Lord Of The Flies Ethical Analysis

The hierarchy of ethics can be applied to Lord of the Flies because the variety of personality types on the island is vast. In level 1 of the hierarchy, the people’s choices of right and wrong are deemed by punishments and rewards, and they have a notion that “it’s only wrong if you get caught.” After the boys murdered an innocent mother pig, “The boys drew back, and Jack stood up, holding out his hands. Look.” (Golding 194). Jack felt quite satisfied and happy to have raped and murdered the pig. Jack felt as if killing the pig in such a severe harsh way, for his own satisfaction, was totally okay since there was no way of him getting caught. On the other hand, when Roger threw his spear at Ralph and injured him, “The bruised flesh was inches in diameter over his right ribs, with a swollen and bloody scar where the spear had hit …show more content…
As an illustration, when the boys are getting into an argument over their disruptive behavior, Piggy tries to talk some sense into them, “Which is better, law and rescue, or hunting and breaking things up?” (Golding 259) Piggy acts as a median who is trying to bring an end to the savagery of the other boys. From the beginning, Piggy had a huge heart, was intelligent, and self-less, all of which unfortunately brought him to his murder. His traits coincide with those in this level of the hierarchy, because he always thought about others, and what he could bring to those surrounding him that would benefit them. On the contrary, Simon threatens the other boys around him in a prophet-like manner, “You'll get back to where you came from.” (Golding 159) Simon’s character is a reference to one of Jesus’s disciples, and Simon shares many traits with Christ. Simon is foreshadowing his own death because, similar to Jesus, he prophesied. Simon is greatly heroic and peaceful, similar to level 4 of the hierarchy, which is also known as the “Heroic