How Do The Boys Change On The Island In The Lord Of The Flies Essay

Superior Essays
Topic Question – How do the boys change on the island?

William Golding in his novel, “The Lord of The Flies” the story tells about a group of military boys who marooned on a deserted tropical island surrounded by an ocean. Their initial aim is to establish civilization. They realize that they must establish basic rules of coexistence and discipline, using as a model democracy, inheritance of society from which they came. The three main characters all represent different personalities and the effects they have on each other under various challenging circumstances. A dispute arises between two youth for leadership (Ralph and Jack), which causes them to be divided into groups.

Ralph, an all British, well built with charisma and the confidence
…show more content…
Rejected by most people who were not as academically educated, they didn’t want to be around someone well educated. He wasn’t popular with anyone his age, overweight, with asthma, nor was he athletic. He isolated himself from the others which allowed him to remain sane and unchanged into savagery. Piggy was not allowed to go on the first expedition with Ralph, Simon and Jack to look around the island. “‘I’ll come’ Ralph turned to him. ‘Your’re no good on a job like this.’ ‘All the same-’ ‘We don’t want you.’ Said Jack, flatly ‘Three’s enough.’ Piggy’s glasses flashed ‘I was with him when he found the conch. I was with him before anyone else was.’ Jack and the others paid no attention.”’ (P20-21) Piggy like to be observant, learning from the actions of everyone else around him and this allowed him to see the outsider perspective. He could learn the hatred by being shown from of the Jack and the boys without experiencing the bloodlust that Ralph was …show more content…
It shows brutality of human people, free from the rules and structures of civilization also society. These boys struggled between the human instinct – the impulse to obey rules, to behave morally and act lawfully, to savage instinct, the impulse to seek power or control others, act selfishly, also to indulge in violence. Their experiences on an uninhabited island goes to show the evil of man’s nature. The different characters portrayed various types of people in our society today. Their true selves were revealed in the freedom from the law and regulations without adults. Jack’s inner demon was suppressed, but with no rules or adult supervision, he was free to do what he pleased and desired. Ralph had grown up used to the laws and regulations because his father was an officer in the war. He went through changes and challenges that were difficult for him to comprehend. He became confused and almost lost sight of independence. Ralph also had the experienced the bloodlust and savagery that drove the savages mad to its peak. Ralph struggled for democracy and a sense of order, he personality and obligation saved him from complete savagery. Two traits that helped keep Piggy alive and from becoming savagery. He was an outcast by his looks and his intelligence, until his timely death. He was made painfully aware of the injustice in the world.

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    William Golding was an English novelist, playwright, and poet. Golding was best known for his Novel, Lord of the Flies, in which he won the Nobel Prize for Best Literature and was awarded the Booker Prize in 1980 for Fiction. In this book, the author talks about how a group of British boys crash land on a stranded island with no adults. In the beginning, Ralph the main character, takes charge due to his age and sets up a way for everyone to share their ideas through the Conch. Later Ralph is rivaled by the antagonist of the book, Jack, who does not believe in following a certain set of rules and is more into giving orders than taking them.…

    • 878 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    They were too stubborn to listen and because of it, Piggy died. Ralph is the one that tries to civilize the boys and in this effort he eventually becomes the hunted member of the group. Jack in his quest for power turns the boys against Ralph and tries to have him murdered. Ralph’s life is only spared by the coming of a navy ship, which saw the island on fire.…

    • 632 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In William Golding’s novel Lord of the Flies, the psychotic children hungry for power and control do not seem as bad as they actually are when taking into consideration the fact that this book was written after the recently fought war, World War II. With the war in mind, Golding writes the novel taking actual events and people of World War II and incorporating them into the novel. The two most distinct ones that Golding includes are Roger, a character in the novel, and Jack’s seizure of power. When Roger makes his first appearance in the novel, he is introduced as a quiet and shy kid that keeps everything to himself.…

    • 450 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Psychological Masks “He capered toward Bill, and the mask was a thing on its own, behind which Jack hid, liberated from shame and self-consciousness.” The mask represents (Finish hook) Stranded on an island after a plane crash, a group of young schoolboys in William Golding’s novel, Lord of the Flies struggle to find the balance between fun and survival. With no adults to be found the children elect Ralph, an inexperienced leader who attempts to form a democracy. The newfound order soon crumbles under a dictatorship founded by Jack, a choirboy that was displeased with the verdict.…

    • 942 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    “Seems to me we ought to have a chief to decide things.” (Golding 22). Between Jack and Ralph,Ralph is the better leader. Ralph shows leadership, common sense, and is very sophisticated. He demonstrates taking control, having a positive outlook on the island, and being courageous.…

    • 763 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    William Golding’s Lord of the Flies is a novel about a group of british boys who are stranded on an island after their plane is shot down. The group encounters numerous amounts of problems while they were stranded on the island, resulting in multiple disputes between the boys. Conflict is obvious throughout the novel, whether it's Man VS. Man, Man VS. Himself or Man VS.…

    • 958 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    People Are The Products of Our Environment Human nature involves the ways of thinking, feelings, and behavioral traits among human kind. The book, Lord of The Flies, by William Golding and the story of a serial killer named Jeffrey Dahmer both share similar traits when you think about how they affect “human nature” or how they affect society. Lord of the Flies and serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer’s story share similarities about human nature because they both show elements of savagery. William Golding’s Lord of the Flies is about a group of British schoolboys that got stranded on a deserted island. The main characters of this novel are: Ralph, Piggy, Jack, Simon, and Roger.…

    • 1092 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Ever wonder what you would do when put in a life or death situation? Would you choose every man for himself or rally with a team to make sure everyone survives? In Lord of the Flies written by William Golding, teenage boys Ralph, Piggy, Jack, Simon, Samneric, and Roger are put in one of these life or death situations. During World War II, a plane evacuates a group of schoolboys from Britain who were then shot down onto a deserted island. There they are faced with the challenge of survival, dominance, and even murder.…

    • 925 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Lord of the Flies by William Golding takes place in the middle of a nuclear war, a group of British boys find themselves stranded without adult supervision on a tropical island. With no adults around, the boys are left to govern and fend for themselves. Ralph one of the older kids in the group is appointed chief by the other boys. Another boy, Jack, is jealous but manages to put his strife aside when he is named leader of the hunters. At the the start all seems to be well,when Jack chooses to go hunting instead of maintaining the signal fire which upsets Ralph, then the trouble begins.…

    • 522 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Every child dreams of exploring a deserted island, yet William Golding’s Lord of the Flies explores the dark reality of such an event. After a plane crash, the only passengers to survive are a group of young British school boys. They wash up on the deserted island with no grownups in sight. Throughout the novel, Golding uses symbolic characters to utilize Societal structure. Firstly, Golding expresses a range of evil and savagery acts that led Jack to represent the Devil.…

    • 1180 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, conflict - both internal and external - portrays a major development in the theme and plot of the young boys in this novel. On an island composed of only pre-adolescent boys, it is unquestionable that there would be conflict amongst them. Golding blatantly shows the reader the external conflicts that occur between one another, including both physical and verbal altercations. The author also cryptically gives the reader a display of the conflict the boys struggle with within themselves and their own thoughts. Despite the many instances of external conflict, the subtle internal conflicts are much more critical to the plot and overall theme of Lord of the Flies.…

    • 507 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Ralph And Piggy Analysis

    • 747 Words
    • 3 Pages

    When Piggy states, “Life… is scientific, that’s what it is… I know there isn’t no beast - not with claws and all that, I mean - but I know there isn’t no fear either”, it is shown that Golding displays Piggy as being more intellectually superior than the other schoolboys, which then leads him to have a stronger connection outside of the isolation of their island (Golding 84). His ability to use reason helps the other schoolboys stay focused on the task at hand. Piggy contributes to establish order shortly after they are all on the island by recommending the use of the conch; he also mocks the boys for “acting like a crowd of kids” (Golding 42). Piggy is often described as being more socially compatible with the adults and carries himself with a sense of purpose that will frequently be known as Ralph’s moral crisis supervisor.…

    • 747 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In writing Lord of the Flies, author William Golding builds a dystopian microcosm entirely separated from the real world. Through his construction of the island dystopia, Golding provides insight into his perspective on human nature and the degree of humanity, or lack thereof, inherently possessed by man. Among the aspects of society criticized in the novel, democratic government and man’s right to such a system is one of the most prominent. Golding mirrors the actual creation and implementation of a democratic government in his island microcosm.…

    • 1299 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Piggy supports Ralph in all his decisions and Piggy is a champion also of the values of civilization. Piggy insists also on the need of maintain a fire on the island in order to attract the attention of the sailors of a passing ship. Piggy is always making sensible suggestions. It is true that he is timid by nature, but there is no doubt at all that he is kind-hearted and gentle. The murder of Piggy like the previous murder of Simon is an example of the triumph of evil over good.…

    • 699 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    William Golding’s Lord of the Flies writes about the ideas of people’s personalities and the evil within the human heart. Set within an island, a group of young boys set out to survive and be rescued; however, it is later seen how the boys end up being wild and savage when they’re left without adult supervision. Golding depicts Simon as a scapegoat whose exceptional persona on an island of chaos and anarchy makes him a target for the stranded boys’ hatred/evil. Starting early on in the novel, Simon shows a caring, generous personality, which becomes a stigma that he is “unique” in comparison to the other boys. Even though the norm for the biguns on the beach was to ignore or not help the littluns; Simon was different in that, “Simon found…

    • 744 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays