William Golding's Lord Of The Flies

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The fiction novel Lord of the Flies, written by William Golding, tells the story of a group of young british schoolboys who are tragically stranded on an uncharted and uninhabited island after their plane crashes. Although the book never mentions the time in which the story takes place, the characters in the book do mention clues such as, Queen Elizabeth, television, Hitler,etc.., that it may have taken place during the dawn of World War II. The story begins when two boys, Ralph and Piggy, find a conch shell as a horn to round up the other boys. The boys begin setting up meetings in which they establish order, in order for them to survive without the guidance or supervision of adults. They establish that they will need to set a signal fire…show more content…
One very important character was Jack. Although Jack was the leader of his group, he did not display any leadership qualities. Instead, he demonstrated the qualities of being manipulative, self-centered, and savagery. From the moment Jack was introduced to the book he had always been in total control. He had been introduced as “The boy who controlled them [choir] was dressed in the same way though his cap badge was golden…he shouted an order and they haulted.” (pg 19-20). Not to mention that he and his choirboys were all dressed in long black cloaks, In addition, the following page refers to Piggy being intimidated by “this uniformed superiority and the offhand authority in Meridew’s Voice” (page 21). Jack Meridew would be nothing but…show more content…
The two most common themes found in the book are civilization vs. savagery and the loss of innocence. These are developed when the tribe breaks up into the two groups (the group who is civilized and the group of savages). Although all the boys could be classified as civilized in the beginning of the book it does not end this way. The split between the boys caused more tension and could be referred to as “adding gasoline to an already going fire.” Jack’s tribe turns to the means of savagery while Ralph’s group tried to sustain to be civilized. As the chaos rose in the story, the more uncivilized the boys became. When they are finally being saved they “wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man’s heart….” (pg 202). In conclusion, darkness and evil do not reflect upon where you come from but of who you are within. The beast lies within

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