Morality and Peace in Lord of the Flies
Lord of the Flies by William Golding is a book about the life of school aged boys on an island after their plane crashed, and how they lived without adults to lead and guide them. Due to the new freedom, without adults and laws, the boys forget the simplest components of morality. Some even turn the most immoral deeds, killing other boys on the island, like in the death of Simon and Piggy. But there are displays of morality leading to peace throughout the book. One instance is when Jack doesn’t voice his anger in being rejected as leader. Also, Roger began to taunt Henry, but the invisible strong force of morality stopped him. Piggy displays morality when he performs a kind act for Ralph when Ralph is …show more content…
In Lord of the Flies, the group picked Ralph as their leader. The decision of not picking Jack eventually broke the group up. “Ralph counted. ‘I’m chief then.’ The circle of boys broke into applause. Even the choir applauded; and the freckles on Jack’s face disappeared under a blush of mortification. He started up, then changed his mind and sat down again while the air rang.” (Golding 23). In this piece of textual evidence, the group picked Ralph as their leader. Jack, who’s character entered as one who spoke with authority, also wanted to be leader. I think we’ve all felt rejected at one point or another. Sometimes anger is an emotion that follows after rejection. The piece of evidence explains that Jack was embarrassed, disappointed and probably angry through the description of his blush of mortification. Also, the evidence states that Jack started up, then immediately changed his mind. I think that when he got up first, Jack wanted to express his anger to the group, but the morality of his conscious had enough strength over him to stifle his anger. As the story unfolds, the readers know Jack as a character whose anger is never hidden, so it was a crucial decision for him to not …show more content…
“ ‘I thought perhaps,’ said Piggy, ‘we ought to have a feast, kind of.’ The three boys sat down. They had a great mass of the fruit with them and all of it properly ripe. They grinned at Ralph as he took some and began to eat. ‘Thanks,’ he said. Then with an accent of pleased surprise- ‘Thanks!’” (Golding 132). Ralph is uneasy because he is unsure if the boys can survive on their own, without Jack and his hunters. Piggy decides to gather Sam and Eric to perform a kind deed for Ralph. They make the most of what they have and gather up ripe fruit for a feast, to show Ralph that they will be fine on their own. By coordinating this kind gesture, Piggy shows that he still has morality within himself, which compels him to cheer Ralph up in whatever way he can. Ralph shows appreciation of this gesture by thanking the boys, feeling a sense of happiness and a sense of assurance. Piggy’s gesture brings peace to Ralph’s unresting heart, which is worried about the group’s survival. Even temporarily, Ralph feels at peace, just from the one kind deed of
Lord of the Flies by William Golding is a book about the life of school aged boys on an island after their plane crashed, and how they lived without adults to lead and guide them. Due to the new freedom, without adults and laws, the boys forget the simplest components of morality. Some even turn the most immoral deeds, killing other boys on the island, like in the death of Simon and Piggy. But there are displays of morality leading to peace throughout the book. One instance is when Jack doesn’t voice his anger in being rejected as leader. Also, Roger began to taunt Henry, but the invisible strong force of morality stopped him. Piggy displays morality when he performs a kind act for Ralph when Ralph is …show more content…
In Lord of the Flies, the group picked Ralph as their leader. The decision of not picking Jack eventually broke the group up. “Ralph counted. ‘I’m chief then.’ The circle of boys broke into applause. Even the choir applauded; and the freckles on Jack’s face disappeared under a blush of mortification. He started up, then changed his mind and sat down again while the air rang.” (Golding 23). In this piece of textual evidence, the group picked Ralph as their leader. Jack, who’s character entered as one who spoke with authority, also wanted to be leader. I think we’ve all felt rejected at one point or another. Sometimes anger is an emotion that follows after rejection. The piece of evidence explains that Jack was embarrassed, disappointed and probably angry through the description of his blush of mortification. Also, the evidence states that Jack started up, then immediately changed his mind. I think that when he got up first, Jack wanted to express his anger to the group, but the morality of his conscious had enough strength over him to stifle his anger. As the story unfolds, the readers know Jack as a character whose anger is never hidden, so it was a crucial decision for him to not …show more content…
“ ‘I thought perhaps,’ said Piggy, ‘we ought to have a feast, kind of.’ The three boys sat down. They had a great mass of the fruit with them and all of it properly ripe. They grinned at Ralph as he took some and began to eat. ‘Thanks,’ he said. Then with an accent of pleased surprise- ‘Thanks!’” (Golding 132). Ralph is uneasy because he is unsure if the boys can survive on their own, without Jack and his hunters. Piggy decides to gather Sam and Eric to perform a kind deed for Ralph. They make the most of what they have and gather up ripe fruit for a feast, to show Ralph that they will be fine on their own. By coordinating this kind gesture, Piggy shows that he still has morality within himself, which compels him to cheer Ralph up in whatever way he can. Ralph shows appreciation of this gesture by thanking the boys, feeling a sense of happiness and a sense of assurance. Piggy’s gesture brings peace to Ralph’s unresting heart, which is worried about the group’s survival. Even temporarily, Ralph feels at peace, just from the one kind deed of