Although humans beings are flawed and make mistakes, in order for a government to ever be civilized, just, and effective, there needs to be a structured system of democracy that maintains a system of checks and balances. Also within the society there needs to be people, whether they are leaders or not, that have moral stability, and the knowledge and understanding to play the role they play in a government. In the Lord of the Flies by William Golding, and “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, it is clear that both Golding and Jackson do not agree with their stories’ government; rather Golding and Jackson express, through the failure of their stories’ government, that in order for a government to be civilized, just, and effective, there needs to be a democracy, checks and balances, moral stability, equality, and lastly knowledge and understand.
Democracy is one of the first things that Golding introduces into his story as a form of government. “You try, Ralph. You’ll call the others” (Golding 16). This is the scene where democracy starts; Ralph calls the kids over with the conch, and once the kids gather to the island they automatically elect a leader. Golding shows how the kids are influenced in their societies because they have just recently been taken out of civilization, so they simulate the government their country has. Democracy defined is when the people govern themselves; in this case the kids chose whom to elect, and Ralph who is elected, forms groups of people to due certain tasks that will let them survive and get rescued. Golding believes democracy is necessary for a government, because the power is not placed on an individual, but rather on the society of people. This simplifies things, when more people have power, more ...
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...efer to Satan in the bible, and Golding takes this scene and parallels it to the scene where Satan tempts Jesus Christ in the mountaintop. Golding gives Simon a Christ figure in this story since he is the one who stays stable to his morals till the end, in similarity with Jesus Christ who is perfect. Golding then tops it off by having Simon sacrifice his life to tell the boys about the beast, and the boys not knowing that it’s Simon, end up killing him thinking he is the beast. This is the same thing that happened with Christ when he was crucified, the Romans didn't think he was the Son of God so they crucified him even though he was the way, the truth, and the life. Finally, Golding uses Simon as symbol of stable morality, in which Golding makes the reader observe that when he dies there is no more morals in Jack’s government, especially with the killing of Piggy.
This quote expands your comprehension of the beast not being an actual person nor animal but instead as the representation I explained of the beast being the boys themselves. Golding clearly Portrays that through Simon in this quote.
Before that can be established, I think a definition of democracy should be stated so that it may be called upon later in this essay. According to the American Heritage Dictionary, democracy is stated as "the principle of social equality and respect for the individual within a community" .
...ent stories of the Bible from Jesus Christ and interpreted them with Simon. The most biblical reference out of the novel is when Simon wandered off into the jungle. There Simon finds the devil that tempts him to join Jack and his group of hunters. Simon saved the boys of the group by sacrificing himself. Out of the group of the surviving boys Simon is Jesus. He tried every way possible to help the group anyway he could. When Simon died he is floated out in the ocean with his arms out. Golding describes that a group of glowing fish surrounded Simon’s body in the ocean and formed a halo around him. This can only tell us that Simon is the true savior of the group.
Golding makes very good use of characters in Lord of the Flies, he shows both good and evil through each of the characters. One of the characters that represents goodness is Simon. He is very good and pure, and has the most positive outlook. Simon is very different from the other boys, he seems to always be helping the Littluns and many other vulnerable boys such as Piggy. "Simon sitting between the twins and Piggy, wiped his mouth and shoved his piece of meat over the rocks to Piggy, who grabbed it." (Golding, pg.74) This quote interprets an example of a time when Simon helped Piggy by giving him food, it shows Simon's wholeheartedness. Another example would be when Simon helps the Littluns pick fruit from high to reach places. All in all Golding tries to portray Simon as a Christ like figure.
Simon is the morally good boy. His selflessness and goodness comes from within. He is kind to the little boys, and helps the outcasts. For example, when none of the boys want to give Piggy meat from the first pig, Simon steps up and takes him meat. "Simon…wiped his mouth and shoved his piece of meat over the rocks to Piggy…"(p.74) While everyone else is cruel to the young ones, he helps the "lil'uns" grab meat from the trees when they can't reach. "Simon found for them the fruit they could not reach, pulled off the choicest…passed them back to the endless, outstretched hands." (p.56) Simon helps those whom no one else is kind to, perhaps remembering that he was looked down upon once. He realizes what it's like to be scorned and to be the "little one", so he tries to make it less miserable for the outcasts by being kind to them. He wants to always help others, so when he discovers the beast is inside of everyone, not external, as they had imagined, he instantly runs down the mountain to tell him. He helps others even to the point of death.
Democracy is a system where society takes control of voting and chooses presidents to their liking; voting was based on the people’s interests. The Missouri Compromise, the Corrupt Bargain, and the Spoils System were all conferring factors in the rise of democracy. Democracy became a way for people to vote for their best interest.
The character of Simon in William Golding’s Lord of the Flies has often been viewed as the Christ figure of the novel. If you were to examine the actions of both Simon and Jesus, you would find a number of incidents that parallel each other.
As Simon was trying to tell the boys that the beast did not exist, his death symbolises that mankind can’t face the truth about their inner desires. Part of Golding’s intent was to demonstrate that the evil is not recognised in specific populations or situations. On the island, the beast is manifest in the deadly tribal dances, war paint and manhunt; in the outside world, the same lust for power and control plays out as a nuclear war. Throughout ‘The Lord of the Flies’ Golding has managed to show that evil is present in everyone.
Golding drives the point that the instinctual evil within man is inescapable. At one point in the book, when the Lord of the Flies is representing all evil, this theory is stated as, "The Lord of the Flies was expanding like a balloon" (Golding 130). Along with this idea is the religious symbolism that is used for ineffectively confronting the evil. At a point in the book, Golding has Simon, symbolic of Jesus Christ, confront the Lord of the Flies. This is a pig's head on a stick that is imagined to talk and represent the evil in all humans. Simon tries to act and spread the knowledge of this evil to others but is killed. This is a direct reference to the death of Christ, alluding to the Holy Bible.
The point that Golding was trying to make was that evil is inside all of us. He used this novel to express to the readers his thoughts on the matter, which was that to defeat the evil inside yourself, you have to admit that it is there. Simon managed to face the beast inside him. But unfortunately, since the other boys still believed that the beast was a living, breathing creature, it resulted in the death of Simon.
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.
Man’s inhumanity to man literally means human’s cruelty towards other humans. This is a major theme of the story and is seen throughout it. Golding himself even states that “man produces evil as a bee produces honey.” A review of the book states how Golding portrays this “because the boys are suffering from the terrible disease of being human.” Piggy, Ralph, and Simon are the “rational good of mankind” portrayed in the book, and Jack and his hunters are the “evil savagery of mankind.” “The beast” is a symbol for the evil in all humans, and Simon and Piggy, or rationality, are almost helpless in his presence. Simon, though, in a book filled with evil, is a symbol of vision and salvation. He is the one to see the evil as it truly exists, in the hearts of all humanity. When he tries to tell the others of this truth, however, he is killed, much like Christ was trying to bring salvation to the ignorant. Simon being there gives us hope; the truth is available to those who seek it. In the book, Jack and his hunters become so evil that they end up killing two boys while on the island. Man’s tendencies towards evil in The Lord of the Flies are also compared to the book of Genesis in the Bible. Nature, beauty, and childhood can all be corrupted by the darkness within humankind. The ending of this truly dark and evil story tells readers how Golding feels about evil within society and where he thinks humanity is headed. Evil will triumph over the intellect and good, unless some force intercedes. In th...
Through the story Simon acted as the Christ Figure. The death of Simon symbolized the loss of religious reasoning. As the boys killed Simon they had let out their savage urges and acted in a cannibalistic manor. Even after the death of Simon Jack and his tribe did not feel any penitence to what they had done, killing to them had become second nature.The circle became a horseshoe. A thing was crawling out of the forest. It came darkly, uncertainly. The shrill screaming that rose before the beast was like a pain. The beast stumbled into the horseshoe."Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood!" (Golding 141).In this quote a figure had crawled out of the forest and the ring had opened to let it inside. Mistaken as the beast by the Jack's tribe, Simon was beaten to death. After the group disbanded for shelter from the storm. The storm subsided and the tides moved in and out, Simon's body was washed to sea. Here because of the storm, the darkness and fear the boys became hysterical. They acted savagely not knowing what they were doing. The boys did not take a second look to what their actions were. They had let their malicious urges control them. He cam-disguised. He may come again even though we gave him the head of our kill to eat. So watch; and be careful (Golding 148). Here Jack is warning his tribe about the beast. Not caring or taking any notice to what had taken place with Simon. Jack or his tribe does not feel any remorse for the murder they had committed, whether they realized that or not. To Jack and his tribe what they had done was a pretentious accomplishment. A death could go by their eyes blindly.
Simon is a Jesus figure, Ralph and jack are like Cain and Abel, and the boys start to have a Pagan religion and treat the beast like a god; supporting the theory that Lord of the Flies can best be read as a religious allegory. Golding was trying to demonstrate that references to God and religions are everywhere. The need for religion and hope causes many people to show religious symbols in their art. Everyone worships something; everyone needs religion and religious symbols.
One of the contemporary definitions of democracy today is as follows: “Government by the people, exercised either directly or through elected representatives; Rule by the majority” (“Democracy” Def.1,4). Democracy, as a form of government, was a radical idea when it manifested; many governments in the early history of the world were totalitarian or tyrannical in nature, due to overarching beliefs that the strong ruled over the weak.