Some say people's actions are the results of their life experiences but is that true? In William Golding’s novel Lord of the Flies he shows us hope, dedication, and conflict within the group of children. It starts with their plane that crashed down, and all they have left is each other as they try to keep hope of being rescued. They soon realize that they are stranded alone with no adults and no sign of help which makes them start to take action. They ignitate their action by ralph one of the oldest boys stepping up to become leader and to take care of the rest. Rules are created, decisions are made, and conflict occurs. This creates an outbreak and shows the boys true selves. Some of the boys are more desperate than others which results in their variety of actions. Later in the novel, situations occur where significant decisions are forced to be made.
The good and evil is revealed from Jack, Simon, and Ralph.
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In this novel jack reveals his evil side or could it just be the harsh reality he had to live with? Jacks evil side shows a lot throughout this book and is revealed in many ways. It starts when he is stranded on the island and is clear on his expectations “ We've got to have rules and obey them. After all, we're not savages. ” but then loses his ability to stay civilized. He becomes primitive and starts brutally killing pigs among the island and shows no mercy. The boys also have a saying when they are hunting, which is “ Kill the pig. Cut her throat. Spill her blood. ” Also when Roger spears a sow pig Jack laughs as Roger pulls the spear out as if he is enjoying the death. Another example is when he hangs the pigs head on a stick and then creates a ritual dance as Simon comes crawling out of the woods and is killed with their hands and teeth that represents going back in evolution as if they were animals not humans. Jack represents evil and having no mercy as this novel continues.
As the story continues their is a different approach besides evil with Simon. Unlike Jack, Simon has more good in him and is somewhat the “mother” figure of the group. Simon works on the huts to make them better for all, he feeds the children fruit that's out of reach, and also tries to protect by having a standoff with the beast. He goes through helping others and trying to keep organization and shelter, he is also told by the “beast” that there is no beast they only have themselves to be afraid of “ Maybe there is a beast… Maybe it’s only us ”. He also provides comfort by saying “ You’ll get back all right. I think so, anyway. ” While simon is making an impact of controlling the group he finishes talking to the beast then has a seizure, after the seizure he walks down the mountain stumbling and hunched over when the others mistake him for the beast. But then they realize it's him but then proceed to killing him. Simon didn't deserve to be killed by the blood thirsty Jack and others in the tribe.
Along with Jack and Simon there is Ralph who is the protagonist within the story. Ralph is one of the oldest of the group of boys which makes him a leader along with his confidence, but he also realizes even though he's the oldest it would still be good for a grown up “ There aren't any grownups. We shall have to look after ourselves. ” He first takes action by finding the conch and blowing on it to call for all the boys which created power for him and initially elected for leader. He is a good fit for leader and represents a civilized community within the group and creating rules that are firm and needed to stay civilized. Ralph organized a plan to keep the signal fire going incase of a plane or ship passing by and also to build shelter “ We’ve got to have special people for looking after the fire. Any day there may be a ship out there… and if we have a signal going they’ll come and take us off. And another thing. We ought to have more rules. Where the conch is, that’s a meeting. The same up here as down there. ” But when Jack challenges his power he loses his confidence and demotes himself while jack is on the uprise. To only think of how it would of went if Ralph was still leader instead of jack, would it be better or possibly worse?
Lord of the Flies has many upsets and downfalls within the community and changes many aspects of a civilized community. This novel shows the true character within yourself and the different actions people take when hope of being rescued falls apart. Leadership is one of the biggest differences between good vs evil and to keep a civilized manner versus a crazy out of control blood thirsty group. Many challenges could have resulted in different ways if it was a good character versus an evil person such as jack. Overall it goes back to the old quote never judge a book by its cover and especially when there's sacrifice and loss of hope involved.
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