In the 1954 novel Lord of the Flies, author William Goulding imparts his opinion of humanity on readers through his tale of boys stranded on an island. Throughout the story, readers follow a group of boys who have crash landed on an uncharted island during World War II. The boys experience disputed governance and their descent from an orderly society into savagery. As the story progresses, it is clear that Goulding’s view of humanity mirrors that of Thomas Hobbes. Hobbes believed that people are inherently evil and need a strong monarch to rule and control them. Goulding makes clear his opinion of humanity through the conversion to savagery as they are separated from society. He also shows that a strong monarch is needed to rule the boys through …show more content…
Goulding shows this outlook by showing the boys as they detach from civilization. When they are no longer bound by the social contract of civilization, where people give up the state of nature to live in an organized and structured society, they accustom themselves to a savage lifestyle. “The desire to squeeze and hurt was over-mastering” (Goulding 115). This quote takes place when the boys are hunting the pig and refers to Ralph’s feelings. He is no longer bound by a social contract and displays his innate evil. When he is away from society for so long, he reverts to his natural evil ways, which reflects Hobbes’ philosophy. However, the transition to savagery was not immediate. In the beginning of the novel, the boys are still controlled by their civilized instinct. “Roger gathered a handful of stones and began to throw them. Yet there was a space round Henry, perhaps six yards in diameter, into which he dare not throw. Here, invisible yet strong, was the taboo of the old life. Round the squatting child was the protection of parents and school and policemen and the law” (Goulding 62). This quote concerning Roger throwing stones and purposely avoiding Henry shows that the boys still retain their connection with civilization. Nevertheless, as the novel progresses, this connection stretches thin until the boys are killing for fun and seem incapable of comprehending rules of …show more content…
At the beginning of the boys’ time on the island, they form a democracy that was ruled by Ralph. He called for order and did not enforce any of the rules he put in place. “Not for these things, But to put things straight” (Goulding 79). This quote shows the order in Ralph’s rule. It also shows that he is the voice of productivity and civilization on the island. Compared to Ralph, Jack is savage and bloodthirsty and is much more powerful and able to control the boys. The boys needed a strong monarch to control them and as Ralph was not strong enough to control them, his rule crumbled to make way for Jack’s reign. Jack does not believe that order and logic is the right way to rule. “He says things like Piggy. He isn’t a proper chief” (Goulding 126). To Jack, strength and fear are more important to leadership and because Ralph, like Piggy, uses rationality and reason, he is not suited to be the boys’ leader. Goulding demonstrates his belief that people need a strong monarch to rule them through his illustrations of a disputed
Click here to unlock this and over one million essays
Show MoreA group of kids got stuck on an island after their plane got shot down and they all have many different personalities. Being stuck on an island usually brings out the worst of people.But, there were two characters in novel, “The Lord of The Flies” that had good morals. These two characters were Ralph and Simon. Ralph and Simon weren’t intimidated by not having any adults around, instead, they tried to bring out the best of themselves and not take part in any horseplay the rest of the boys did.
Circumstances which occur in particular are when Ralph mindlessly attacks Robert and foolishly joins into the dance. Having had a taste of meat, the pack of boys decide to hunt once again. As stated previously, things go awry as the group reenacts the hunting of the pig. Robert becomes the mock pig and the once noble Ralph is overcome with the “desire to squeeze and hurt” (Golding, 115). The boy appears eager to harm his fellow friend because it is a quality and want ingrained in him from birth. Subsequently, the celebratory dance turns into a cannibalistic murder. The seemingly innocent dance takes a dark spin as Simon enters the circle, unknowingly becoming the substitute pig. Ralph begins to feel the pull of evil once again, this time “thick, urgent, [and] blind” (Golding 152). The once pure boy has tainted his hands with the cruel ways of humanity and murdered. In brief, Golding has depicted a more accurate picture of mankind and given his audience a glimpse of their barbaric
The 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.
When the boys first arrived on the island, their behaviour was civilized and they attempted to convince themselves that they would soon be rescued by their parents. As the days passed, the boys began to open their eyes and realized that sitting around was not going to benefit them in any way, and most importantly it would not help them survive. Because of their new unrestricted life on the island, the boys become ruthless and replaced their previous identity.
Jack only cares about hunting and having fun. Hunting and having fun are two human instincts that everyone has. This attracts many boys to his tribe, but after a short period of time, the boys descend into savagery because they do not have the social stability that Ralph creates at his tribe. Ralph often grows impatient with Jack because all Jack cares about is hunting. Jack becomes so focused on killing a pig that it is all he can talk about. Ralph and Jack are having a conversation about building shelters when Jack completely misinterprets what Ralph is saying and thinks he is talking about killing a pig. Ralph says to Jack, “‘I was talking about smoke! Don’t you want to be rescued? All you can talk about is pig, pig, pig!’ ‘But we want meat!’” This quote clearly deciphers that Jack cannot even focus on a simple
Imagine what it would be like to grow up in an orderly society with rules and manners, and then to suddenly be stranded in a deserted and dangerous island, with no idea how to survive or escape. In Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, a group of young boys are lost on a mysterious island and forced to find a way to survive, becoming hopelessly barbaric along the way. As their journey progress, the bare essence of human nature is revealed. Some of us may believe that human nature is essentially good, loving, and compassionate at heart, while others perceive it to be evil, selfish, and corrupt. Golding’s novel proves that we are civilized when part of a society, but quickly become savages upon being isolated from it .
One of the most compelling stories of the 1950s that caused much debate, Lord of the Flies still remains an exceptional novel that stimulates discussion. William Golding gave the readers an interesting and exciting narrative that also stuck close to reality. Golding created an absolutely wondrous and idyllic setting and was able to make a horrifying set of events take place there. This is a novel that challenges the preconceptions of youth, innocence, and humanity itself. Lord of the Flies is a captivating tale and a true classic.
Thomas Hobbes, a talented yet controversial philosopher, is known for his striking theory; humans are more selfish and evil. In William Golding’s fictional novel, Lord of the Flies, a group of British boys crash on a mysterious islanded and is stranded. The main characters consists of Ralph, the chief, Piggy, the brains, and Jack, the hunter. Side characters include the biguns, the older boys, and the littluns, the younger boys. All together they try to survive with the materials supplied on the island until rescue arrives. However throughout the book, many character’s personality change from being civilized to savage. Beneath the novel’s text, characters, and plot, lies a message about humanity. Lord of the Flies is first seen as a novel about
In the book, The Lord of the Flies written by William Golding, when the book states, “What are we? Humans? Or animals? Or Savages?” (91), this quote shows the author is trying to give the message that in our society, we tend to act as humans, and at the same time, animals. For example, in December 1955 until December 1956, a woman named Rosa Parks had inspired many people to peacefully protest the lack of civil rights for the African Americans of her time by not riding the public buses because African Americans were forced to sit in the back of the bus; therefore, behind all of the white people. Rather than leading violent riots about the issue, she chose to find a peaceful solution, unlike white nationalists in Charlottesville, Virginia
These abnormalities ended up revealing that Jack would rather lead the group of boys by using a totalitarian system, in which was appealing to the boys since Ralph's leadership required all the boys to work in order to maintain the shelter and signal fire, as for Jacks leadership which allowed the boys to do what they liked but the boys would have to obey Jack when needed. Even though Jacks leadership contained the boys in a group, this system ended up not being able to contain the boys savagery. In Bechallems encyclopedia the author wrote about the topic of political systems in Lord of the Flies, mentioning how Jack was the first of the boys to move towards anarchy. The author stated, “Early on, the boys assume they can manage their affairs quite easily, simply because they are English, Ironically, Jack, the first to move toward anarchy, asserts, “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.”(Beacham’s encyclopedia of popular fiction). This
“The duty of the youth is to challenge corruption,” Kurt Cobain once said. The Lord of the Flies tells a fictional story of a group of kids whose plane crashes on an island. Among these boys is Jack, a choirboy who is eager to hunt and create laws. However, in Lord of the Flies, the character Jack shows himself to be an arrogant tyrant because throughout the novel he acts in a way that is cruel, evil, and violent.
In William Gouldings’ story “Lord of The Flies” he presents multiple examples of mankind being naturally evil. Notably, he mentions, in chapter 7, that Jack and his hunters were playing a game. This game was not your ordinary young boy game, the game was vaguely dark, considering they were all young boys. This so called game involved chanting and pretending to murder one of their friends, as if the friend was one of the wild pigs. Along with that, Goulding begins to darken it up even further, Jack has his boys tie up and beat another friend of theirs. Ultimately, the boys and Jack end up attempting to actually murder two of their supposedly friends.
In Lord of the Flies, a 20th century novel written by William Golding, countless issues are portrayed; however the essential nature of humankind is, perhaps, the most recurring. From the moment we meet the boys after they land on the island, it is obvious that this fundamental issue will play out through the entire length of the novel, and, as it progresses, the deeper Golding will delve into mankind’s true nature. Shown through the loss of innocence, social skills, and order, the nature of humankind is showcased in this novel.
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.
Numerous times in the book, this was acquainted with the characteristic of savagery. After failing to kill his first pig, and soon experiencing the rush of trying to catch another, the thirst for it began to become exposed. " Rescue? Yes, of course! All the same, I'd like to catch a pig first-" He snatched up his spear and dashed it into the ground. The opaque, mad look came into his eyes again” (Golding 53). Highlighting the mad look in his from this quote, really draws the attention towards the evolving butal nature inside of him. Almost paying no mind to this at the time, Ralph and the other boys let is roll of their shoulders. “‘You wouldn't care to help with the shelters, I suppose?’ ‘We want meat - ’ ‘And we don't get it.’ Now the antagonism was audible. ‘But I shall! Next time! I've got to get a barb on this spear! We wounded a pig and the spear fell out.’” (51) Each time he goes out, the frustration of his neglect rises from others especially Ralph, and his inhumanity