William Golding's Lord Of The Flies: Social Analysis

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Lord of the Flies: Social Commentary Everyone is different and yet parallel at the same time. In the novel, Lord of the Flies, Golding uses the characters Ralph and Jack to represent how individuals act when on their own, as a result of what they have learned from society. Although they both have different views on survival, they both react the same in common situations in society. The fight for power and survival is found in both Ralph and Jack. Being separated from society for an extended period changes how they each see the value of life. Society can create expectations of behavior in individuals, however, these expectations are often challenged by other influences. Often times people can be influenced to do things by others that they would…show more content…
Some people work for the best survival and to have admirable belongings; some people work to have enjoyable experiences, such as exotic vacations or fascinating hobbies. Ralph and Piggy are the kind of people that want to work for their survival, and Jack wants to live for the thrill of the hunt. Ralph wants to be practical by having plentiful water and a fire going at all times. Jack ignores these requests in order to go hunting whenever he wants. This ends up costing the group of boys a chance of survival. Ralph gets enraged about the consequences of Jack's actions and says, "There was a ship. Out there. You said you'd keep the fire going and you let it out!... then you go off hunting and let out the fire" (70-71). Since Jack was not concerned about the basic needs of survival and failed to put forth any effort, he delayed their rescue. What people decide to work for is all up to them. Jack wanted to work for food with hunting, and Ralph wanted to work for survival with fire. In society some people work to have nice amenities like a large home or fancy car. Other people choose to work so they can take nice vacations or spend time enjoying their hobbies. Piggy asks the boys "Which is better- to be a pack of painted Indians like you are, or to be sensible like Ralph is?" (180). Ralph would represent the people that want to have nice cars or respectable homes because he wants to be able to have all that he needs for survival. He wants to have a fire, plentiful water, and he wants to have good shelters by building the huts. Jack would represent the people who want to have enjoyable experiences since he does not care about the little parts for survival, he just cares about the thrill of the hunt. There are many examples of how Lord of the Flies can be played out in our society all the
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