Pandemonium And Conflict In William Golding's Lord Of The Flies

In the world, power has played an important role throughout one’s life. From the ancient monarchs to today’s government, it has always been present amongst them, so that they can take care and protect the people. However, one learns that this is not always the case. In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, a group of children stranded on an island decide to vote for a chief for order in the society. However, this power creates negative emotions amongst the children and causes pandemonium and conflict within their society. In this process, Golding argues that when one has power, it negatively affects relationships due to how one with power conducts oneself and how one treats others.
In particular, a person with power leads to one becoming arrogant.

Knowing that a signal fire is necessary for them to be rescued, Ralph, Jack, and the rest of the children amass a pile of wood. Unfortunately, they have no matches, so Jack decides to grab Piggy’s glasses to help burn the wood. Instead of helping Piggy, “Ralph elbowed him to one side and knelt by the pile” (Golding 40). This shows that Ralph grows a dislike towards Piggy once he becomes the leader. At the start of the book, Ralph and Piggy are friends, but the moment Ralph gains power, he treats Piggy with animosity to show his dominance to everyone else. Later in the book, Jack invites Ralph and his tribe to a feast. After the meal, he offers the members of Ralph’s tribe to join his group, and Ralph dissuades those who agree, by saying that he will blow the conch and call an assembly. Nevertheless, Jack replies that he and his supporters “shan’t hear it” (Golding 167). This quote shows how much the relationship between Jack and Ralph has changed over time. Earlier, they were good friends, but now that Jack has power, he feels the need to exert it, which he does by showing hostility towards Ralph. Just because of Jack’s will to attain power, it destroys their friendship and creates an antagonism between the