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 …show more content…
Ralph’s loss of order results in the inability for him to be trusted by the littluns, eventually leading to his fall from authority as a leader. Jack’s aggressive presence creates a common fear among the boys, and fear is the primary reason for his gain of control over both them and the island. Using his selfishness and impulsiveness in order to take advantage of the boys’ innocence, Jack develops leadership qualities which emphasize Ralph’s insecurities regarding his ability to obtain power. This emphasis brings Ralph to disappointment in himself and in the island’s corruption. Unknowing of how to react to their loss of sophistication, Ralph is left with only “his fading knowledge of the world” (Golding 162). His failure to obtain the role as a leader leaves him unable to fix the savage mistakes in the boys whom are now ignorant to the idea of a properly civilized society. The ideas of power and earning superiority over Jack distract Ralph, demonstrating his distinct values as an individual. Although the principles by which he lives are conducted under circumstances revolved around escaping the island, his individualistic approach to survival opportunities being evident through the isolation of Piggy. It is only when his death is upon Ralph that Piggy’s existence is recognized, confirming his value of self-involvement over companionship. The older boys see immaturity in the littluns because of their age and, consequently, lack of independence. Their weakness causes them to follow Jack even though they are fearful of his intimidating appearance and his potential as a powerful, evil force. Therefore, because of the littluns’ vulnerability, Jack is able to develop power in evil, resulting in
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Show MoreThe Lord of the Flies is a gruesome story about young boys stranded on an island, who underwent a transformation from polite British choir boys to savage hooligans. One of the main difficulties the boys face during their adventures upon the island, is their method of government, they either follow the path of Ralph, the democratic leader whose main focus is to escape the despairing island; or Jack a power-hungry monarchical leader who won't ever take no for an answer. The two boys are constantly bickering and arguing over who deserves the leader-position. We all understand Ralph wants to be leader so that he can ensure that the boys will return back home, but in Jack's case, it is a constant mystery to us about why he wants power over the other children. But we do get much small hints from the author, William Golding, that Jack's biggest fear among the other children on the island is public humiliation. This becomes more and more evident the farther on into the book, and his fear seems to be what persuades him to reach for a powerful position.
is far too much for them. They are in fear of him as they obey his
William Golding’s Lord of the Flies is a story much like the true events of the totalitarian Soviet Union. The original leader in Lord of the Flies introduces himself simply as “Ralph”(Golding 8). Althought his priorities are good, his way of governing is certainly harsh: “ ‘You voted me chief. Now you do what I say ’ ”(115). Later in the book, power is switched to another leader of the group, Jack Merridew. Golding shows his style of rule as also very forceful. “‘There isn’t a tribe for you anymore… I’m chief!’” (261) Jack states. Although both of the leaders are very commanding, Ralph was elected, like a democracy, and Jack forced his way into power through false hope. The result ended up more like a dictatorship.
As Jack hunts his “frustration seemed bolting and nearly mad” which shines in his slowly deranging eyes (Golding 67). In Lord Of The Flies by William Golding, stranded boys struggle to find order and civilization on an island with no other humans. After their plane crash lands, a few boys, such as Ralph and Piggy, are quick to set up standard rules. But, not everyone agrees that rules and rescue are what is most important. Jack, a boy who cares more about hunting, disrupts the goodness and order that remains in the boys. When a simulated hunting influenced and led by Jack goes awry, the boys kill Simon. The now deceased Simon is the purest and kindest of the boys. Jack leads the elimination of the only good left on their island. Whether it is his intention to kill him or not, Jack should be held responsible for Simon’s demise because he leads the group to kill him, regardless of his age.
In literature, as in life, people struggle with the principles and beliefs they hold. In the novel, Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, Ralph represents order, civilization, and leadership. On the island, Ralph is conflicted with his principles and beliefs that he has acquired over the years of living in a civilized and humane world and is caught between holding on to them or submitting to the barbarism that seems to have taken over the other boys.
When Ralph sees the naval officer that appears on the island to save them, he realizes that he will return to civilization. The shock causes him to reflect on what has happened. The rescue does not produce joy; instead he feels despair at what he has been through. He is awakened to the reality that he will never be the same. He has lost his innocence and learned about the evil that lurks within himself and all men through his experiences on the island. Ralph’s revelation to his loss of innocence and societal order among the boys is exemplified through the collapse of the attempted Democratic government, the killing of the pig, and the death of Piggy and Simon.
The impact of Jack’s savagery on the island leads to the boys forgetting the real truth about about themselves. The boys on the island are able to explain that human are evil from the beginning and that they aren’t impacted by society. The boys see the island as a place where they are free from the adult world and without any rules. The boys don’t realize that a world without rules causes the chaos on the island and the savagery within the boys. Jack’s authoritative power forces him to push the rest of the boys out of their comfort zone by making them evil being that was not there true identity before. Upon realizing that the savagery they had obtained was only destroying themselves they “wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man's heart”(202). The power that was developed by Jack impacts everyone and destroys all of the lives that rejected him. Piggy who was the most knowledgeable character and also the weakest character was often disrespected by Jack because he opposed Jack’s power and recognizes that his power not voted for. As as result, Piggy is killed by Jack’s own boys because they too have been impacted by brute force. They killed piggy just like how they hunted pigs. Next, Simon's death reflects the rejections of religion and the idea that the
In William Golding’s novel, the Lord of the Flies, even though Ralph became chief of the stranded boys, Jack eventually rose to power through scare tactics, confidence, determination, and control. When Jack demonstrated his leadership skills, it was evident that he was superior to Ralph and would use his sense of Social Darwinism (survival of the fittest) and his oratory skills to surpass and isolate Ralph completely. Regardless of Ralph’s strengths, such as his conch, democratic maneuvers, firm motives, and kind demeanor, Jack’s mere presence ousted Ralph’s chances of taking effective leadership. By using propaganda against Ralph, gaining support from his partisan tribe members, and overpowering Ralph through his persuasive techniques and appearance, Jack clearly demonstrated how his leadership of the island was inevitable.
As Ralph is trying to hide from them overnight, he wonders, “Might it not be possible to walk boldly into the fort… pretend they were still boys, schoolboys who had said, ‘Sir, yes, sir’- and worn caps? Daylight might have answered yes; but darkness and the horrors of death said no” (186). No matter how hard Ralph tries, he cannot discard his new knowledge of Jack and his tribe’s potential for evil and corruption. For a long time Ralph seems to be in denial; like many others, he seems to want to stay true to his belief in the overall goodness of the human heart. Ralph’s expectations for human kindness are finally challenged to the point of irreversibility when Jack attacks him and tries to pursue him on a vicious manhunt. When Ralph collapses on the beach and a naval officer arrives, “With filthy body, matted hair, and unwiped nose, Ralph wept for the end of innocence, [and] the darkness of man’s heart...” (202). One might think it strange that rather than rejoicing over rescue, Ralph and the rest of the boys cry out in grief. The young schoolboys come to understand the enormity of human greed and evil, and unfortunately it is a lesson that they will not be able to ignore or forget. They witness and play a role in their own loss of innocence, and the time they spend on the island teaches them what
In Lord of the Flies, change took place among some of the main characters involved in the story. Moreover, one of the characters that experienced a major change based on his own desire was Jack. Unhappily, Jack changed from an orderly schoolboy to a violent savage. First of all, Jack was extremely interested in authority and leading his group, but most boys voted for Ralph. Consequently, Jack ended up being jealous of Ralph because he believed that he deserved to be the leader. Second, Jack became very concerned about hunting, and it became his one and only joy. Unfortunately, this practice killed his innocence and made him value savagery. Third, “beside the pool his sinewy body held up a mask that drew their eyes and appalled them. He began
Without government, society degenerates and people lose their capacity for moral behaviour. Survivors in Haiti say that if other countries had not provided aid and restored order, there would be much more violence and everyone would only serve themselves. In the novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding, the author uses the events on the island to demonstrate that people require government to restrain their impulses. The creation of a democratic government with Ralph as chief allows the inhabitants of the island to make decisions together and take everyone’s viewpoint into consideration. Soon, however, the democracy begins to be disregarded. When Jack creates a dictatorship, he fails to restrain the impulsive behaviour of the boys, which demonstrates the superiority of Ralph’s government.
In a group, there are always people who prove to have better leadership skills then others. The strongest of these people can often influence the weaker people into following them. However, the strongest person is not necessarily the best leader as it is proven in William Golding's book, The Lord of the Flies. Although Ralph is the weaker person, he is still able to show a better understanding of people than Jack who is stronger. Ralph demonstrates his excellent leadership skills throughout the book by keeping the group in line, treating everyone with respect, and staying focused on getting rescued.
Ralph is enthusiastic and energetic; he frequently grins, stands on his head, and says 'wizard' when excited. He is also a good leader; he listens to everyone's opinions during island meetings, prioritizes the needs of the tribe (a signal fire, shelter, enforcement of lavatory rocks), and tries to be diplomatic with the other boys (giving the hunters to Jack). Even after Jack has created a violent band of the island's boys and become enemies with Ralph, Ralph still tries to reason with him. He goes to Jack to ask for Piggy's glasses back peacefully and only becomes violent when he is left with no other option. Ralph serves as the chief of the first tribe formed on the island, the only true friend of Piggy, a voice of reason for the island, a source of animosity for power-hungry Jack, and a homesick boy stranded on an island. The quote that best reveals Ralph's character is from chapter
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.
Under Jack's rule, the boys become uncivilized savages. They have no discipline. Ralph, however, keeps the boys under order through the meetings which he holds. At these meetings a sense of order is instilled because the boys have to wait until they hold the conch to speak. When Ralph says, "I'll give the conch to the next person to speak. He can hold it when he's speaking." (Golding 36) he enforces his role of leader by making rules and gives the boys the stability of an authority figure, mainly himself. By doing this he wins the boys respect and confidence in his leadership abilities. Ralph uses his authority to try to improve the boys' society. By building shelters he demonstrates his knowledge of the boys' needs. When he says to Jack, "They talk and scream. The littluns.