Power And Rivalry In Lord Of The Flies Essay

In the book, Lord of the Flies, by British writer, William Golding, humanity is threatened by its struggle between good and evil, and its conflict between chaos and order. Golding served in World War II and witnessed civilization at its worst. The novel, Lord of the Flies, takes place on an island right after a plane crash, and the only people left are young British school boys. The boys experience countless problems and disagreements during their time on the island. The boys are forced to lose their innocence, their childhood, before having a chance to fully develop due to the fact that they are faced with survival or death and human instincts to survive can sometimes bring out the worst in people. Without any guidance, their dark sides come out. …show more content…
On the island the boys lay down rules and pick a leader but, “this rational society begins to break down at once,” (Hynes 1). The boys come to the conclusion that Ralph and Jack were the most qualified to be leaders. The boys fight over who it will be. This is where the rivalry begins. They decide to have an election and the first time the …show more content…
He effectively illustrates how poorly humans treat each other and how easily they can lose all respect for mankind and turn into savage beasts. Golding’s experiences during the second world war led him to his desire to warn us and force us to think about some of our natural human instincts like the desire for power and control and how our fears can get the best of us. When faced with life or death, no matter what age, we lose all innocence and even lose our humanity. “Golding shows that even the youngest members of society are capable of brutal acts (Gale,