Earlier this year, I became the government. Everyday, for the next few days, I woke up before the sun rose and filled my hotel room with light. In business professional attire, I would walk down the halls of the California State Capitol and into the Assembly Chambers. I experienced firsthand how the administration of our society works. There came a day, a cloudy day with rain falling momentarily, in which a protest was gathered in the streets. A man spoke, asking for the government to remove its mask. I failed to understand. What did this man want? Deep in my gut, I knew a life of terror, a life a darkness, and a life of despair could only be the outcome of the absence of government. This ideal is explained by the classic novel, Lord of the Flies by William Golding, which explores the universal theme that civilization is significant, regarding its role in securing that man does not return to his primitive nature of savagery.
While the boys stranded on the island begin with the basis of a plan to keep order, as time progresses, they are faced with conflicts that ultimately brings an end to their civilized ways. Initially, Ralph, the assumed leader, ran a democratic-like process on the island; however, later in the story, Jack, one of the boys, realizes that there are no longer any consequences to their wrongdoings for the reason that there was no control. This ties in with the ideal that moral behavior is forced upon individuals by civilization and when they are left on their own, they return to their fundamental instinct of savagery. Furthermore, there is a differentiation in beliefs that result in chaos due to the fact that some favored an uncultivated manner of life over an ordered structure. Opposing ideas are commonly known t...
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... and that civilization is vital to human life.
In a way, our government does wear a mask, one of civilization. A mask that hides our true instincts, can easily be removed, and is kept on in hopes for a greater good. Based on Golding’s views of humanity, we are truly barbarians by nature; nonetheless, our mask has become an essential aspect of our lives, enabling us to achieve our common goals. Now, we are solely left to question ourselves, will there come a time where this mask will be removed or possibly, fall off?
Works Cited
Golding, William. Lord of the Flies. New York: Penguin Group, 2006. Print.
Pflanz, Mike. "US recognizes Somalia government after two decades of anarchy." The Christian
Science Monitor. CSMonitor, 18 Jan 2013. Web. 23 Jan 2014. .
Lord of flies is about a group of schoolboys, who got stuck on uninhabited island after a plane crash. On island they struggle with savagery and civilazation while they are waiting to be rescued. William Golding gives the examples of elements what makes society ‘civilized’ which contains rules, laws and morality. He shows the consequences of what happens if we don’t follow the rules which he lead to savagery in his book. This civilazation in book also can be a metaphor for a government, its creation.
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.
Absence of Rule in William Golding's Lord of the Flies Works Cited Missing In today's society, rules control peoples' everyday lives. In the novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding, the result of a society without rules and regulations is demonstrated throughout the novel. The boys of the novel are abandoned on an island without adults and only their own teamwork and knowledge to keep them alive.
The government falls apart in “Lord of the Flies” due to the lack of the boys’ effort to use founding ideals, create citizens’ rights, and establish a formal government. The first aspect to a working government is the founding ideals. Tranquility is the most important ideal because without a peaceful country,
Most people understand that there is a class system even if it is unspoken. William Golding believed that all humans were savage and evil deep down. This idea was the one mostly portrayed in the novel Lord of the Flies, but also shown in the novel is a deep allegorical comparison between boys on the island and classes they would fall into in everyday society. Little’uns, big’uns and Jack and his hunters all represent different classes of people.
Have you ever questioned someone’s behavior and wonder what makes them behave the way they do? “Lord of the Flies,” by William Golding introduces a group of boys stranded on an island with no adult supervision which means no rules or authority. The group of boys face many conflicts and complications due to the situation they are in. Their behavior is to blame due to the environment and the situation they are in, however many believe that their behavior comes from internal “genetics” not external the “environment”. A person’s behavior can be influenced by their inner self which comes from our heredity, but in most cases I believe that behavior is influenced by the situation and the environment that is faced.
Throughout the novel, due to the circumstances and setting, survival is prioritized, all the boys slowly begin return to native ways. To begin, because there is no government, or official hierarchy, the boys lose sight of wrong and right, and resemble a pack of ravaged animals. Conflicts as to what the rules should be and how the island should be run emerges, which results in the boys beginning to tear one another apart. Golding illustrates the idea that “...all men are born savage, driven by instincts,” which is apparent in the novel due to how the boys act after being stranded on the island (Mojaddedi 1). Any type of humanity the boys’ had before becoming on the island such as: morals, order, or sanity, is lost instantly, and the boys explore old, traditional ways of living. Without society or order, it is indicated that humans will result back to their primal ways for
' I believe that man suffers from an appalling ignorance of his own nature '.
Some of the most controversial leaders in world history, including Joseph Stalin, Hideki Tojo, Mao Zedong, and Maximilian Robespierre are leaders who lived similar stories to that of Hitler. So, this raises the question: How do these corrupt leaders gain massive support in their countries? in the novel, Lord of the Flies, author William Golding explores this issue using the story as an allegory to represent civilization’s downfall through corruption. Jack, parallel to the actions of previous world leaders, exploits the boys’ fears and angers to gain support, destroying their social constructs and civilized behavior. Using Jack’s rise to power as an example of corrupt leadership, William Golding effectively explains that in an unstable society, people tend to attract to a leader who can provide them with protection and satisfaction.
When the children become stranded on the island, the rules of society no longer apply to them. Without the supervision of their parents or of the law, the primitive nature of the boys surfaces, and their lives begin to fall apart. The downfall starts with their refusal to gather things for survival. The initial reaction of the boys is to swim, run, jump, and play. They do not wish to build shelters, gather food, or keep a signal fire going. Consequently, the boys live without luxury that could have been obtained had they maintained a society on the island. Instead, these young boys take advantage of their freedom and life as they knew it deteriorates.
After thousands of years of evolution and change, humans are one of the most complex creatures to ever roam this world. They are one of the most advanced creatures, who made advanced technology, found cures for diseases, and created intricate pieces of art. However, humans started off as any other creature: no rules, no technology, and no guarantee of their safety. The lack of these things can cause some humans to resort back to their old, primitive ways. In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, the lack of society influenced Jack to be power hungry, develop dark and disturbing thoughts, and enjoy hurting others who are innocent.
One major conflict consists of which boy will become the leader, and incontrol of the island dilemma at hand. The environmental situation consisting of a lack of adult authority on the island causes disruption among the boys, and contrasting leadership roles to form because of a difference in opinion. We first see a glimpse of this when Jack and his increasingly savage hunters defy Ralph’s verdict to tend the fire, and decide they want to hunt instead Ralph says,“if i blow the conch and they don’t come back; then we’ve had it. We shan’t keep the fire going. We’ll be like animals.
Society The novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding is about a group of boys that were in a plane crash in the 1940’s during a nuclear War. The plane is shot down and lands on a tropical island. Some boys try to function as a whole group, but see obstacles as time goes on. The novel is about civilization and social order.
As the story opens, the boys are stranded on the island without any type of authority and must fend for themselves. A meeting is held and the chief, Ralph, is quickly named. A reader at once can notice there is already a power struggle between Jack and Ralph but this is overlooked when Jack says rational and sensible remarks about what should be done. The stability of civilization is still apparent when Jack says, “I agree with Ralph. We’ve got to have rules and obey them. After all, we’re not savages. We’re English, and the English are best at everything. So we’ve got to do the right things,” (Golding 42). The boys are still influenced by the restraints they learned from a controlled society. Joseph Conrad asserts that “there exists a certain ‘darkness of man’s heart’ that is suppressed by the light of civilization” (Introduction to Lord of the Flies 2). “Although Golding suggests the harmony of an ideal society, he does not indicate any faith in its creation” (Kennard 234). The more meetings that are held the more futile they become. “ ’We have lots of assemblies. Everybody enjoys speaking and being together. We decide things. But they don’t get done,’ ” (Golding 79). The boys realize that there are no punishments for what they do and disregard their priorities. “The idea that the absence of the restraints of civilization can lead to a subversion towards savagery” (Introduction to Lord of the Flies 2). The makeshift society that the boys have created is already starting to weaken.
In the Roman Empire, England, France, and the Middle East, ever since people have been around, there has always been conflict and war and a common presence has been inhumanity. In World War I, mustard gas produced terrible blisters on soldiers who were exposed to it, but those causing this pain felt no sympathy. Today the use of poisonous gases, atomic bombs, poisoned bullets, and blinding laser weapons are all banned in warfare because they are inhumane. While war is still an ongoing international issue, Britain and the United States are more peaceful today than they were a hundred years ago because people are being taught to resolve conflict in a more humane way. William Golding expresses his view of what humans are capable of during extreme