People should keep your friends close and your enemies closer because the people you think are your friends can stab you in the back. In Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, a group of boys crash-landed on a deserted island where they formed rules and a system of government. Without the supervision of adults, they quickly turned violent and their society failed. The boys on the island failed to successfully run a government because of their lack of individual rights, which John Locke believed were necessary for a government to run successfully. The result of a government without individual rights is one where Jack stabs Ralph in the back and forms a corrupted dictatorship which ultimately caused the death of two boys on the island.
The boys lack of individual rights led by Ralph’s bad leadership and Jack’s rebellion leads to the boys' failure to adequately govern themselves, which is supported by John Locke’s idea of natural rights. John Locke believed that people should have the ability to think, that people's rights should be respected. He conceived in a monarchy where the king and queen had limited power to protect people’s natural rights and to prevent an absolute monarchy from transpiring. He believed that a government was created to respect people’s natural rights including life freedom and property. If the government does not provide what is needed to protect people’s natural rights, the people have the right to overthrow the government and form a new government that would support the people’s needs. John Locke once said, “People are obligated to defend anything to do with their life, freedom to do whatever they want, and protect anything they owned and anything that goes against people’s natural rights is untolerated.” (Lowe packet) This quote relates to natural rights because without it, the king or queen would have all the power and it would be an absolute monarchy where people wouldn’t have rights and the leader would abuse their power. After reading the Lord of the Flies, the actions of the boys on the island backs up John Locke's idea of overthrowing a nonfunctional government that does not respect people’s natural rights. For example, Piggy from Lord of the Flies said, “And you shut up! Who are you, anyway? Sitting there telling people what to do. You can’t hunt, you can’t sing—”(Golding 91). Piggy and Jack were arguing about who was allowed to speak when Ralph intervened and told Jack to let Piggy speak because he has the conch. That was when Jack showed that he didn’t see Ralph as a leader. Jack believed that Ralph did not do anything to help the tribe. It shows Ralph’s failure to protect the boys’ individual rights. Although Ralph tried to be a good leader and keep everyone safe, his lack of effort leads to the downfall of the society they have built. He felt that keeping up the bonfire was more important than hunting which provokes Jack to leave and form his own tribe which was the start of a dictatorship. This was the beginning of the fall of Ralph’s tribe. This relates back to Locke’s idea where if somebody feels like their rights are not protected by their leader, they can overthrow the government and form a new one. Jack eventually did form his own tribe after not being able to handle Ralph any longer. He offered anyone who joined meat from his hunt Another example of the boys failure is, “See? See? That’s what you’ll get! I meant that! There isn’t a tribe for you anymore! The conch is gone” (Golding 181). Ralph’s inability to protect all the boys’ individual rights led to the perishment of the only rules they had and a rebellion from his own people. The conch was used to have the power to speak. Yet people broke the rules and Ralph did nothing about it. The conch was the only thing they had since they crash-landed on the island, but it was gone and disregarded when the conch shattered. Due to the disregard of the rules, it caused the death of Piggy and Simon. Itt also led to Ralph’s life to be at risk. Led by Jack’s command, his tribe is trying to hunt down every last member of Ralph’s group. This eventually led to Ralph to be the only survivor of his own tribe. This relates back to Locke’s idea of overthrowing a successful government and forming a new one. Jack formed his own tribe with a dictator type of government. At least now, the boys are actually doing their jobs although their although they completely lost their freedom. They now have one main priority of hunting which they are successful at. The boys showed obedience to Jack which was never shown to Ralph indicating that Jack’s leadership style is effective.
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The boy’s inability to govern themselves had to do with the fact that the boy’s individual rights could not be expressed. It relates to John Locke’s view on an effective government that protect people’s natural rights. In Lord of The Flies, the boys individual rights were not protected which caused Jack’s rebellion in the first place. It included difference in priority and Lord of the Flies conveys that democracy can eventually turn into dictatorship. In the novel, Ralph’s democracy eventually turned into dictatorship after Jack took power. Rules are essential for a functioning government. Without it, the society falls apart and things goes violent quickly. In the beginning of the book, Jack was innocent but eventually he turned into a cruel person due to his hunger for power. Under Jack’s leadership, two fellow members of Ralph’s tribe died in his hands. This goes to show that people can change under a foreign/negative environment.
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Boys’ Individual Rights in Lord of the Flies: Analysis.
(2022, September 27). Edubirdie. Retrieved December 22, 2024, from https://edubirdie.com/examples/individual-rights-of-boys-in-lord-of-the-flies-by-william-golding-analytical-essay/
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