Lord of the Flies Essay

Throughout the novel Lord of the Flies, various views and motifs are portrayed. Of these views and motifs, the main message which is illustrated is one that questions society. It is clear from the very beginning that is a message conveyed in this novel. On the whole, Golding is portraying a good versus evil which are represented by Jack and Ralph. In Lord of the Flies a variety of ideas can be extracted on what the message Golding is trying to show. Golding wrote this novel in order to show the basic contrast of good and evil in society and how things can get out of hand if your primal urges are left uncontrolled.

Firstly I will explore the idea of good versus evil throughout the novel and in which characters they reside, secondly I will explore the main characters in depth and the role they play in the book, and my to my thesis. Thirdly I will examine the props used in the novel such as the conch, beast etc. and the importance they have, Fourthly I will explore the idea of the loss of order and how it goes downhill from the very start, and lastly I will explore how the idea of Super Ego and Id are displayed throughout the book and characters.

Throughout this novel, a great deal of contrasts are portrayed, one major one being good versus evil. To fully understand why Golding chose to write this book based on a good and bad motif, we have to look at the time period it was written in. During the time period this book was written in, the cold war was a major concern in everyday life. Golding, just as many other writers chose to write about the wrongs of communism in a subtle way, using children as a vehicle. In Lord of the Flies Golding uses Ralph, the leader of the tribe, to portray good and society (and probably democracy – with the conch, everyone had an opinion), Jack on the other hand represents evil and what can happen if let uncontrolled (and perhaps in a way communism). All through the novel, Jack and Ralph quarrel to see who gets control of the tribe.