Choices In Lord Of The Flies

When an individual is faced with a situation in which there are no consequences for the choices they make, they may start to think less based on logic and more on instinct. As a result, they can stay true to their morals or corrupt themselves and others around them. In the novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding, this is a main element because it shows how each of the many characters respond to the ability to make choices with no punishment, regardless of the outcome.

Because choices people make in their lives have consequences, having no repercussions can cause them to make entirely different decisions. This is seen in Lord of the Flies because all of the current inhabitants of the island are young English boys, separated into two groups- …show more content…
Once the main characters, Ralph and Piggy, realize that they are stranded on an island with no adult in sight, their first thought is to gather the other boys that have been scattered across the island. They do this with the help of a conch found near the sea, and eventually Ralph has to compete with Jack, who is about the same age, for leadership of the group, and effectively the island. At this point, it can be said that Ralph represents logic because he wants to organize the boys into groups to do various tasks such as fetching clean, drinkable water, building shelters, and tending to the signal fire. Jack, on the other hand, represents instinct, as all he really wants to do is hunt for meat, and getting rescued is not as much of a priority for him as it is for Ralph. Once Jack leaves the main group, the choir joins him as they are still loyal, if not terrified. Their main goal is to get meat and have fun, and eventually everyone joins them. The only boys left clinging to the previous system are Ralph, Piggy, Simon, and the twins Sam and Eric. When they go to see what Jack’s group is doing, they get caught up in the chant used when in pursuit of a pig during a hunt, and the only person not there is Simon, who had gone by himself to see what the beast at the top of the mountain really was. Once he finds out, he rushes back down to notify the others, but by the time he reaches them, they have gotten lost in the chanting and have reverted to not thinking at all and just relying on instinct. Once they see him, they think he is the beast itself, and because they are relying purely on instinct, they jump out to attack him. It is for this reason that the first known death in the novel comes to