Order=Freedom
In Lord of the Flies (LOF), by William Golding, a plane crash leaves a group of young English boys stranded on an island without any adult guidance. The boys must learn to use their resources efficiently to survive their current living situation, while also maintaining order within the group. However, Ralph, the elected chief, and Jack, the leader of the hunters, have opposing leadership styles and continuous disputes, which eventually leads to two deaths in the novel. Throughout history, citizens often suffer when there is an imbalance of freedom and order in their government, such as in anarchies or autocracies. Even if a government isn’t a complete anarchy or autocracy, chaos can still occur. Freedom and order were also a …show more content…
For instance, after sacrificing a pig’s head to “The Beast”, Jack is idolized by the other boys and he throws a feast in celebration. Ralph and Piggy attend the celebration and get into a heated argument with Jack when Jack asks the other boys if they’ll leave Ralph to join his tribe. Ralph protests, “I’m the chief, and what about the fire? And I’ve got the conch–”(150) to which Jack replies, “You haven’t got it with you [...] And the conch doesn’t count at this end of the island–”(150). The conch symbolizes order and democratic order because it allows any individual who holds it the power to talk. Also, the conch symbolizes moral authority because when the conch is blown, it signals the boys to come together and discuss important topics regarding the island and their survival. By removing the conch’s effectiveness on his side of the island, Jack is removing all democratic order and leaving the boys in a state of chaos, where there are no rules or moral authority. This is also seen in history during Maximilien Robespierre’s Reign of Terror in 1793, when he was elected to lead the National Convention. After the execution of King Louis XVI, Robespierre and many radicals guillotined anyone they deemed “counter-revolutionary”. In just ten months, forty thousand people were executed. The removal of King Louis XVI’s …show more content…
This is seen when Roger attempts to roll a boulder towards Ralph, but hits Piggy instead. Golding describes Piggy’s death as, “Piggy fell forty feet and landed on his back across the square red rock in the sea. His head opened and stuff came out and turned red. Piggy 's arms and legs twitched a bit, like a pig 's after it has been killed”(181). Piggy’s death is significant because it conveys the evil and savagery inside Roger’s heart. Even though killing Piggy wasn’t Roger’s intention, it doesn’t change Roger’s original intent of killing Ralph, which is an unforgivable and wicked act that breaches natural rights. John Locke, an Enlightenment philosopher, would disapprove of Roger’s actions. In his Two Treatises on Government, John Locke writes, “[...] to preserve himself, his liberty, and property; [...] the power of society, [...] is obliged to secure everyone’s property, by providing against those defects that made the state of nature so unsafe and uneasy”. Due to “the state of nature”, which refers to a lack of government in LOF, Piggy is left vulnerable and his natural right to life is violated by Roger when he is brutally
In Lord of the Flies (LOF), by William Golding, a plane crash leaves a group of young English boys stranded on an island without any adult guidance. The boys must learn to use their resources efficiently to survive their current living situation, while also maintaining order within the group. However, Ralph, the elected chief, and Jack, the leader of the hunters, have opposing leadership styles and continuous disputes, which eventually leads to two deaths in the novel. Throughout history, citizens often suffer when there is an imbalance of freedom and order in their government, such as in anarchies or autocracies. Even if a government isn’t a complete anarchy or autocracy, chaos can still occur. Freedom and order were also a …show more content…
For instance, after sacrificing a pig’s head to “The Beast”, Jack is idolized by the other boys and he throws a feast in celebration. Ralph and Piggy attend the celebration and get into a heated argument with Jack when Jack asks the other boys if they’ll leave Ralph to join his tribe. Ralph protests, “I’m the chief, and what about the fire? And I’ve got the conch–”(150) to which Jack replies, “You haven’t got it with you [...] And the conch doesn’t count at this end of the island–”(150). The conch symbolizes order and democratic order because it allows any individual who holds it the power to talk. Also, the conch symbolizes moral authority because when the conch is blown, it signals the boys to come together and discuss important topics regarding the island and their survival. By removing the conch’s effectiveness on his side of the island, Jack is removing all democratic order and leaving the boys in a state of chaos, where there are no rules or moral authority. This is also seen in history during Maximilien Robespierre’s Reign of Terror in 1793, when he was elected to lead the National Convention. After the execution of King Louis XVI, Robespierre and many radicals guillotined anyone they deemed “counter-revolutionary”. In just ten months, forty thousand people were executed. The removal of King Louis XVI’s …show more content…
This is seen when Roger attempts to roll a boulder towards Ralph, but hits Piggy instead. Golding describes Piggy’s death as, “Piggy fell forty feet and landed on his back across the square red rock in the sea. His head opened and stuff came out and turned red. Piggy 's arms and legs twitched a bit, like a pig 's after it has been killed”(181). Piggy’s death is significant because it conveys the evil and savagery inside Roger’s heart. Even though killing Piggy wasn’t Roger’s intention, it doesn’t change Roger’s original intent of killing Ralph, which is an unforgivable and wicked act that breaches natural rights. John Locke, an Enlightenment philosopher, would disapprove of Roger’s actions. In his Two Treatises on Government, John Locke writes, “[...] to preserve himself, his liberty, and property; [...] the power of society, [...] is obliged to secure everyone’s property, by providing against those defects that made the state of nature so unsafe and uneasy”. Due to “the state of nature”, which refers to a lack of government in LOF, Piggy is left vulnerable and his natural right to life is violated by Roger when he is brutally