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In his novel Lord of the Flies William Golding used a group of boys stranded on a tropical island to illustrate the malicious nature of mankind. Lord of the Flies dealt with changes that the boys underwent as they gradually adapted to the isolated freedom from society. Three main characters depicted different effects on certain individuals under those circumstances. The story begins with group of English schoolboys, evacuated from a potential war situation, who find themselves on a small tropical island after their plane is shot down. There are no adult survivors. They elect Ralph as their chief, despite the claims of Jack Merridew, the choir leader, to be leader.
The boys have a meeting to decide what they should do and agree to make a signal fire on top of the mountain to attract passing ships. After some weeks it is clear that Ralph and Jack have different priorities; Ralph tries to build shelters and keep a fire going that has been lit with the help of Piggy s glasses whilst Jack hunts for pigs. Meanwhile, some boys are scared of a beast they believe is on the island. While Jack and the hunters are off hunting a ship is seen on the horizon, but the signal fire on the mountain has gone out.
The hunters return having killed a pig and proceed to act out the hunt and the killing, chanting and dancing in a circle. Then, body of a dead airman lands on the island and is wedged between rocks beside the signal fire on the mountain. Samneric, the twins, are terrified and run down the mountain to tell the others about the beast. The boys assume that it must live on the island in an area that they have not yet been and decide to search the tail end of the island.
Later on, Jack claims Ralph is not fit to be chief. Jack leaves without support, but gradually the boys leave Ralph and join his hunting tribe. Simon has hidden in the forest and watches as Jack and his tribe kill a pig, place its head on an upright spear and offer it as a gift to the beast. Simon goes up the mountain and finds the rotting corpse of the airman and realizes that it is not a beast. He makes his way down the mountain to tell the others what he has seen. Meanwhile, the boys are feasting at Jack s campfire and they begin a ritual dance.
As the dance becomes more frenzied, Simon crawls out of the forest into the center of the stamping circle and is beaten to death by the boys. His body is left on the beach and carried away to sea. After that, Samneric, Piggy and Ralph are left to sustain their fire, but have to let it go out at night. Jack s tribe have moved to Castle Rock and as they have no means of lighting a fire, raid Ralph s camp and steal Piggy s glasses. Ralph, Piggy, and Samneric go and see Jack to demand Piggy s glasses back, but find the entrance to Castle Rock guarded. Jack and Ralph argue and then fight.
Sam and Eric are taken prisoner. Roger releases a huge boulder that knocks Piggy to his death. Ralph escapes into the forest, and then the next day he is hunted like a pig by Jack and his tribe who flush him out of the undergrowth by setting fire to the jungle, which quickly becomes out of control. Ralph reaches the beach. A Royal Navy ship has seen the smoke from the island and an officer is standing on the beach. He has come to take the boys off the island.
In society people are brought up with rules and taught to have manners. They are so used to behaving that when they are turned loose they can be trusted to keep themselves under control. That concept is displayed in Lord of the Flies when Jack says, We ll have rules! he cried excitedly, Lots of rules! (33) The boys on this island have been expected to follow societies ways for so long that they do it automatically, but the idea of having rules will only work for short periods of time. Then the unsupervised group will begin to break up and develop roles for themselves. When that happens everything starts to get out of hand.
As a rule children with irresponsible parents find themselves getting into trouble. There are many examples of corruption in kids who run free. In today s system we have children who are pressured into killing, doing drugs, and following others. The leader those children follow is not always the best person. On the island Jack is the driving force of the hunters. Others follow him and leave positions in their community.
We ll hunt every day- (70) and the famous chant and their island Kill the pig. Cut her throat. Bash her in (75) was pushed on the hunters by Jack, so that all they wanted to be like him, to intend to do nothing but to hunt and to kill. Ralph perceives what is happening and wants to stop the downward spiral. He calls assemblies and tries to keep order on the island.
We need an assembly. Not for fun. Not for laughing and falling off the log. Not for making jokes, or for-for cleverness. Not for these things. But to put things straight. (79) He tries to have Samneric keep the fire going so they have a chance of being rescued.
Samneric are also drawn in by Jack and become hunters too. While the children are off hunting a ship passes by because there was no fire. When Jack returns to announce that they have killed a pig, Ralph yells, You and your blood, Jack Merridew! You and your hunting!
We might have gone home- (70) Jack and the hunters believe they are right because they are killing to survive. Ralph, on the other hand, realizes the only way to survive is to get home and back to civilization. Ralph sees all of the boys turning to uncivilized ways. At first the downgrading of their society is made obvious by face painting and hunting. Then the hunting becomes some ritual along with the need for meat. During one of the rituals Simon is mistaken for the beast and is killed.
Everyone pretty much blows this off as an accident. In our world a lot of situations are ignored the first time. For instance, a man accused of rape might get a year in jail. After his time he will leave and a lot of times he will commit the same crime.
Most of the boys on the island learned nothing from killing Simon. Jack eventually outcasts Piggy, Ralph, and the little ones that were left. Ralph and Piggy make the decision to go to Jack to try to talk some sense into him. Ralph shouts, Which is better, law and rescue, or hunting and breaking things up? (180) After that outburst Piggy was knocked off of a cliff and fell to his death. Once again the savage came out in them and they did not think much of Piggy s death. Ralph is then left alone to fend for himself.
In trying to save himself he begins to turn merciless too. Ralph s reasons for becoming barbarous were different than Jack and the hunters, but there is really no difference. In life if your group becomes heathenish you are likely to become equal to them for fear of being outcast. If your circle of friends turns on you then you are also prone to take measures to protect yourself. A lot of protection for you against violent people comes in violent actions forced back on them. So in the end you are no better than the ones who are against you just because you think you are right.
All of the evidence from life and the book Lord of the Flies comes together to produce a few thoughts. This was Golding s goal when he wrote this novel, to prove that the thought that every one has a savage in them and the thought that the maker is often the breaker. Jack wanted rules in the beginning, but in the end he destroyed rules. Every person has the capacity to make and break rules.
Just think, if proper little British boys are savage inside then so are you. And Golding made it all perfectly clear in his nove
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