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Archetypes In Lord Of The Flies By William Golding

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“The word archetype comes from the Greek word meaning ‘original pattern’. Discovering patterns and similarities in literature demonstrates what link people together and the oneness of humanity” (DaFonte). William Golding includes at least three archetypes in his novel Lord of the Flies; the Iron Age, God-Teacher, and Metamorphosis. After the boys arrive on the island, they know they need have to rules and boundaries, so they are all civil and mature. As time passes on, they start spending more time on the island, become more comfortable around each other and develop an obsession with killing, so most of them transform into savages. Piggy is one of the only boys who stay civil. Piggy portrays the role of a God-Teacher because he is constantly making sure everyone is treated fairly. Piggy is the most wise, perceptive, and considerate out of them all. However, Jack becomes the definition of evil. Jack excessively changes throughout the story, and goes from rational to repulsive. The Iron Age, God-Teacher, and Metamorphosis are clearly represented by the characters in Lord of the Flies. When the boys’ plane crashes, they all wake up confused on the island and the first thing they do is set rules. They set guidelines for each other to make sure that they all get along, and that they know their limits. In the beginning, the boys all follow the rules, but as they start feeling at ‘home’ on the island, some of the boys turn into wild savages. Everyone in Jack’s tribe develops an obsession …show more content…

Piggy adapts the role of a God-Teacher because he repeatedly provides the boys with boundless possibilities, and Jack has a quick character change which makes him destructive. Lord of the Flies is a book about the difference of good and evil. Good is represented by Piggy, and evil is represented by Jack. Good and evil is shown between civil vs

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