The Quest For Power In The Lord Of The Flies

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The Quest For Power The Lord of The Flies, written by William Golding, tells the story of young British boys who are stranded on an island in the middle of the ocean. These boys were in a plane escaping from a war scene when their plane came down. The will to survive and get off the island is a leading factor for stress and a key issue. However the quest and assertiveness to be in control and have power drives two boys in particular throughout the story. Power starts off in the form of a conch, when it is blown to bring the boys together, but then it is transformed to when people want to have the power to speak and be heard. Eventually the re-emergence of adults on the island shows the boys the central source of power. Having power and control …show more content…
They are both reacting to the circumstances that they are faced with. Piggy is more hysterical and is freaking out about what they are going to do. Ralph is more laid back with his approach of what to do. Eventually they find a conch shell, and Piggy says that Ralph should blow into it. He sounds it off, and this quickly attracts all the other stranded boys who are there from the plane wreck. The boys come and surround Ralph and Piggy. This is because Ralph blew the conch and is holding it. Ralph is thrusted into the role of power as the one who brought the other survivors together. Once everyone is settled, they decide on who should lead the boys on the island, “...while the most obvious leader was Jack. But there was a stillness about Ralph as he sat that marked him out: there was his size, and attractive appearance, and most obscurely yet most powerfully there was the conch.” (Golding, 22). Ralph stood out from all of them because of the conch. Ralph was eventually voted in as leader, which upset Jack, but Ralph told Jack he could be in charge of the choir boys. The choirboys are a group that sang in the choir back in their homeland. These fellows follow around Jack and submit to him. Initially this quest for power was not a competition yet, but both Jack and Ralph wanted a

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