Lord of the Flies Essay Symbolism is a very powerful literary device that helps the reader better understand a novel. Certain colors can hold meaning, and this meaning can change throughout the novel. Lord of the Flies by William Golding tells the story of a group of boys from London who are stranded on a […]
“Civilization is like a thin layer of ice upon a deep ocean of chaos and darkness.” (Werner Herzog) This quote explains and represents the novel, Lord of the Flies in many ways. In Lord of the Flies, written by the Nobel Prize winner William Golding, identity and civilization occur as fragile parts of society. The […]
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Get startedThere is a central duality in humans; on the surface, they may seem composed and civilized, but underneath that exterior, there lies a dark and malevolent being who does not show himself normally. A black and twisted part of the soul, where a man is reverted back to his primitive self and they lose all […]
Blood erupted from his body, splattering as the boulder pulled away. Lord of the Flies is an allegory written by William Golding. As war continues in the background, a group of boys has crashed onto an island and attempt to create a society of their own. While the boys seek ways to survive, the novel […]
Freudian’s theory on personality comes from the school of thought that personality is divided into three sections that correlate. The three sections of personality include the Id, ego, and super ego. The theory places these sections into classes where Id falls under unconscious while ego and super ego fall under pre conscious and the conscious […]
The writing in Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, is different than what I normally read. I think this has to do with the proverbs that are used. Achebe uses lyrical and visual language through the use of proverbs and short stories to provide a photographic view of the Ibos culture. Yam, the king of […]
In William Golding’s novel,The Lord of the Flies,Ralph and Jack are both leaders. Leadership is when someone sets a great example for others and is being confident in what they do and say. A leader is important because they got people to where they have to go . Ralph and Jack are different leaders. Jack […]
A helpless twelve year old girl was stabbed nineteen times by her two friends before leaving her to die. This may seem like a mysterious plot to a horror movie, but sadly this is real life. What caused the attackers to do such a horrible thing? While some people suggest that a person’s behavior is […]
Leadership is commonly defined as somebody who inspires people, rather it be strong non-verbal communication or standing up for someone in their team. Leaders are important because without a leader you’d be lost or misguided. With a leader you’ll have somebody to show you what to do and how to do it. Ralph and Jack […]
The power of others is what drives people to do the things they do. However, that power is a difficult concept and much confusion can be centered around it. In William Golding’s novel, Lord of The Flies, the group of boys must quickly decide on a chief; someone to lead them. After not much debate, […]
The Lord Of The Flies is a popular piece of modern literature by the Nobel Prize-winning author William Golding, red by many students to this day. The Nobel Prize-winning British author William Golding was born on September 19, 1911, Newquay, Cornwall, England and died on June 19, 1993, Perranarworthal, Cornwall, England at the age of […]
I think that this novel Lord of The Flies could have tons of appropriate themes but this novel has one main theme/moral. I think that the most appropriate theme for this novel should be the dangers in mob mentality. I reason for why I stated that statement is because in on page 160 in chapter […]
Order, leadership, power, and moral consequences. These are some concepts needed in society to maintain civilization. Lord of the Flies by William Golding explores these ideological struggles between two main characters: Ralph and Jack. With different perspectives about how one should rule, they both challenge each other from the start. The novel begins with a […]
Imagine being stranded on an island. Your first instincts would be to get shelter, find food ,and to find a way out the island. Being marooned can be a life or death situation. It can bring up new challenges and self discovery. When a group of young boys gets stranded on an island together with […]
This assignment aims to make the psychological criticism about the ?Lord of the Flies? which written by William Golding. There are so many different psychological aspects in this book. I will use some important theories to explain the film. Firstly, Sigmund Freud developed theories that our desires and unconscious conflicts lead to the development of […]
Roger gathered a handful of stones and began to throw them. Yet there was a space around Henry… Here invisible yet strong, was the taboo of the old life… Roger’s arm was conditioned by a civilization that knew nothing of him and was in ruins. (Golding 62) Our environment has much to do with the […]
Individuals that misuse animals often convey their acts onto abusing people. Cruelty is defined as pleasure in causing torment. In the novel Lord of the Flies, cruelty is revealed from lack of civilization amongst the boys. Golding stated the overall theme of the novel as an attempt to trace the defects of society back to […]
Civilization begins with order, grows with liberty and dies with chaos (Will Durant), If a civilization does not have order within it or liberty for the people then it is bound to end in terrible chaos. In the novel, Lord of the Flies by William Golding, a group of boys get stranded on an island […]
Most people see children as innocent, adorable angels, but the natural state of children is malicious and callous. According to the United States Department of Justice, “twenty-five percent of all serious violent crime involved a juvenile offender” (“102. Juvenile”). This violent nature in children is reflected through a famous piece of literature. Written by William […]
There are many leaders in the world, but only a small percentage can actually lead. The book, Lord of the Flies, is a novel written by William Golding. The story is about a group of young British boys who have experienced a plane crash. And as a result, they end up on an unknown, uninhabited […]
In my essay, I am going to talk about roger from LOTF, and why he is such an interesting character, and probably one of the characters with the most depth. Roger is the kind of person that would hurt small animals for fun, like a serial killer before they have become a serial killer. He […]
Ralph extended onto the beach wherever the water meets the sand. Laying on the sand, Ralph closes his eyes and pray to God that something would save him, a ship, a plane, literally anything that would keep him out of this madness. He starts to open his eyes and looked up at a huge peaked […]
Ralph seems very adventurous and carefree. He doesn’t seem to care very much for what Piggy has to say, and seems to want to focus on getting off the island only. At first, he’s happy to be out of the watchful eye of adults, but we later see him missing it. Piggy seems like a […]
Lord of the Flies’ Simon: Helping and Getting away from Chaos Simon. To me, a very mysterious character in Golding’s Lord of the Flies. So what is some of Simon’s character? What are his longings? When I asked myself this question, I thought about it for a while, then I realized that he is always […]
Maybe there is a beast maybe it’s only us'(Golding 82). William Golding writes “it’s only us” as he believes that every man has a darker side, an inner beast that is proven inescapable by moral depravity. Throughout Lord of the flies, the young British boys stranded on an island will attempt to suppress men’s darker […]
The Lord of the Flies Freudian Theory [People] are all born with a unique genetic blueprint, which lays out the basic characteristics for our personality, and yet, well all know life experiences do change [people](Vinge). In the novel Lord of the Flies, the concept of Sigmund Freud’s personality theory is present in various character and. […]
Lord of the Flies Nowadays, power is an essential force in political life to guarantee a stable society. The leaders of our countries every day carry the heavyweight of responsibilities that comes with power. Overtime, power takes control of the leaders lives and affect them emotionally and physically. But what impact does power and its […]
The morning of June 27th was clear and sunny, with the fresh warmth of a full-summer day. The flowers were blossoming profusely and the grass saw richly green” . In Shirley Jackson’s The Lottery, readers often interpret this imagery as a soothing mood and believe that the lottery the villagers participate in is beneficial for […]
In Lord of the Flies, Jack Merridew’s character traits propel the theme of violence and evil, the dark part of human nature. As a former “head boy” as well as choirmaster, Jack arrives on the island with the experience of significant success in controlling as well as exerting his power over his peers. As such, […]
Lord of the Flies is a book where a group of boys is stranded on an island with no adults or grown-ups. The boys have to survive on the island and were also faced with the challenge to create a new society from scratch. The main themes of this book are power and organization of society. There are also many symbols in this story. For example, the conch shell. I believe that the conch shell represents democracy and order. When all the boys land on the island, Ralph immediately realizes they need some kind of order to keep things under control. He decides to use a conch shell as a way of keeping that order. Since all the boys are British, they model their way of keeping order after what they knew and grew up with. For instance, the conch shell was used to call assemblies where they could vote on things. Also, during an assembly, everyone was allowed to talk as long as they were holding the conch. The conch promoted order and law while also promoting democracy and freedom of speech. Another symbol is the fire. I believe the fire represents power and a connection to the outside world. From the beginning, Ralph thought that fire should be the boy’s main priority. Ralph believed that by keeping a lit fire on the island, it would make smoke and a passing boat would come to rescue them. In the later chapters of the story, fire became a sign of power.
The fire was once again used for rescue but also for warmth, and cooking of animals. Next, Piggy’s glasses are also a symbol relating to power. Piggy’s glasses were used to concentrate the sun onto a pile of sticks, therefore making a fire. They were important because the glasses were the only way of making fire on the island. Whoever had the glasses had the power of warmth, safety, food, and rescue. While democracy was present and the conch shell was still intact, the boys were willing to share resources and help each other survive. Later in the book, the hunter group did not want to share resources and took Piggy’s glasses for themselves. This is the first step of an authoritarian government taking control away from the people while still claiming that they were doing good. In the end when the conch is smashed and Piggy dies, democracy and freedom of speech truly dies on the island. Last, The Lord of the Flies, which is the pig head that Simon talks to, could represent the darker parts of humanity. It reminded Simon that at our core we are all just animals and no matter how hard we try to create civilization, we may abandon law to assure survival. In this essay, I have explored many different symbols in the Lord of the Flies; that as a whole describe the ideas of power and civilization. 2. Throughout the whole story, the boys are scared of a “beast” that roams the island at night.
This beast causes many conflicts during the story. One time the hunters decide to give the beast a gift of a pig’s head on a stick. This pig head is eventually referred to as the Lord of the Flies because of how many flies surrounding the pig. Later, Simon climbs up the mountain alone and runs into the Lord of the Flies where they talk and the Lord says “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…You know perfectly well you’ll only meet me down there—so don’t try to escape!”(Golding 143). When the pig mentions “you’ll only meet me down there”, I think that the Lord of the Flies is talking about Simon’s death. After Simon talks with the pig head, he went down the mountain to the dinner hosted by the hunters. When he got there he became part of an odd ritual by the boys and was killed. This was a main turning part of the story. This also leads me to believe that the real beast that Simon was unable to mention was their own evil. I believe that in this case, man is the true beast. The boys, especially Jack, were drawn to power and wanted to be chief no matter what. They all started to look out for only themselves and not the group. The boys were too busy trying to survive and only Simon realized their true problem of selfishness and greed. 3. An allegory is usually a piece of writing that can be interpreted to have an underlying or hidden meaning. For example, Animal Farm may be an allegory for the conflict between German authoritarian rule versus Western democracy. I believe that Lord of the Flies is an allegory for civilization and a dispute about the best way to govern people. Lord of the Flies was written following World War II, where many countries were figuring out the best way to govern their people. Should everyone put trust in one ruler? Or should there be a democracy?
Lord of the Flies explores multiple systems of government and shows what happens. When all the boys were in one group and had trust in each other, like a democracy, things went well. They were sharing resources and had faith in getting off the island. Later, when the boys had split up and there was one clear ruler, like a dictatorship, things got worse. Groups were stealing resources from one another and being told to hunt and kill boys from the other group. By the end of the book, two boys had lost their lives from the changes on the island. There is a connection to this scenario in real life. Government changes are not always peaceful and people could lose their lives for what they believe is right. In this essay, I explored how Lord of the Flies was an allegory for civilization and styles of government. 4. Character development and loss of identity is a main theme in the Lord of the Flies. The main character that changes throughout the story is Jack. From the beginning, Jack was envious of Ralph and the power that he had. More and more conflicts arose between the two of them. At one meeting, Jack and Ralph could not agree and Jack got upset. “‘Hands up,’ said Jack strongly, ‘whoever wants Ralph not to be chief?’… His voice tailed off. The hands that held the conch shook. He cleared his throat and spoke loudly. ‘All right then.’”(Golding 127). None of the boys had raised their hands. Jack was embarrassed and defeated. Then, Jack decided to leave and create his own tribe of hunters. This is also a main turning point in the Lord of the Flies.
The next time you see Jack in the story, he is covered in camouflage war paint. This war paint represents a mask he can hide his emotions behind. This affects his personality by making him more comfortable and confident to act and say different things than he normally would. This camo paint also makes him a better hunter. He can blend in with the surroundings to go unnoticed to pigs. This paint that Jack wears reveals and hides part of his personality. It hides Jack’s humanity and emotions while revealing his greed and desire for power. 5. At the start of the story, the littluns (or the children) instantly become a group separated from the others. The littluns stayed together throughout the story under Ralph’s leadership. These children were very immature and scared and as a result, needed support and guidance. They naturally followed Ralph because he gave them the guidance and protection they needed. Essentially, he was their father. Therefore, the littluns role in the story was to provide a comparison between Ralph and Jack’s style of leadership. As I have discussed before, Ralph represented democracy, freedom of speech, and security. Conversely, Jack and his hunters represented a dictatorship and loss of freedom. For the littluns, they had a choice of which leader, or parent, to follow. They had a choice of who could provide them with safety and guidance. Therefore, the littluns represent common people who look for guidance, leadership, safety, and support from their government. 6. At the end of the story, all of the boys are a part of Jack’s tribe. Jack orders all of them to hunt Ralph down. Sam and Eric, who were forced into Jack’s tribe, feel empathy for Ralph and tell him where the hunters are going to search.
The next day, Jack and his hunters begin the hunt. Ralph finds a shrub to hide in for a little while but eventually gets found. He runs away from the hunters as fast as he can and finds other hiding spots in the forest. In response, Jack sets fire to the whole forest to flush Ralph out. Ralph runs out of the forest and onto the open sand. On the beach he is met by a boat and navy officers. The officers noticed the fire that Jack had set. Then the hunters, in pursuit of Ralph, come out of the forest and onto the beach. Eventually, they all began to cry realizing that they were not just saved, but that they “wept for the end of innocence” and that it had been replaced by “the darkness of man’s heart” (Golding 202). Even though they are no longer on the island, they will never be truly rescued. The things they had seen and done on the island will never leave their thoughts.
For example, Ralph saw his whole life crumble before him. He lost his sense of safety and trust in others because of Jack and his tribe. Another example is the killing. At the end of the story the navy officer asked “Nobody killed, I hope? Any dead bodies?” (Golding 201) Ralph responds to the officer saying that two died and the bodies are gone. In excitement from their hunt, the boys had killed Simon while he was trying to explain what he saw up on the mountain. The other victim was Piggy, who was killed by a giant boulder trap set by Jack. The memories and experiences from the island will haunt these boys forever. True rescue was never possible.
