Essay Comparing A Separate Peace And Lord Of The Flies

The worst of mankind can come in many different forms, from little pre-school children, to the deaths and dangers of war. As Thomas Hobbes’ theories state, the nature of mankind is a state of war; all against all. In the novels Lord of the Flies by William Golding and A Separate Peace by John Knowles, the authors both examine a story that takes place under limited adult supervision while in the backdrop of war. In this setting, the characters act out the worst of mankind. In Lord of the Flies, the main characters show the worst of mankind through jealousy, savagery, and fear. Contrary to Lord of the Flies, In the novel A Separate Peace by John Knowles, the worst of mankind is shown mostly through jealousy. Violence in the children’s everyday life made the children themselves grow up violent. As Locke said, a human mind is blank until society contaminates. If you grow up in a war zone, you are likely to be more violent and open to conflict than someone who grew up in peace. Having said this, the boys in Lord of The Flies have experienced, first hand how war works. However, the effect of war in a A Separate Peace is much more direct to the story than in Lord of the Flies.
In the novel, Jack is jealous of Ralph. Jack wants to be chief.
“(To Ralph) ‘ And you shut up! Who are you anyway? Sitting there telling people what to do. You can’t hunt, you can’t sing-’ ‘I’m chief. I was chosen.’ ‘Why should choosing make any difference...?’” (91)
Also, in Lord of the Flies, the boys turn savage and fall to the wills of nature rather than staying true to civilization. The boys turn to little beasts.
“‘Kill the pig, cut his throat, kill the pig, bash him in!’ Ralph too was fighting to get near, to get a handful of that brown, vulnerable flesh. The desire to squeeze and hurt was over-mastering.”