How Is Power Shown In Lord Of The Flies

On an uninhabited island, with the absence of sources to survive, one would find themselves facing the lack of power and control. Power is the ability to direct or influence the behavior of others or the course of events. It can come in the form of a person or a particular item. In Lord of the Flies, a group of young school boys crash on an island with no adult guidance. With no rules or much of an authority to command the group, they go out of control. Very little is done to keep them orderly, and the boys become slaves of the objects they did not even recognize. These objects affect the way the boys behave and whether or not they can maintain organization for their survival. In William Golding’s novel, Lord of the Flies, three symbols of

It is best represented in the boar’s head that the hunters proudly stick in the middle of the jungle. The head, or the Lord of the Flies, relates to the beast, which controls the fear and division of the two groups of boys on the island. Fear was a big point of conflict, and the boar is associated with it. The power it has over the boys makes them attempt every measure to keep themselves safe, even if it meant harming another boy. When the hunters find the boar they kill it and, “ Jack held up the head and jammed the soft throat down the pointed end of the stick which pierced through into the mouth... ‘ This head’s for the beast!’ ” (136-137). This action was very much for the beast they convinced themselves to believe in. It not only gave them fear that took control of them, but also an underlying feeling of evil and extreme violence inside of them. The boar, or “Lord of the Flies” even says this to Simon, “ ‘Fancy thinking the Beast was something you could hunt and kill... You knew, didn’t you? I’m part of you? Close, close, close! I'm the reason why it's no go? Why things are what they are?” (143). The head is saying how the boys think the beast is something they can defeat physically. But, points out how the beast must be defeated mentally because they are the beast. The head controls their minds and how they view themselves and this is one of the most contributing objects to hold power over them on the