Extremism In Lord Of The Flies Essay

Debate often rages on about what constitutes “extremist” ideas and behaviors and how these ideas tend to spread. Despite this, ask anyone to give you an example or define the term, and they are quite likely to tell you something along the lines of “Islamic terrorist organizations”, immediately classifying an entire religion under the extremist umbrella, or “white supremacist groups” politicizing the issue and jumping past a critical point. What is this idea that people so quickly skip over, in favor of the cliché examples previously mentioned? -- The idea that one does not need to look far beyond their community, or magnify the issue to a global scale in order to find examples -- real, and potentially dangerous examples of extremist ideology

The promise of an equal role in society as well as better access to necessities such as food act as the rhetorical platforms upon which Jack creates his group and separates from Ralph. By the end of the novel, all of the boys, except Ralph, Piggy, Samneric and a couple of littluns join Jacks separatist movement, most blindly following Jack’s harmful rhetoric and conforming to the changing society on the island the boys inhabit. If children such as those illustrated in the novel are swayed so easily by extremist rhetoric and radicalism, it speaks volumes to the lack of ability to think for oneself which is ever so increasing. Those people who are targeted by extremist recruiters are, as mentioned previously, are often marginalized by society, making them perfect targets onto whom radical thought can be indoctrinated. All of us must, therefore, contribute to closing the margins extremism spawns and provide for those who need it, the help they deserve to feel accepted in society. When this difficult task is finally completed, maybe we will realize that extremism and recruitment rhetoric does not necessarily dwell solely in far away, war-torn countries, but rather exists in plain sight, wherever people feel oppressed and