Lord of the Flies, a novel written by William Golding, is an allegory for the political reality of the time it was written in: the 1950s. During the 1950s, World War II and the Cold War, wars that concerned liberal democracy and totalitarianism, transpired. This novel is an allegory that examines these two opposing political ideologies. Liberal democracy, a democracy based on the recognition of individual rights and freedoms (governmentvs.com), is symbolized by Ralph, a predominantly equitable and ethical character. Totalitarianism, a system of government in which the people have virtually no authority and the state wields absolute control (boundless.com), is symbolized by Jack, a brutish and controlling character. Through the actions of Ralph
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After the conception of government in Lord of the Flies, it is quickly recognized that Ralph and Jack have different methods of ruling. Jack’s method of ruling is reflected through characteristics that he shares with totalitarianism. These shared …show more content…
The shared characteristics of a democracy and Ralph include citizen rule, majority rule and minority rights, freedom of speech, fairness and equality. Citizen rule is the right of citizens to elect their representatives. Page 18 says, “The clamor changed from the general wish for a chief to an election by acclaim of Ralph himself.” Ralph gains power by an election, using citizen rule. The majority rule and minority rights is the rule that the majority will decide a group’s representative but the rights of the minority will not be ignored because a democracy must be representative of all people. This quality is demonstrated in Ralph on page 112, when he tells Piggy, “Go on. Ask him.” He is telling Piggy to ask Percival, a littlun, about the beast he saw at night. It could be argued that the quality of listening to the minority is more evident within Piggy as Piggy is the one who asks all the questions to littluns. However, Piggy sympathizes with the littluns and wants to ask them. On the contrary, Ralph does not enjoy talking about fear, as it causes disturbance. However, Ralph allows Percival to speak and encourages Piggy to ask him about the beast because Ralph knows that all opinions must be heard, whether one likes it or not, a belief that is essential to democracy. The conch, an object associated with Ralph, allows people the freedom of speech. It allows everyone to spread influence
After the conception of government in Lord of the Flies, it is quickly recognized that Ralph and Jack have different methods of ruling. Jack’s method of ruling is reflected through characteristics that he shares with totalitarianism. These shared …show more content…
The shared characteristics of a democracy and Ralph include citizen rule, majority rule and minority rights, freedom of speech, fairness and equality. Citizen rule is the right of citizens to elect their representatives. Page 18 says, “The clamor changed from the general wish for a chief to an election by acclaim of Ralph himself.” Ralph gains power by an election, using citizen rule. The majority rule and minority rights is the rule that the majority will decide a group’s representative but the rights of the minority will not be ignored because a democracy must be representative of all people. This quality is demonstrated in Ralph on page 112, when he tells Piggy, “Go on. Ask him.” He is telling Piggy to ask Percival, a littlun, about the beast he saw at night. It could be argued that the quality of listening to the minority is more evident within Piggy as Piggy is the one who asks all the questions to littluns. However, Piggy sympathizes with the littluns and wants to ask them. On the contrary, Ralph does not enjoy talking about fear, as it causes disturbance. However, Ralph allows Percival to speak and encourages Piggy to ask him about the beast because Ralph knows that all opinions must be heard, whether one likes it or not, a belief that is essential to democracy. The conch, an object associated with Ralph, allows people the freedom of speech. It allows everyone to spread influence