Golding And Individualism

As part of human nature, we’re accustomed to following a set of rules to have an orderly and peaceful lifestyle. Usually, if those rules are disobeyed, destruction and disorder are bound to come our way. This act is prevalent in two stories, Beowulf and The Lord of the Flies, that were written centuries apart, but yet the concept of how ignoring rules can lead to the downfall of societies is common in both.

One of the first things the boys decide is that they need a chief. While deciding on who should be chief one of the boys says “ ‘Let him [Ralph] be chief with the trumpet thing’ “ (Golding 22). In any modern society, including the one the boys came from, there is a person designated as the head or leader. The boys collectively electing Ralph as a leader shows their ability to make decisions together. Additionally, it shows their desire to make the unfortunate situation of being stranded work as well as possible. After the election of Ralph as the leader of the island, he decides it 's necessary for the rest of the boys to have a specific role to fill in order to help society run as smooth as possible. Seeing a boy named Jack, who is the leader of a choir, would be good fit for a leader Ralph decides to allow him to decide what he wants to be in charge of “ ‘Jacks in charge of the choir. They can be-- what do you want them to be? ‘Hunters’ “ (23). Once again the boys have done as they know, and what they know is a society set up to be as efficient as possible. Each boy having a role will help the island work smoothly and help to keep order. Now that the boys have established the basic duties of

He does not want to help out on the island to benefit them, he would rather go hunting trying to kill pigs. Jack declared himself as chief and lead the hunters. When he came across a pig he wanted to kill it but he held back because he had no hunting skills. His ambition to kill a pig built up in him that he did not take orders from anyone anymore and moved on. He created his own tribe just so he could hunt for “meat.” Given the thrill of "irresponsible authority" he's experienced on the island, Jack's return to civilization is conflicted. When the naval officer asks who is in charge, Jack starts to step forward to challenge Ralph's claim of leadership but is stopped perhaps by the recognition that now the old rules will be enforced. What Golding wrote in this book is a great example of how kids would act on an island by themselves with no adults. It would teach the readers good and bad examples on what to do on an island with no

William Golding’s Lord of the Flies paints two stark and opposing images of reality. On the one hand, the novel suggests that certain characters have venerable attitudes, making them seem like the protagonists, like Simon or Piggy. This can be seen from the motivating forces behind Simon’s decisions, or by the civilized behavior portrayed by Piggy. On the other hand, the novel also suggests that a deep built-in mechanism exists in every human being, one that prioritizes survival over morality. Just by observation, the novel demonstrates Jack’s exercise of hunting instincts, his combat of the social recourse from Ralph, his influence on everyone else to join him, and his eventual takeover of the

The island is used as a sort of playing ground to reveal the true underlying qualities of each character, and as mentioned above, the qualities of humanity. When the boys first gather on the island, they are quick to order themselves in a society, more of a tribe in their case, that reflects the social structure they were exposed to at home. This process involves electing a leader, holding meetings or assemblies to vote on matters, and working together for the greater good of everyone on the island. The assemblies become a part of keeping order within their society. To illustrate, when Ralph finds out that Jack neglected the fire he calls an assembly to prioritize. Ralph says, “The fire is the most important thing on the island. How can we ever be rescued except by luck, if we don’t keep a fire going? Is a fire too much for us to make” (80). As an effort to show the boys their dire circumstances, he tries to convict them, including himself, of their ignorance. On the contrary, Jack Merridew counters Ralph’s authority with the proposition of thrill and amusement. Jack proposes that he forms his own tribe.. Within this rebel tribe he suggests that they act only as savages. The temptation to hunt won many of the boys over in favor of orderly society as suggested by Ralph. The two groups of boys reach the culmination of the conflict when logic battles savagery; “ ‘Which is

Golding writes this book in 1954 around World War II the literal main conflict was the plain crash and the consequences of that were the boys being stuck in this island for a long period of time. We all imagine an island being a wonderful vacation home where you can relax and leave all your stresses behind, but in this certain situation and book that’s not quite the case. The symbolic meaning of the island is how people take upon the evils of society. The evil that lies innately within the hearts of men. For example when Ralph

the injustice and cruelty that runs rampant in the world, it is unsurprising to become determined to make things better for tomorrow. A moral grey area is the only thing separating those making positive changes and playing judge, jury, and executioner. Commendable yet unreasonable, leaders’ whose sole purpose in life is to fix what they see as wrong with the world fall prey to thinking there is only ally or enemy. They harm those they are trying to liberate in the long run. This is the downfall of leaders in many works of literature, including Harrison Bergeron and The Lord of the Flies. If given power, individuals obsessed with achieving their glorified ideals will revert to an aggressive and uncompromising leadership style, ultimately

In William Golding's novel Lord of the Flies, the reader comprehends symbols that go throughout the book. These symbols are key factors which determine the importance of the novel. The symbols are a very important part of the literary content. In order to really follow along and understand the story, the reader must understand these symbols for what they mean as well as how they are used. Some of the symbols include the conch, the island itself, and fire. Two of the main characters, Jack and Simon, represent other figures.

Throughout history and literature, symbols have been used to represent the bigger picture or main ideas. This allows the reader to illustrate the symbol in their head and have a much better overall understanding of the book. A number of times during Golding’s Lord of the Flies, he uses symbols to illustrate the boys’ destruction and fall from order into savagery. The regression of the boys’ civilization is evident through Golding’s symbolic use of the conch shell, the signal fire and the beastie. All are critical for expressing Golding’s overall message.

Golding uses the struggle of power to demonstrate how destructive it can be. The desire for power causes the boys' civilization the crumble, discord and rivalries, and ends up destroying their island. Jack and Ralph's thirst for power in the end has them weeping for the end of

According to Rousseau, the best form of government is a direct democracy (Robison), but since Ralph fails to establish this form of government, the result is the boys falling into corruption and total chaos. Rousseau believes that civil society causes humans to become corrupt. His philosophy is centered upon the idea of “the general will,” which reflects society’s interest in a common good (Younkins). But individual desires can conflict with the general will, and civil society can actually damage the desire for a common good (Bertram). The general will in Lord of the Flies is the need to build shelters, establish a civilization, and most importantly keep the fire going with the ultimate purpose of rescue. However, the boys stop caring about these goals and Ralph is not able to unite them.

As Ernest Hemingway wrote: “Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.” People tend to think of geniuses as being haunted by anxiety, frustration, or likely suffering from depression. Sir William Golding’s novel Lord of the Flies deals with the struggle of an intellectual individual who is filled with useful knowledge to help his peers but end up as an outcast and eventually murdered from the hatred of those he wants to help. Piggy is a great example of how those who are most intelligent in the society are treated unfairly base on their appearance and personality.

When children are little, they are taught never to give up and persevere through tough times. But perseverance is one of the hardest life stills to learn. We can see this problem in main characters in many fiction novels. In Elie Wiesel’s Night and William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, the main characters of these pieces of literature want to pursue their hopes, but eventually the determination wanes. In Night, Elie was optimistic when he was first taken away by the Germans and believed he would eventually find the rest of his family, happy and healthy. But as he sees the devastating treatment of other inmates, his hope dwindles. In Lord of the Flies, Ralph is confident that they will get saved if he keeps the fire going. As the fire continues to extinguish, Ralph’s hope also diminishes. Human nature in people causes them to

When the boys get stranded on this island they must take care of themselves and try to get rescued. As the boys climb this mountain to get home they face new challenges which resulted them to descend into savagery. With these new challenges of killing the pig for the first time, them breaking the conch, and deaths of Simon and Piggy they to descend into savagery causing them to lose their innocence. After the boys crash landed on the island it was only a matter of time before the boys descend into savagery because lack of leadership, need for survival and loss of innocence. Their first goal on the island was to have fun and get rescued but throughout their stay, they get further away from that.

Firstly, Golding uses Ralph and Piggy to portray that human nature is hidden by society to continue civilisation. At first, the two boys tried to bind society with the