Explore the various factors which contribute to the downfall of the boys society on the island in 'Lord of the Flies', and assess which you think is the most significant.

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Explore the various factors which contribute to the downfall of the boys society on the island in ‘Lord of the Flies’, and assess which you think is the most significant.

There are many factors that contribute the break down of society, but I have only chosen to discuss the key factors, not the minor details that do interlock anyway with these points. All of the factors merge together, and influence each other, but I want to find the factor that is directly responsible for three deaths.

The characters themselves directly create the downfall of society, due to their widely different personalities. Ralph has enormous sensibility and practicality. He possesses maturity, and tries to keep the society similar to the adult influenced world where they used to live. He organises a system of ‘democracy’ with the conch, but the lack of ‘fun’ pastimes (i.e. hunting), with the repletion of practical endeavours (i.e. shelter building and the fire) divide the boys into two tribes, resulting in the breakdown of society and order. The littluns follow him, because they want to get home, and he seems responsible enough to ensure the continuation of order.

Piggy’s dependence and neediness for the adults is immediately evident, as the boys begin to replay the taunting for his physical weakness in the previous world. His reminder of the adult dominated world causes the other boys to discard all remnants of their previous society, and purely using him for his glasses (for the fire). He sees the situation clearly ironically despite his glasses, whereas the other others do not see this.

Jack is rash, daring and has desire for leadership. He wants to be followed, almost worshipped by the other boys. This leads him to ignore the creation of civilised society and instead break away, kill, hunt and lead to the death of two children. This number may be higher, but the boy with the birthmark is forgotten, and never mentioned again. At this point in the book, with the hunters taking control, it is difficult to remember all the boys are under twelve years old. He wants to be the opposite of the other world by defying all other children- fiercely independent and a dictator.

Simon has great spirituality. He is a sensitive, reclusive child who is very introverted, but the contact he keeps with the other children means he is respected, but not taken seriously. He lurks in the background, avoids speaking directly most of the time, and mainly just stays with Ralph. Due to his insistence and search for a route off the island, he isolates himself from the other boys, also due to his knowledge of the ‘Lord of the Flies’. His spirituality lets him contact the lord of the floes. The lord of the flies reminds us oddly enough of their past life; its tone is like that of an authority figure. This figure, possibly a hallucination, shows how far society has regressed. His death leads to the destruction of the final unspeakable crime – murder, and no more boundaries remain in the society.

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However, the characters of the boys do not just cause the breakdown of society; they also make other factors come into existence or emphasise existing ones both intentionally and unintentionally.

Ralph was so logical, that his insistence that there was no beast on the island led to the fear gripping the island, particularly the littluns. He was unable to offer any comfort, security or safety, because ironically his ‘pig-headed’ denial of the existence of the beast or the ‘snake-thing’, and his inability to give a reason for this belief, actually led to the creation of the beast better ...

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This essay has great potential - there are some interesting ideas and the writer clearly knows the novel well and is able to discuss some of the themes. However a more rounded approach is needed and some of the statements are sweeping. At times the essay loses focus on the question. The main point of concern is that the only quote used is 'fun'. The essay needs more supportive quotes and so is only awarded three stars.