Corruption In Lord Of The Flies

Lord of The Flies Final Essay

By: Emily Schmidt

“The rules!" shouted Ralph, "you're breaking the rules!"

"Who cares?” (Golding, 129). This quotation comes from Lord of The Flies by William Golding where a group of boys has been stranded on an island. No one knows where they are or why. The novel covers the in-depth progression of the corruption of conflicting parties within the boys and how it inevitably led to insanity and savagery. This particular quote is taken from midway through the book, where the two groups are finally starting to differentiate themselves and split up. Through this quotation, the author is trying to show how the declination of law in a society can lead to chaos. William Golding uses strong allegories to help the reader

Two of the main characters have been introduced, Ralph and Piggy. Ralph has just blown the conch, and the rest of the boys and the choir have appeared. They are having a discussion about who their “chief” will be. “I ought to be chief,” said Jack with simple arrogance, “because I’m chapter chorister and head boy. I can sing C sharp” (Golding 22). Jack is immediately asserting his dominance and superiority over the other boys. By saying he can “sing C-sharp” this is instantly putting himself on a higher tier than the others, and feeding into his own self-actualization. Ralph is noticing Jack’s already-established superiority over the choir and is trying to win over more of the boys. He decides that heaving the group's favor is more important than Piggy’s. “He’s not Fatty,”cried Ralph, “his real name’s Piggy!” (Golding, 21). By making this choice, he is also trying to make a power play. The toss-up of dominance is showing they both do not feel totally confident that they own the favor of the boys, however they both have some form of introspection by this point. Through these quotes, the author wants you to understand that both Ralph and Jack represent something bigger than what is just going on in the story. There is uncertainty already building, which will naturally lead to a climax and the declination of normality.

Jack’s character is beginning to shine through, showing that deep down he is truly the antagonist in the story. His character represents the evil, violent side of human nature, shown by how he manipulates the other characters. The boys have been on the island for enough time to establish what they need, mainly fire. Ralph suggests they make it on top of the mountain, leading Jack