Human Nature is Brutal
In William Golding’s Lord of Flies, a group of British boys was on an isolated island, and after a few days with quarrels and fights between the boys, most of them finally survive. Although the novel seems like a cruel fiction story, the plot and the children shows some similarities with the thoughts of the Enlightment philosophers. In my opinion, the system of authority and reaction of children in Lord of Flies shares a lot similarities and differences with the thought of Thomas Hobbes. In the novel, the conch is one of the most important items which symbolized the authority, and it gathers all children together. The one who gets the conch would have the power. At the beginning of the story, Ralph finds the conch. He …show more content…
During the election of chief, the absolute power of Jack to the choir in the choir is shown: “With dreary obedience the choir raised their hands” (Golding 17). The children in the choir are all afraid of Jack, because of the fear, all children in the choir vote for Jack, but they are not very happy about their choices. In chapter 4, Jack also forced the children to make a line: “Jack rushed toward the twins. ‘The rest are making a line…The mask compelled them” (Golding 48). The children are not pleasant to follow Jack, but Jack is compelling them by showing his scary face. Then Jack Merridew tries to make his group more united by set up a common enemy among the group, which is the beast. After Jack let the children pick up the pig, he says that: "This head is for the beast. It's a gift" (Golding 106). Jack uses the pig’s head as an offering to sacrifice the beast to provide their safety. This action becomes one of the reasons that the children who follow Ralph later join Jack’s group. The fear of the beast and the strength of Jack finally let the most of children join his
In William Golding’s Lord of Flies, a group of British boys was on an isolated island, and after a few days with quarrels and fights between the boys, most of them finally survive. Although the novel seems like a cruel fiction story, the plot and the children shows some similarities with the thoughts of the Enlightment philosophers. In my opinion, the system of authority and reaction of children in Lord of Flies shares a lot similarities and differences with the thought of Thomas Hobbes. In the novel, the conch is one of the most important items which symbolized the authority, and it gathers all children together. The one who gets the conch would have the power. At the beginning of the story, Ralph finds the conch. He …show more content…
During the election of chief, the absolute power of Jack to the choir in the choir is shown: “With dreary obedience the choir raised their hands” (Golding 17). The children in the choir are all afraid of Jack, because of the fear, all children in the choir vote for Jack, but they are not very happy about their choices. In chapter 4, Jack also forced the children to make a line: “Jack rushed toward the twins. ‘The rest are making a line…The mask compelled them” (Golding 48). The children are not pleasant to follow Jack, but Jack is compelling them by showing his scary face. Then Jack Merridew tries to make his group more united by set up a common enemy among the group, which is the beast. After Jack let the children pick up the pig, he says that: "This head is for the beast. It's a gift" (Golding 106). Jack uses the pig’s head as an offering to sacrifice the beast to provide their safety. This action becomes one of the reasons that the children who follow Ralph later join Jack’s group. The fear of the beast and the strength of Jack finally let the most of children join his