Preview

Totalitarianism Vs. Democracy In Lord Of The Flies

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
530 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Totalitarianism Vs. Democracy In Lord Of The Flies
Lord of the Flies-Essay

The novel Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, is an allegory looking at totalitarianism vs. democracy governing within humans. William Golding has two characters (Jack and Ralph) that he uses to exemplify totalitarianism vs. democracy. The two main characters represent the two different governments which lead to many arguments and other more severe conflicts between the two. The battle of the two governments on this deserted island is a small representation of what’s happening in Europe at this time. Golding makes an obvious reference to totalitarianism with the character of Jack throughout the novel Lord of the Flies. Totalitarianism is a centralized government that does not tolerate parties of differing opinion,

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    The book Lord of the Flies written by William Golding is a 1950’s best seller and is read in many schools across the nation today. It is compelling and addictive and the further the reader gets into the story, the easier it becomes to read. Ralph and Jack are the two ‘leaders’ in the book. Although, Jack isn’t chosen as the leader at first, as he descends into savagery and loses innocence, he has more and more influence on some of the boys. The two boys, Ralph and Jack, are very different but they still have some similarities.…

    • 967 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The novel, Lord of the Flies draws in realistic political views in relation to the author, William Golding’s concept. Golding adopts contrasting views of leadership and quarrels between leaders to attempt to properly represent the national government leadership. The United States government leader, President Obama once said “Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek” (Brain Quotes 1). He instilled a concept of self production, hands-on leadership and not to wait for change. The exact same concept was expressed in depth in Lord of the Flies, the author William Golding uses a deep inner character contrast in order to reveal their individual style of governing. The author customizes his writing to show the power within Ralph and Jack which are driven by inner moral and reasoning for Ralph, and for Jack a sense of dictatorship and holding utter control. All in all, Golding approaches the concept of leadership from an angle perceived by the reader to be an honorable way of living--Ralph and an unfit…

    • 1260 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In The Lord of the Flies by William Golding, Golding emphasizes the conflict between two opposite impulses that are inside every one of us: whether to follow the rules and be in order, or to go into violence and turn into savages. Golding expresses this by using the protagonist and antagonist of the story, Ralph and Jack.…

    • 645 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    William Golding’s novel, Lord of the Flies illustrates fundamental aspects of society and leadership through the politics of young boys stranded on an uninhabited island. Throughout the novel, the character of Jack Merridew gradually secures authority using various methods described in Machiavelli’s The Prince. Although Jack’s impulsive attitude and juvenile aggression may not obey this approach to ruling, other aspects of his leadership fit well within the system. The character of Jack often employs key Machiavellian tactics to gain and maintain power effectively.…

    • 729 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The spark of evil started deep in the heart, around an early time, but what matters is the explosion that followed had allowed for total possession of power. William Golding’s Nobel Prize winning novel, Lord of the Flies is about a group of young British schoolboys who crashed into an uninhabited island and their attempts at creating a suitable governing system for themselves. Obstacles, such as the “beastie” and the boys selfishness sparked disaster, just how Hitler and his actions lead up to World War 2. In the novel, the character, Jack, and his actions among the boys is quite similar to Hitler and his actions towards the German. people.Leaders use manipulative tactics as an attempt to catch the audience's attention resulting a positive and strong image for oneself.…

    • 827 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Lord of the Flies, written by William Golding, follows the story of a group of British boys who are stranded on a deserted island. Golding suggests that all men are born with the potential to commit evil. He shows this through the use of symbolism including the snake and the dead parachutist (the beast), the characters such as Jack, Ralph and Simon and the setting of the island. Goldingʼs view of mankind and the world is a truly pessimistic one. In the early 1930ʼs, the Nazi party led Germany into World War II. Durning the war, the Nazis were responsible for the holocaust, which was the murder of millions of people. This made Golding pessimistic about human nature and we see this to be one of the most important…

    • 1020 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Golding uses Lord of the Flies to make clear the flaws of every government. He begins his novel with young, innocent boys who have never had any experience with leadership before and writes of their shift to maturity through their attempt to form a functioning society. Golding’s novel demonstrates how no government is flawless and how they lead to Anarchy. With corrupt leaders or mob rule, society will come to a fall. Golding book highlights the problems of government and how they still apply to modern society, making it clear there is no real perfect…

    • 833 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Representation in government is vital for a stable and efficient society. A powerful president, Franklin D. Roosevelt, echoed this sentiment when he told the deprived and starving population of the United States “ … Let us never forget that government is ourselves and not an alien power over us…”. Lord of the Flies is a dystopian novel where boys are stranded on a deserted island where there are no adults and have to create their own society to survive. While their society starts out promising, it turns into a savage, barbaric environment. The author of Lord of the Flies, William Golding, illustrates his belief that representative governments are optimal because they allow all voices to be heard and a more even distribution of power.…

    • 961 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Throughout the novel Lord of the Flies there is a continuous battle between order and civilization and its counterpart anarchy and viciousness. This battle is portrayed through two characters Ralph, who represents goodness and civilization and Jack, who represents a want for power and savagery. However,…

    • 372 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    William Golding’s The Lord of the Flies is an allegory used by the author to demonstrate the instinctive evil within all of humanity. A group of British schoolboys are in a plane crash, and left stranded on a deserted island with no adult help. The boys attempt to create their own civilization, but it fails when certain members of the group let their dark sides take over. There are many intriguing characters among the schoolboys. Some of the characters include the leader, Ralph; the intellectual outcast, Piggy; and the religious mystic, Simon. William Golding creates the memorable character of Jack Merridew in The Lord of the Flies through the characteristics of, being a hunter, being a dictator and being hungry for power.…

    • 772 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Lord of the Flies by William Golding is a novel, where a group of young British boys are lost on an island after their plane crash lands. Throughout the novel William Golding utilization of literary devices are in place to reveal a theme of the novel, civilization and innocent are destroyed due to the savagery of the boys', desire for power, and fear of the unknown. William Golding utilizes three important literary devices throughout the novel, symbolism, of when the conch is destroyed civilization on the island is gone, foreshadowing the deaths of the boys on the island and irony as the civilize British boys turn savages.…

    • 1088 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    The novel Lord of the Flies composed by William Golding tells a fictional story about several boys that are stranded on an island, as a result of being in a plane crash. Initially, the group of boys try and build a civilization based off of the supplies that they can access. However, many of them get drafted into using using the resources that their former ancestors have recycled. In a result to this, the boys switch into groups. While one group behaves calmly, and uses teamwork to keep order and accomplish goals, the other group uses violence and chaos. Civil v. Savage is separated by both leaders Jack and Ralph. Civil relating to Ralph and the other involving Jack. While Ralph uses his power to create regulations and apply respectable codes…

    • 1059 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Lord of the Flies Essay

    • 413 Words
    • 2 Pages

    In the lord of the flies, by William Golding, a group of boys are left in an island all by themselves are to build a democratic society in order for themselves to live peacefully, but things don't go according to plan and they make their own rules and eventually turn themselves into savages. The two opposing sides of human characteristics are symbolized through the main characters: Ralph who represents Law& order and jack who stands for savagery. Thorough these characters Golding emphasises the theme that the violent the selfish always overcome the peaceful and the selfless but the violent and the selfish in some instances do overcome the peaceful but this is not always the case.…

    • 413 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    The novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding is a novel about a group of English boys who got into a plane crash and are now left to survive on their own on an uninhabited tropical island. The novel shows us that there is a line between civilization and savagery. During the story the main character, Ralph, becomes the leader of the group and tries to maintain civilization and the group’s chances of survival. With Ralph elected as leader, the antagonist of the novel, Jack becomes enraged. Jack engages in full on savagery by brutally hunting pigs and taking part in murder and encourages his group to as well. Eventually through manipulation and threats, Jack gets everyone against Ralph and tries to hunt him down by burning down the island. Luckily,…

    • 1190 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    As days go by the struggle to get civilization to withstand crumples, twelve year old Ralph the main character in William Golding’s classic tale Lord of the Flies declares "'We've got to have rules and obey them. After all, we're not savages" (Golding 43). When the the group of boys guided by Ralph and his enemy Jack are wrecked on a island in the Pacific at the start of World WarⅡ they experiment to establish a functioning society. At the start, the attempt to organize their own government is a simple task. However, later on the boys thoughts and ideas reveal that trying to establish a government is challenging because they lack the components necessary for a strong, central government. Though the boys have a charismatic leader Ralph, their…

    • 889 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays