What particular aspects of human nature are explored in Lord of the Flies; and how have the author's techniques and choice of content deepened your understanding of this matter?
What particular aspects of human nature are explored in Lord of the Flies; and how have the author's techniques and choice of content deepened your understanding of the matter? In this essay, I will review the information I have gathered from the novel 'Lord of the Flies' by William Golding. The main aspects of human nature explored are: Evil within man, Fear of the unknown, and The need for civilisation. In the story, a group of schoolboys land on a deserted island due to a plane crash. They quickly set up a community and the boys are united in their quest for rescue. However, the lack of civilisation eliminates any common rules or morals, and the group soon starts to break apart. This brings out the evil which is within every human being. The constant fear of the unknown, represented as a 'beast', only increases the magnitude of this problem. Finally, the camp is split into two: The rebellious and 'evil' side, led by Jack; and the civilised and 'good' side led by Ralph, the original chief. The rivalry between Jack and Ralph forces this split, and their different opinions and priorities. This division finally results in the brutal murders of Simon and Piggy, with Ralph escaping narrowly from the clutches of Jack's tribe. William Golding uses characterisation to show the fear of the unknown in real life. The boys seem to have seen, or at least felt the presence of, a
Lord of the flies. How does Golding make Simon such a significant figure in the novel?
How does Golding make Simon such a significant figure in the novel? The Lord of the Flies, written by William Golding, details the story of a group of schoolboys stranded on a deserted tropical island and their struggle between the choice of savagery or civilization. In many novels throughout history, characters often take on characteristics of well known religious, political, or historical figures. In Golding's novel, the character Simon actions and words make him a very important and significant character in the novel. There are many biblical parallels in The Lord of the Flies that result in Simon being compared to Jesus Christ. He commits many selfless acts, just as Jesus Christ did. Simon chooses to stay and help Ralph build huts rather than horse play with the other inhabitants. Ralph compliments Simon by saying "Simon. He Helps. All the rest rushed off. He's done as much as I have" this also showing how Simon is a supportive figure in the novel, especially to Ralph. We see this later in the novel when Ralph is left alone with only Simon and Piggy by his side. Golding also presents Simon to be very generous; as he comes to the aid of the hungry littluns, Simon always appears to help in times of crisis. Piggy's glasses have been knocked off by an angry Jack and Simon appears without warning to pick them up and hand them back to Piggy, expecting nothing in return. His
In the novel Lord of the Flies, Golding uses Ralph to represent democracy and friendship.
What is the significance of Ralph in LOTF In the novel "Lord of the Flies", Golding uses Ralph to represent democracy and friendship. He also uses him, however, to represent how the innate goodness of someone can be overridden by their "essential illness" and vice versa. At the beginning of the novel, Ralph and Piggy find the conch. It is used to assemble all the boys on the island, forming a meeting. It is Ralph who realises that a leader is needed. They call a vote and Ralph is chosen, "Let him be chief with the trumpet thing". Yet, in-spite of his power, Ralph chooses to delegate. He evidently realises how Jack needs to be kept occupied. He also realises that Simon is vulnerable, so invites him along to explore the island. Ralph's ability to judge characters, delegate power, and rule using democracy, represents how he was the perfect leader, and how without him, society would inevitably have collapsed immediately. Golding explores "man-kinds essential illness" and uses Ralph to express his ideas. Ralph's appearance is described as proclaiming "no devil", yet in-spite of this, Ralph still partakes in the murdering of Simon. Although he tries to convince himself that the affair was "an accident" he becomes aware of the boys true capacity for evil, "I'm frightened. Of us". Evidently, Ralph realised that without grown-ups, anarchy would (and did) strike, and if
What is the importance of Simon in Lord of the Flies
WHAT IS THE IMPORTANCE OF SIMON IN LORD OF THE FLIES The character of Simon is featured heavily in the novel, but his personality is quite a mystery to the reader. This essay aims to explore and explain the importance and significance of Simon in the novel, and various viewpoints and connections with him and other characters. Firstly Simon's importance will be considered in relation to the plot of Lord of the Flies. Generally Simon is on the outskirts of the goings on in the novel, such as meetings or when the three boys climb the mountain to find the beast, but occasionally he speaks out, to the sound of much ridicule from the rest of the children. One such occurrence is on page 159 where, after much prompting he manages to say: ' "I think we ought to climb the mountain" ' then a few lines later he whispers: ' "What else is there to do?" '. These apparently irrational ideas are in fact those of a much more intelligent mind and in truth are not as unusual as the boys imply, but on the island he is generally regarded as weird. Up until his death, Simon is often ignored and left to himself in the novel, with only Ralph and Piggy really taking any notice, such as on page 64 only the Ralph and Simon are working on the shelters when Jack appears, and Simon suddenly enters the conversation: ' "They're hopeless. The older ones aren't much better. D'you see? All day I've
Comparison of Ralf and Jack
Comparison of Ralf and Jack In a group, there are always people who come out with better qualities as a leader than others. The strongest people however become the greater influences that others decide to follow. Sometimes though, the strongest person is not the best choice. In "Lord of the Flies," Ralph, though not a strong person, demonstrates a better understanding of people giving himself better leadership qualities than Jack. Through the book, it is shown that Jack thinks he is better and should be the leader, though all he creates is mayhem. Ralph shows useful human qualities as a leader by working towards making the boy's society better. He knows that he needs to keep the boys refined, and, to do that, he desires stability and array. Ralph decides to create rules and a small simple government to accomplish keeping everything in control. He understands that most of the boys have to be given reverence and be treated as equals, predominantly Piggy. Ralph keeps in focus about trying to get them off the island. His leadership makes peace and order on the island, while Jack's leadership creates pandemonium. Under Jack's rules, the group becomes uncivil wild beasts without discipline. Ralph wins the boys respect from his natural leadership abilities. By building shelter, he makes the boys' needs complete. When he says to Jack, "They talk and scream. The littluns. Even
How does Golding present the change from friendship to death in Lord of The Flies?
5. How does Golding present the change from friendship to death and violence? Golding presents change in the boy's friendships as the novel progresses using a variety of techniques and characters.. At first, Golding shows that they have quite a close friendship, in particular Ralph and Jack seem to like each other, but by the end of the novel, the boys have turned into savages. At the start of the novel, Golding instantly shows that the boys as happy and excited to be on the island. Ralph's "realized ambition", shows that he has always loved to be without adult authority. Golding shows that Piggy is different to the others. He has asthma, speaks differently and is overweight, so Ralph and Jack don't like him. This shows that as a society we judge people based on their looks, and their differences to us, rather than accepting them for who they are. Ralph is instantly liked by the littluns because he has the conch which is a symbol of authority, and he is voted to be chief. Jack however, is described by Golding as someone who is a harsh dictator. Despite his ways, and the fact that he isn't elected as chief, Ralph's democratic side comes into light when he offers Jack the choir. Golding says that they "smiled at each other", which shows the start of a good friendship. Simon and Ralph work together to build shelters, which shows their strong friendship. While they are doing
The descent into savagery in lord of the flies.
??????????????????????????? ?????????? ??? In lord of the flies there is a traceable descent from civilisation into savagery. It starts with rules being ignored and cruelty towards unfortunate members of the group and ends with death and the burning of the island. In the beginning the boys are very civilised jack marches hi boys around the island and a democracy is formed when Ralph is elected to be chief and jack agree to have 'rules, lots of rules and anyone who disobeys will be punished.' this already shows his willingness to hurt and punish but also shows that he believes that rules should be made and obeyed. This system works until Jack realises that he is not above these rules and when not given he conch he shouts 'bollocks to he rules!' he is already defying the rules and probably inspires others to do the same. He shows that if he didn't make the rules or he doesn't agree with them then they are stupid and he doesn't have to follow them. This is a key moment in the descent because it is showing jacks true and savage side, which is encouragement for the others to do the same. Another key moment in the book is when roger is throwing stones at Percival and he misses purposefully because he felt guilt this shows that although he no longer as to be worried about being punished he retains the conscience that civilisation has given him. Golding describes it as a 1m
Lord Of The Flies - How Golding sets up readers expectations
How does Golding set up readers' expectation for the rest of the novel in the opening pages? In the first few pages of 'The Lord of The Flies' there is a lot of descriptive language used to describe the surroundings and how Ralph feels among certain objects and people. Golding uses many of these detailed descriptions to set up readers' to think what may happen later on in the novel. There are many key factors that can be linked with the island and also to what may still be to come for instance, there are two separate sides to the island. Another detailed description given is about Piggy. Piggy is a small orphaned boy who is fairly intellectual and sensible. He is somewhat stout, which could be to do with the fact he has had a sheltered life from his aunt, who gives him the sweets from the sweet shop she owns. However the significance of Piggy is his glasses. 'The fat boy looked down through the round spectacles'. This shows that the spectacles that Piggy wears a vital part of his life. Piggy's glasses symbolise civilisation and all that is modern. During their stay so far at the island, the boys run around, losing more and more of their clothes, whereas Piggy remains intact with his glasses and does not participate in any actions that are beyond what he would do at home. The glasses could also represent the intellectual side of life and the side of Ralph and himself that is
Violent Society in Lord of the Flies
Why does the society on the island collapse into violence in 'Lord of the Flies'? 'Lord of the Flies' is an allegorical novel by William Golding in which he employs the scene of a deserted island and the cast of a group of English schoolboys to serve as a framework, through which he explores the themes of his book. The major themes that Golding tackles are the conditioning of behaviour vs. the malicious inclination of human nature and the spectrum of civilisation and savagery. The violence on the island is generated for several reasons, major ones being the loss of conditioning, the transformation from civilised to savage and the conflict between Ralph and Jack. Conditioning is the learning process by which our behaviour becomes dependant on an event or action occurring in our environment. The boys have been constantly conditioned by schoolteachers and parents to follow the conduct of the English society, and not to do wrong or be immoral, as if they were disobedient, they would have been given punishments from authority: in this period, corporal punishment would have been common. The point in the book which clearly demonstrates the conditioning of the boys is when Roger throws stones at Henry in chapter four: 'Roger gathered a handful of stones...a civilization that knew nothing of him and was in ruins.' (page 78). Here, Roger is incapable of throwing the stones directly at
How has the relationship between Ralph and Jack changed?
How has the relationship between Ralph and Jack changed? The relationship between Ralph and Jack starts on the beach when Ralph blows the conch and the choir, lead by Jack Merridew arrives. It progresses through the book with the election of a chief, an exploration of the island, a large assembly where a beast is introduced and the conflicts between the building of huts and the need to hunt. It causes divisions among the group that grow because of opinions and priorities and gets to a point where it is "snapped". The relationship between Ralph and Jack was that of honesty early in the book when Jack first enters the story he asks calmly, "Where's the man with the trumpet?" and finds Ralph and respects him because he had blown the conch, thus creating the new microcosm on the island. From the moment Golding introduces Jack into the group he portrays him as somebody who loves to be in control and to have power. The boys on the island attempt to bring order to the island and the new situation they are in by electing a chief. Ralph is elected chief over Jack and Piggy. Jack, who was the most likely leader among all the boys, had a "blush of mortification" when Ralph was elected chief. Ralph sensed that he needed to appease Jack's need for power and accomplished this by telling Jack, "The choir belongs to you." Ralph seems to trust Jack and to show how amicable their relationship
