from everyone. The same with Piggy because he is fat and wears glasses he is marginalised because he is different from everyone else so people treat him differently. In ‘The Tempest’ Gonzalo says he has the power on the boat “Good yet remember whom thou hast aboard-“ Even though Gonzalo isn’t the most powerful person on the boat he is the one controlling them when it comes to the storm, telling them what to do. Gonzalo is trying to keep everyone under control so he will not die at sea he will die on dry land “I would fain die a dry
Lord of the flies, William Golding best exemplifies the theme of the power through the conch shell and the pigs had as both control the boy’s emotions and actions throughout the course of the novel.
Jack, William Golding’s antagonist in Lord of the Flies, reveals through his experience on the island that it is an individual’s assertiveness, manipulative abilities, and charisma which dictate who commandeers power and privilege over others, and that possessing these traits often negatively impacts the lives of the people leaders seek to control.
The novel ‘Lord of the Flies’ written in 1954 tells the story of a group of school boys surviving on an island. Life on the island becomes chaotic and represents a microcosm of the bigger world. On the island Ralph represents the power of a capitalist fighting for democracy and Jack portrays that of a fascist. Ralph also represents a democratic society which is ruled by power for the sake of law and order and in contrast to this Jack represents an autocratic society governed by power just for the sake of having power. In ‘The Tempest’ written in the 1600’s the play reflects the colonisation of countries occurring at that period of time, Shakespeare writes this clearly as most people want to rule the island for example Caliban ‘ As I told thee before, I am subject to a tyrant, a sorcerer, that by his cunning hath cheated me of the island’.
In Lord of the Flies, Golding’s portrayal of Jack’s growing power on the island aligns with Thomas Hobbes’s assertion that humans naturally tend to act violently and contentiously, but Golding’s depiction of Jack as a leader also ridicules Hobbes’s idea of an absolute monarchy.
Which is why he had gotten treated the way he did by Jack and the choir. The author writes, “ Jack made a rush and stabbed Ralph’s chest with his spear.” (Golding 177.) Even though Ralph is technically chief, Jack will stop at nothing to become chief. Ralph had been teasing Jack for being a thief, and that had pushed Jack over the edge, causing him to lunge towards Ralph. Jack does not have a high tolerance for Ralph’s actions, and Ralph obviously has a high tolerance for pain. William Golding states, “ ‘The chief and Roger.. They hate you, Ralph. They are going to do you.’ ‘They are going to hunt you tomorrow.’ ‘... Roger sharpened a stick at both ends.’ ” (188) As you, the reader, can probably tell, Jack certainly does not like Ralph. He only likes the faction that obeys and follows him. Those who do not obey Jack, he wants to kill. This island has really gotten to Jack, he is just pure evil now, and poor Ralph and every other character has had to deal with his
Power is very dangerous, as shown in William Golding’s Lord of the Flies. The novel explores the use of power in both the hands of good and evil and for success and for failure. Also, how some characters respond to having power. An examination of William Golding’s LOTF will show how fear is powerful and how the characters use that to their advantage. Also, the power shifts between the characters and the aftermath of that.
... Ralph has proven to have a much better understanding of people and their needs and this makes him a much better leader than Jack. With Ralph's understanding of the need for order and rules, he improves the condition where the boys are living in. Jack's condition was horrible. Also, Jack treated the boys very badly and like he better. Ralph, on the other hand treated the boys all equally and with respect. Ralph's priority to get off the island shows his wisdom and ability to make good decisions. Although Jack was popular on the island for the short amount of time the boys were there, he would not have been popular for much longer. He does not have any of the qualities that a good leader should have and turned himself and the rest of the boys into complete losers. Jack's plan would have soon faded but if Ralph had become leader, his wisdom would last much longer.
The influence of power, or “power hungry”, has had a huge effect on many people who feel that they must be in charge. These people often have trouble being told no or being told that they can’t be in charge. People throughout history have done it in many ways. Our own government displays this when we elect a new president every four years. These candidates often tell the public what they want to hear and how they’ll make it a better place, when, in reality, they only mean half of it and they just want to be able to have the power of the president. In the novel Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, the antagonist, Jack, shows throughout the book that he craves power and feels that he deserves it more than anybody else.
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.
Through strong propaganda, fervor from others, and superior verbal skills, Jack eventually took power over the island. His propaganda weakened Ralph by spreading pretenses about him; to supplement this weakening of Ralph, more and more tribe members supported Jack, displaying affection for his powerful personality, appearance, and verbal skills. Without his charisma or dominating tactics, Jack would not have been able to take such effective leadership, eventually isolating Ralph completely.
Democratic power can be used to control a society, as well as to establish a closeness among civilians. To lose sight of this can mean the corruption of a civilization caused by the lack of order. One’s choice of independence over the reliance on others in order to better the chances of their survival requires complete dedication and willingness to take risks. In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, Ralph loses his democratic power due to his failure to ensure survival and protect the boys as a leader. Ralph’s failure to lead the group is due to his inability to compete with Jack and gain followers, mostly because of Jack’s reign of fear. Ralph’s integrity enables a growing confidence in his ability to avoid reliance on leadership power in
Throughout William Golding's novel Lord of the Flies there is an ever-present conflict between two characters. Ralph's character combines common sense with a strong desire for civilized life. Jack, however, is an antagonist with savage instincts, which he cannot control. Ralph's goals to achieve a team unit with organization are destroyed by Jack's actions and words that are openly displayed to the boys. The two leaders try to convince the boys that their way of survival is correct.
In the play The Tempest, Shakespeare provides a unique and alternate universe for his characters to function in on the magical island. In this universe there are both native characters: Prospero, Miranda, Ariel, and Caliban, who have lived on the island previously, and external world characters, namely: Alonso, Ferdinand, Antonio, Sebastian, Stephano, Trinculo, and Gonzalo, who have been forced upon the island. While the different characters' histories cross paths in the past, the clear and present division between the two groups' immediate situation represents the division in their differing kind of spiritual journey. That is, while the natives seek rejuvenation from isolation outward, the shipwrecked characters seek rejuvenation from the outside world inward, on an island of solitude. As David Bevington notes in the introduction to the Bantam edition of the text:
and he is the person who first tries to create an order on the island. In some ways Ralph's motivation for being a good, powerful leader is his longing for home. Ralph's relationship with another boy on the island, Jack is very important also. From the beginning of the book Ralph takes charge over his newly acquainted companion Piggy. When he calls the other boys together he takes control over the entire group and