Lord Of the Flies Essay
In the novel Lord of the Flies, which is about a group of English boys who during the war are sent away to safety when their plane crashes and they are left to put together their own society with no adults, the author William Golding believes that secretly we all want absolute power and control over others. I support this belief as it establishes throughout the novel Ralph, Jack, and Roger’s want for absolute power and control. Although they all desire power and control all three have different reasons for doing so. Golding uses archetypes to depict his views, with Ralph being the innocent, Jack being the rebel, and Roger being the ruler.
Ralph, the innocent, represents order, leadership and civilization. Of the three boys, he desires the power and control to create a civilised society amongst the young boys, as opposed to wanting to create havoc and chaos. In the beginning, Ralph being voted as leader due to his natural leadership skills causes on-going conflict with Jack. Ralph uses the conch, which symbolizes civilisation, to assemble the boys in an authorative way, “They obeyed the summons of the conch, partly because Ralph blew it, and he was big enough to link with the adult world of authority.”
Ralph had secretly desired power and control but in a way that isn’t normally shown. He wanted the boys to create a successful society in which they could all live peacefully. Ralph was naive and wanted to make the best decisions for everyone which meant he needed power to make them do what he thought was best. He gained this by using the conch: "Ralph waved the conch. Shut up! Wait! Listen! He went on in the silence, borne on in his triumph." Ralph felt a sense of achievement when people did what he told them and this fed his want for control and power, until ultimately he was the only one of his ‘side’ left and had to fight for survival. Upon the rescue of the boys, “Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man’s heart and the fall through the air of
Ralph, the innocent, represents order, leadership and civilization. Of the three boys, he desires the power and control to create a civilised society amongst the young boys, as opposed to wanting to create havoc and chaos. In the beginning, Ralph being voted as leader due to his natural leadership skills causes on-going conflict with Jack. Ralph uses the conch, which symbolizes civilisation, to assemble the boys in an authorative way, “They obeyed the summons of the conch, partly because Ralph blew it, and he was big enough to link with the adult world of authority.”
Ralph had secretly desired power and control but in a way that isn’t normally shown. He wanted the boys to create a successful society in which they could all live peacefully. Ralph was naive and wanted to make the best decisions for everyone which meant he needed power to make them do what he thought was best. He gained this by using the conch: "Ralph waved the conch. Shut up! Wait! Listen! He went on in the silence, borne on in his triumph." Ralph felt a sense of achievement when people did what he told them and this fed his want for control and power, until ultimately he was the only one of his ‘side’ left and had to fight for survival. Upon the rescue of the boys, “Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man’s heart and the fall through the air of