How Does Golding Use Power In Lord Of The Flies

Improved Essays
The Prominence of Power in Lord of the Flies Power makes itself evident throughout William Golding’s Lord of the Flies. For example in the beginning of the book when tensions begin to rise between Ralph and Jack Ralph says “If Jack was chief he’d have all hunting and no fire” (Golding 93). Power by definition according to Merriam Webster is “The capacity or ability to direct or influence the behavior of others or the course of events”. Power gives you the ability to influence to control different people and different circumstances. Power can be seen many times throughout Golding's Lord of the Flies.
From the beginning it is a struggle for power as Ralph is chief but Jack believes that he should have been deemed the chief so that creates conflict

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Jack Merridew Conflict

    • 403 Words
    • 2 Pages

    In his book Lord of the Flies, William Golding introduces a conflict between Jack and Ralph when Jack prioritizes hunting above all else and Ralph focuses on everyone's survival needs. William Golding is clearly trying to establish the theme that a difference in priorities within a single group often creates an imbalance affecting all of one’s surroundings. Throughout the first few chapters, Jack Merridew is portrayed as a self-centered and fierce character, especially when the subject of hunting pigs comes into play. This creates a conflict with Ralph, the appointed leader whose focus is rescue and shelter.…

    • 403 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In “The Hunger Games” the Capitol holds the power of all the districts, every year they host the Hunger Games to show their power and how they could wipe out the districts if they were to rebel once again. In “The Lord Of The Flies” Jack is the powerful one, he may not be chief but he lets everyone know he is the hunter and the dangerous one of the group of boys. He uses the same concept as the Capitol does in “The Hunger Games,” he shows his power to make sure nobody would dare go against him. Often Jack tries to assert his dominance and power over Ralph and lets him know that they are not friends. In many dystopian texts there are people who hold the power and there are people who do not, often it is the person with the power who is the evil one.…

    • 818 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    In Lord of the Flies, William Golding uses symbolism to show that power and leadership can either benefit a civilization or destroy them. “We can use this to call the others. Have a meeting. They’ll come when they hear us-” (page 16)…

    • 115 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In almost every novel there is a person with great power. Whether it is someone who abuses that power, or uses it for good. This can be seen in the book Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury, Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, and through my own personal experiences. In the book Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury, it can be seen that power is a very important aspect of leadership.…

    • 645 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Power makes society do atrocious things. In the book “Lord of the Flies” by William Golding, the island sees survivors from a plane crash so dreadful that no one would have been alive, but miraculously a group of young cadets survives. One of the survivors, Ralph, becomes the first leader of the group and makes the precedents so that the boys maintain their civilization. But furthermore, Jack wants to have his influence over the boys. He believes…

    • 1260 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Even though they still follow their leader’s rules, some of them do it for their personal interest. Power always needs to be handling correctly, if not imbalances will create bad result. So, William Golding uses the destroying power of the conch in his symbolic novel Lord of the Flies, to show the theme of absolute power corrupts integrity and to represent the…

    • 288 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    POWER STRUGGLE IN LORD OF THE FLIES Power is believed to be the only thing stronger than fear. When Lord of the Flies was published in 1954 the novel is considered to be about humans that are inherently evil and when given power, how they choose to use it. Golding demonstrates this through the use of characterization examining Jack and Ralph as individual characters; symbolism is used to illustrate the power in the novel; and lastly, the conflict/dialogue between Ralph, Jack and its effects on the atmosphere. In Golding 's novel Lord of the Flies, he implies that with power comes responsibility and the capability to abuse power or act with righteousness.…

    • 1167 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    William Golding’s purpose in the passage from the novel Lord of the Flies is to reveal that the boys’ careless destruction of their home will lead to their own demise. Golding creates a menacing mood to illustrate the boys destructive nature. As the fire swallowed the island, the boys ironically stood by unfazed by the carnage that surrounded them. Golding writes, “Beneath the capering boys a quarter of a mile square of forest was savage with smoke and flame.” This negligence makes it clear the boys do not care for nature and are ignorant of the damage that they done to the surrounding area..…

    • 229 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    From a conflict perspective, the breakdown that occurred between the boys on the island is a result of the struggle for a group as a whole to all agree and abide by one dominate leader. This struggle causes the boys to fragment off into groups, those who follow Ralph and those who follow Jack. Although Ralph’s group is small, consisting of mainly him and Piggy, they have Piggy’s glasses to provide them with fire, a valuable key to survival. Ralph centers his group around the goal of a rescue and putting their resources to constructive use, whereas Jack’s group is concerned with making a home out of the island, hunting food and playing around. Leaders advance their personal interest, struggling over control of resources.…

    • 250 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Advantages Of Power Power is very wanted just like people want happiness. Power and happiness are both essentials in life that are very sought after, yet certain individuals are not capable of receiving either one throughout their life. In Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck fight for who has the most power is talked about quite often. George and Lennie have a friendship like no other. In Of Mice and Men the reader will feel apart of the story and can relate to the many of the ups and downs that occur throughout the book.…

    • 1125 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Abuse of Power in Of Mice and Men Power is a tool, leverage and potentially a quality. Power can supply the owner with a sense of status, of being better than others. Power can be used to do many things, but it can also be used negatively. In the wrong hands, power can corrupt, destroy and abuse others, and from this abuse of power is born. In Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, many of the characters can be observed abusing power, to their advantage or to put others down.…

    • 707 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    “Power does not corrupt. Fear corrupts... perhaps the fear of a loss of power” (Goodreads). John Steinbeck’s quote asserts that people do not get corrupted because of power, they get corrupted because of the fear of the power. In Lord of the Flies by William Golding, Jack does not use his dominance to control the other boys; he instills authority into the boys making them fear him. By doing so, Jack controls the actions of the boys and changes their morals.…

    • 1225 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    In the Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, several characters demonstrate their leadership by establishing separate groups of children. Between all groups, the main characters, Ralph, Jack, Piggy, and Simon all highlight their strengths and exposes the weaknesses of their specific leadership style. With these contrasting leadership styles, a struggle for power emerges. Ralph, who is an authentic leader, focuses on creating a democratic body. Whereas Jack, who is an autocratic leader, wants ultimate control over the people.…

    • 1425 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    To begin, power was earned through respect in Lord of the Flies. A leader can earn this type of power when they perform a heroic deed or an act that benefits society. Ralph was able to receive power through…

    • 1305 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    When power is handed to someone without them earning it, it often goes to their head and they become controlling and overpowering. In the novel, Lord of the Flies by William Golding, Ralph is chosen as the chief. The first thing he does is give Jack full power over the hunters, giving him power without earning it. Jack takes the power he is given and attempts to take over Ralph’s job as chief and turn the other boys against him. Through the characterization of Jack, William Golding develops the theme people will abuse power when it is not earned.…

    • 1257 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays