ipl-logo

Lord Of The Flies Archetypal Analysis

1204 Words5 Pages

Lord of the Flies Heroic Quest Archetypal Criticism
Throughout history, most fantasy writers have featured a hero in their writing. How do heroes in a story develop its theme? A novel by William Golding introduces a group of British schoolboys who survive a plane crash in the middle of World War II and find themselves stranded on an island. As they try to recreate the civilization they left behind, they elect a leader named Ralph along with his advisor, Piggy. However, a jealous Jack decides to lead his group against Ralph, and turns them into savages that create disastrous results. In the Lord of the Flies, William Golding uses the hero Ralph and his journey in a heroic quest archetype to portray the theme of civilization against savagery …show more content…

Just like other fantasy writers, Golding provides his archetypal hero with an archetypal villain. Its significance is explained, “Without the presence of an indomitable opponent, the hero's greatness fails to come to the fore. Though he may be an obstacle to the attainment of the hero's goal, the villain helps focus the hero's energies on it” (Ramaswamy). Jack, being the archetypal villain, helps emphasize the importance of Ralph’s journey. Without him, Ralph can’t battle against savagery and the book’s theme of civilization vs. savagery would not be the same. As tension rose between the two, Golding clearly features Jack as dangerous when he writes, “The words came from Jack viciously, as though they were a curse. He looked at Ralph, his thin body tensed, his spear held as if he threatened him” (Golding 119). Jack’s threatening motion causes Ralph to sense Jack’s danger and his transformation to savagery. After Jack’s intentional killing of Piggy, he responds violently, “‘...That’s what you’ll get! I meant that! There isn’t a tribe for you anymore...I’m chief!’” Viciously, with full intention, he hurled his spear at Ralph. The point tore the skin and flesh over Ralph’s ribs, then sheared off and fell in the water” (Golding 181). Jack’s jealousy of Ralph’s authority caused him to take away all of Ralph’s group members, and would lead him to wanting to ultimately take him down. Civilization has now become a rare thing on the island after having been overcome by savagery. The challenge for Ralph is to combat the savage, as he is the hero and the only civilized one on the

Show More
Related

  • Ralph Lord Of The Flies Quote Analysis

    627 Words  | 3 Pages

    This quote highlights the fact that during expeditions that Jack and his tribe went on, wearing that mask allowed him to adopt the idea of becoming more savage and animalistic. This caused Jack to become obsessed with hunting, forfeiting any attempts to get off the island. On the other hand, Ralph said “We’ve got to have rules and obey them. After all, we’re not savages.” This shows his maturity of Ralph, and how he understands the discipline he must have to maintain a civilization.

    Read More

  • Ralph Is A Static Character In Lord Of The Flies

    916 Words  | 4 Pages

    Few of the boys actually support Ralph’s thought process, but now, when they are in trouble, his intelligence finally proves a point. Although, Jack and his tribe still do not want to follow Ralph again; but that does not impact Ralph’s confidence into reuniting his tribe. The main character tries to explain to Jack that everyone needs to be compatible again for them to be found but another fight uprises: “ Jack made a rush and stabbed at Ralph’s chest with his spear […] Then he brought the end round and caught Jack a stinger across the ear […]” (177). Back and forth the boys fight because of Jack stealing Piggy’s glasses and the conflict between the fire; furthermore, the readers see the foreshadowing of Jack’s evil throughout the fight.

    Read More

  • Human Nature In Lord Of The Flies Literary Analysis

    439 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout life, people often lose track of what is really meaningful and important. In Lord of The Flies by William Golding, this element of human nature is portrayed through the children’s failure to complete necessary tasks due to their inclination on the island. It is simply human nature to fulfill desires before priorities. When the children first arrive on the island, the priority is to “be rescued” (37). The group decides that the best way to fulfill this is to build and maintain a signal fire (38).

    Read More

  • Civilization Vs Savagery In Lord Of The Flies Essay

    870 Words  | 4 Pages

    Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, is a novel that revolves around the concept of civilization versus savagery. The boys argue about points that eventually split the boys amongst themselves. These disputes come up multiple times over the course of the novel. One of which being the fight over the leader of the boys. Some believed the leader should be Jack while others believed it should be Ralph.

    Read More

  • How Does Ralph Change In Lord Of The Flies

    967 Words  | 4 Pages

    “And in the middle of them, with filthy body, matted hair, and unwiped nose, Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man’s heart, and the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called Piggy.” (184) read the novel on its final page. In William Golding’s novel Lord of the Flies many characters change, three of the main characters that change were Ralph, Jack and Roger. Ralph changes a lot throughout the novel, at the beginning Ralph is somewhat shy and rude, to characters such as Piggy, but he becomes very different as the novel progresses.

    Read More

  • Power In Lord Of The Flies Quote Analysis

    496 Words  | 2 Pages

    Near the end of their time on the island, Piggy, Sam, and Eric are the only ones left with Ralph, and Jack, who appears as “a chief now in truth; and he made stabbing motions with his spear” (Golding 168). Jack starts to get violent, and what was fun when they first got to the island become attempts to kill. At this point, Jack has fully taken over, and the only thing left for him to do is kill Ralph. Lord of the Flies exemplifies how when one person has all of the power, there is always somebody else that wants it more than that person. Ralph is not against Jack, nor does he want to fight with him for the chief position, but ambition and violence overtakes Jack, and he turns into a dangerous savage.

    Read More

  • Foreshadowing In Lord Of The Flies

    691 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the novel, Lord of the Flies, Golding uses foreshadowing to paint a picture of how humanity hungers for power through Ralph and Jack’s early conflict, Roger throwing rocks at a littlun, and Piggy’s glasses being stolen. Ralph and Jack develop an early conflict with each other that sets up their own destruction. “Even the choir applauded; and the freckles on Jack’s face disappeared under a blush of mortification” (23). Jack who believes he is better than everyone else, is struck down and denied chief by his followers because instead they chose Ralph.

    Read More

  • Archetypes In Lord Of The Flies

    763 Words  | 4 Pages

    Archetypal criticism argues that archetypes determine the form and function of literary works. The orphan archetype stands in for fear of not fitting in and being an outsider. It frequently relates to childhood abuse, neglect, or trauma. This archetype has often experienced a great deal of sorrow and suffering. They also try very hard to fit in and become like everyone else.

    Read More

  • Lord Of The Flies Savagery Quotes

    513 Words  | 3 Pages

    We’re strong – we hunt! If there’s a beast, we’ll hunt it down! We’ll close in and beat and beat and beat - !” (Golding 5) Jack feels that going out hunting is more important than following Ralph’s rules which is a growing desire for power over the others, and focused on hunting and barbarity. All in all Jack shows off the human evil nature in the book with the action he has done.

    Read More

  • Jack's Evilness In Lord Of The Flies

    583 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the quote above, Ralph is attempting to hide when the boys pass by him. Jack however notices him and Ralph realizes this may be the end. Jack, along with his tribe and their spears and painted faces run down Ralph through the forest even setting it on fire. In the end Ralph ends up being saved by luck, running into an officer. If it were not for the officer, Jack’s evilness would have got the best of him, and Ralph would not have survived.

    Read More

  • Archetype In Lord Of The Flies

    763 Words  | 4 Pages

    Christina Ma ENG1D6 Mrs. Abram May 2nd, 2016 Lord of the Flies Media Assignment The character Jack from the novel Lord of the Flies, written by William Golding first made his entry into the story wearing “a square black cap with a silver badge in it. [His body], from throat to ankle, [was] hidden by black cloaks which bore a long silver cross on the left breast and each neck was finished off with a hambone frill” (Golding, 15).

    Read More

  • Jack Lord Of The Flies Character Analysis

    818 Words  | 4 Pages

    Jack lost his sanity and civility and this changed him in more ways than imaginable. Jack was a natural leader when the boys first came onto the island, but as time continued he became a horrible dictator. On the first day on the island, Ralph and Jack competed for chief of the island. Ralph won. Jack was unhappy with this result, but it didn’t yet throw him into a spiral of craze and anger.

    Read More

  • William Golding's Influence On Lord Of The Flies

    562 Words  | 3 Pages

    He admitted the he was sort of a brat and a bully when he was little (“lambert”). According to the New York Times, Golding is quoted as saying “ ‘I enjoyed hurting people’ ” (“Lambert”). Therefore in the book, characters known as Ralph, Piggy, and samneric went to talk to Jack about Piggy’s specs that were stolen, not

    Read More

  • Human Nature And Evil In William Golding's Lord Of The Flies

    1127 Words  | 5 Pages

    However, Jack and his tribe are eager to hunt Ralph down. In this final scene, it is clear that savagery completely took over civilization on the island. “Fun and games,” said the officer. (Golding, 181). The naval officer correctly identified the hunt, because the boys allowed the inner evil dominate themselves.

    Read More

  • Evil In Lord Of The Flies Research Paper

    1100 Words  | 5 Pages

    Throughout the book we witness the power struggle between Jack and Ralph, we watch as Jack undermines Ralph's authority and gains control of the boys on the island. Jack's leadership is powerful, he understands how to coerce others into following him and is exceptional at controlling his crowd. Take for example him leading the crowd of hunters, “Kill the pig. Cut her throat. Spill her blood” (Golding 56).

    Read More

More about Lord Of The Flies Archetypal Analysis

Open Document