Irony In Lord Of The Flies

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Eat or be Eaten Desperate times call for desperate measures. William Golding illustrates the irony between civilized and unsophisticated behavior by showing the reader that unsophisticated behavior can lead to survival. The intuition of human impulse can be a gruesome place when fighting for basic necessities such as food, water, and shelter. The "strongest" of survivors are ones who resort to savagery for the purpose of sustaining his survival. In Lord of the Flies, William Golding uses irony to show that when a person is in a desperate time in his life, civility is no longer a luxury he can afford. Throughout the novel, Golding emphasizes the significance of fire and its symbolic reference to barbaric behavior. The goal for the boys was…show more content…
Ralph, the leader of the group, sets a rule ensuring that a boy is always on duty, watching the fire in order to assure that the fire does not burn out. Ralph takes this very seriously because he wants to be rescued from the island. However, others such as Jack do not focus heavily on the fire. Jack, along with others, is more concerned with hunting. Prioritizing killing over rescue, Jack grows progressively more savage to satisfy his eagerness to kill. Eventually, a ship passes by the island but does not notice the boys. Jack, the one responsible for managing the fire when the ship was near, is forced to answer to Ralph. Angered that “[Jack] let the bloody fire go out,” Ralph is no longer on good terms with Jack, who is more interested in hunting pigs (Golding 68). Jack let the fire burn out because he is…show more content…
Piggy is the smartest out of the boys and best decision-maker on the island. He always had bright ideas and opinions, but his voice was never heard and was always excluded. Piggy lacked the leadership qualities that Ralph and Jack had, which made him into a ghost-like figure. Piggy was mocked for being the most intelligent boy on the island. Everyone underappreciated Piggy until he died. Ralph is the most regretful; he “wondered if a pig would agree, but grimaced at nothing” (Golding 197). Ralph always aspires to Piggy’s intellectual abilities. Piggy was the most intellectual character on the island, yet Golding chooses to never share his name, which implies that he is not as important as the others. Golding does this to show the reader that you do always need to be a leader to help contribute to decisions. Even when you are not noticed, you can still be
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