Instant Gratification In Lord Of The Flies

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We have all been there, doing homework, with your phone next to you. It begins to continuously vibrate, it makes you tempted to pick it up and answer. Most of us would just ignore the homework and answer because we want to talk to our friends instead of doing the work we should be doing. This right here is called instant gratification; instant gratification is the desire to experience pleasure or fulfillment without delay or deferment. Basically, it's when you want it; and you want it now. As kids our parents taught us that we were to delay instant fulfillment so we can get the results of working hard and have success. Instead, most teens want instant gratification so they can be pleased right at their leisure. Lord of the Flies is an allegory …show more content…
In the novel, there is separate divisions and classes that people fall into. There is the hunters, leaders, children, and followers. The hunters are led by Jack, the leaders would be Piggy, Simon, and Ralph, and the followers would be the children and Jack. Now, The hunters led by Jack leave the fire to kill the pig, to have food to eat. Leaving the fire was a very stupid idea, the people on the island would never be able to be rescued if they were to leave the flames. "Life became a race with the fire and the boys scattered through the upper forest. To keep a clean flag of flame flying on the mountain was the immediate end and no one looked further" (56). Early in the novel, Ralph says to the group and Jack that they must make a fire in order for them to be rescued from the island. Ralph hopes that a ship will notice the fire and stop to pick them up. As soon as they successfully light their first fire, Ralph yells at the boys to get more wood to keep the flames going; but instead, they leave to hunt the pig for food. Golding writes, “The signal fire is a symbol of hope, rescue, and civilization throughout the novel. The boys' focus on enthusiasm for maintaining the signal fire illustrates their initial affinity for civility.” "The fire is the most important thing on the island. How can we ever be rescued except by luck, if we don’t keep a fire going? Is a fire too much for us to make?...Look at us! How many are we? And yet we can’t keep a fire going to make smoke. Don’t you understand? Can’t you see we ought to—ought to die before we let the fire out?" (31). In this quote, you can see that keeping the fire alive is crucial to being rescued. Instant gratification is the simplest yet most destructive thing for any society because the group shies away from building the fire and instead goes hunting for food for instant fulfillment. As the passengers moved beyond just surviving they

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