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Corruption In Lord Of The Flies Quote Analysis

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In William Golding’s “Lord of the Flies” shows what happens when a bunch of boys are stranded on an island and loses control to their humanity. The two main characters Jack and Ralph are both opposite in the way they rule as leaders. While Ralph is a more subtle and responsible person, Jack is a more power hungry leader and easily corrupted with the power he gains later on in the book. In the book the two boys would start off as friends and allies, attempting to control the situation together and to produce order and stability. But as time went on in the book, Jack would start to crave power, to be able to control the boys. As he starts to crave more and more power, he would attempt to leave the group with a small portion of the boys. Starting …show more content…

It is regrettably the way human nature functions, whether we like it or not. What successful economies do is keep it to a minimum. No one has ever eliminated any of that stuff.” This quote was written by Alan Greenspan on the idea of corruption, it’s idea represent the fact that corruption will exist everywhere. Saying that corruption is apart of the human nature, the same way JFK was assassinated by his own government, the same government that elected him president, leader of the United States. Even Jack, a friend of Ralph, a person who elected and trust Ralph to rule with stability, later on taking absolute control for himself. Jack even killing the people he consider to be friends, people who helped him survive and live on the island after being stranded from a plane crash. “Corruption is something you face all the time, avoid it.” this quote is written by Willem Dafoe, a man who honors his word. The idea of this quote to try to avoid the best way you can. If Jack could avoid gaining power, he might have not gone corrupt, killing his friends and attempting to kill Ralph before being saved by a british naval officer. While in the book the boys are a symbol of savagery, while the officer is a symbol of stability and

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Throughout history, the act of signaling out an individual or a group, as well as putting the blame on others, scapegoat as per called; have been here for centuries. At every opportunity, certain people perform this act of condemning onto outcasts, as well as people who have vulnerabilities to make them a perfect target. During World War 2, a tenacious leader abused the Jewish people for his own countries failures, as well as killed all the intellectuals that were trying to serve and help bring a commentary on life to their country. However, in everyday life, the act of scapegoating can occur in the smallest form, but can have a huge impact on the individual and the society, making this a very important theme in the Lord of the Flies, by William Golding.

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Jack’s unwillingness to abide by Ralph’s rules creates chaos and strips morality from the group. This leads to death and a dark realization that war can only result in mutual loss. Jack resents Ralph’s power and the rules while also disregarding what is asked of him, creating tension between themselves. Jack constantly tries to turn the others against Ralph and undermine his opinion. When Jack does not do what is asked of him, it sparks conflict as shown in this quote:

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Lord of the Flies Jack represents being power hungry and disobedient for the incorrect reasons In the book Lord of the flies, there are several things that connect the earth right now and human expertise. In the book most of the boys go through a phase that they never went through before, through out the book they're going through a "animal-like" phase that I feel the reader does not expect from them. I decided a decision} to concentrate on Jack because I believe that he was a lot more animal-like then the other boys because of that I think he extremely stands out because of his actions and feelings he made the other boys animal-like. I feel this is often necessary as a result of the influence he created on the other boys is quite like

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Jack, the protagonist, lies throughout the entire memoir, as a means of re-inventing himself and portraying himself in a way that he believes is more likeable and respectable than who he is truly is. Jack, when telling these lies, often becomes confused between his dishonesty and his reality, with the lines between the two becoming blurred. For example, when Jack’s vice-principal in Seattle accuses Jack of writing an obscene word on the bathroom wall, Jack writes ‘I’d spent half an hour with the vice-principal and had become completely convinced of my own innocence.’ Similarly, when writing his letters of application for scholarships at prestige prep schools, Jack falsely describes himself as a ‘straight-A student…an Eagle Scout, and a powerful swimmer.’ In reality, Jack is none of these things however when writing these letters, Jack describes himself as ‘being full of stifled truth’ and says that he believes more in the words he is

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Throughout the fictional novel Lord of the Flies by Henry Golding, the main characters, Ralph and Jack, see their relationship progress throughout the story in ways that reflect the novel's overarching theme. They start off as allies, willing to work together to survive and get off the island. As the story progresses, hostility increases between the boys as Jack’s personal interests begin to interfere with being rescued and group survival. Some of the boys, enticed by glory and hunting, join Jack in the spiral into savagery and erase any original signs of civility or order. Thus, Ralph and Jack’s relationship develops throughout the novel by going from allies to adversaries, displaying their different methods of leadership and the way it

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Democratic power can be used to control a society, as well as establish a closeness as civilians. To lose sight of this can mean the corruption of a civilization caused by the lack of order. One’s choice of independence in order to better the chances of their survival requires complete dedication and willingness to risk. In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, Ralph loses his democratic power due to his failure to ensure survival and protect the boys as a leader. Ralph’s failure to lead the group is due to his initial and chronic independence and inability to compete with Jack’s followers, accounted for mainly by fear.

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I chose this quote to show how Jack's mindset from the beginning of the book changed tremendously. When Jack had the chance of killing the pig early on in the story, he reflected on his old morals and beliefs of when he was a civilized boy, society was holding his knife from killing the pig. Jack was scared of killing the Pig because he had not adapted to the island's environment and mindset. Jack didn't kill the pig because he was still used to the consequences and was aware of the old rules in society. Jack sees this trait as a weakness and he is embarrassed for the hesitation, so he vows to kill the next pig when he has the chance.

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Leadership Abuse in Lord of the Flies The famous 17th century poet Jean de la Fontaine once said “Anyone entrusted with power will abuse it if not also animated with the love of truth and virtue, no matter whether he be a prince, or one of the people.” When the children in Lord of the Flies find themselves stranded on a distant island with no adults to be found, they encounter many forms of power, hence encountering many forms of abuse of power as well. This power abuse can be organized by the two leaders who each ruled the island during their own periods. In Lord of the Flies, William Golding utilizes these leaders, Ralph and Jack, to illustrate how people in positions of power will abuse their power for personal gain when given the opportunity.

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Corruption’s Rise to Power Combined Joseph Stalin and Adolf Hitler killed 54 million people. This begs the question, why do people who are clearly corrupted and even murderous followed by many? William Golding in his novel The Lord of the Flies attempts to answer that question through his portrayal of the character, Jack. In the novel, a group of boys get stranded on an island and attempt to create a proper government.

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In the Lord of the Flies by William Golding, the characters start out dull and obedient to the laws, but as they spend more time on the island, they start to get out of hand when their actions become violent for instance, sacrificing animals and murdering other boys, affecting their lives on the island. Each boy has in some way altered the lifestyle on the island. Ralph, Roger, and Jack are examples of taking an innocent situation and corrupting it; their degree of effectiveness varies depending on their level of arrogance. Arrogance is a big component of the book, which represented most of the characters. Although they are young boys their ego influences the choices that were made.

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818 Words | 4 Pages

Jack lost his sanity and civility and this changed him in more ways than imaginable. Jack was a natural leader when the boys first came onto the island, but as time continued he became a horrible dictator. On the first day on the island, Ralph and Jack competed for chief of the island. Ralph won. Jack was unhappy with this result, but it didn’t yet throw him into a spiral of craze and anger.

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1044 Words | 5 Pages

In Lord of the Flies, Golding writes about numerous young boys stranded on an island. Out of the group of boys, there are two who strive to be leaders: Ralph and Jack; however, each boy has a specific way he wants things done. Ralph is focused on being rescued, so he tries to maintain civilization. He is persistent on these ideas during the time on the island. Also, Ralph keeps a steady relationship with Piggy, but Jack sees Piggy as inferior.

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“Man is a fallen being”, and “Society is corrupted by man”, are words that William Golding, the author of the allegorical fiction novel, Lord of The Flies (LOTF), uses to describe the inherent morality of human nature. He believes that man is evil and dark, “gripped by original sin.” Golding thinks that the sinfulness of mankind is preexistent within oneself. I disagree with Golding’s view of human nature because I believe that the morality of humanity isn’t inherently bad, but rather determined by situational factors such as fear, power, and isolation.

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In Lord of the Flies, William Golding shows the progression of absolute power, and how ambition can take over one's mind. Stranded on an island after their plane crashed, the boys create their own democracy with one absolute ruler, just like many other governments throughout history. The boys voted Ralph as their ruler, but Jack slowly starts to take some of Ralph’s power, and eventually usurps him as their chief. Lord of the Flies suggests that absolute power is corrupt, and that humans are overly ambitious in wanting to take power from the person who has the most of it. Just like any large group of people, the boys decide that they “ought to have a chief to decide things” (Golding 22).

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Through examination of Lord of the Flies, Golding seems to share this point of view. When left in an environment lacking authority, the boys attempt to follow the fundamental rule of nature, electing Ralph as their leader and for a time, following his rules. However, when another boy desired the same position, competition arose and Ralph was revealed to be less powerful and disrespected by the group. Jack found his power in feeding off the other boys’ fears, and using violent, animalistic techniques, which proved to be what they truly desired. War broke out between the two, as Hobbes predicted would happen in such circumstances, and morality was only restored when a powerful figure of authority finally arrived on the island.

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