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Democracy In Lord Of The Flies By William Golding

1279 Words6 Pages

As Abraham Lincoln once proclaimed, “America will never be destroyed from the outside, if we falter and lose our freedom, it will be because we destroyed ourselves”. In essence, America, or democracy in general, will flourish as long as the people contribute to the common goals of society. If the people of a democracy fail to participate in reaching the group’s goals, they will become susceptible to losing their rights under another form of government. Like any democracy, the government formed by the boys in The Lord of the Flies relies of contribution from it’s citizens and due to the lack of cooperation, the democracy falls to a totalitarian dictatorship which revokes all of the boys basic rights Abraham Lincoln defines democracy as the “government of the people, by the people, for the …show more content…

The boys immaturely begin to lose focus on being rescued and resort to more primal instincts as they plunge into a totalitarian regime entirely based on killing and fear of authority. Under these conditions, Jack, the antagonist and Ralph’s nemesis, reigns supreme until a Navy ship rescues them. In multiple sources critics generally analyze Ralph as symbolic of a democratic leader with Piggy, a weak yet intellectual boy, as his advisor. Additionally, analysts characterize Jack as a symbol of a totalitarian dictator and Roger, a ruthless boy without a conscience, as his henchman. In his novel, Lord of the Flies, William Golding utilizes characterization and imagery to depict Ralph as a democratic leader, Jack as a totalitarian leader, and Piggy and Roger as their respective advisors, creating a political allegory for the purpose of demonstrating how the evils of totalitarianism can corrupt the virtues of democracy. GOOD THESIS AND

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Ralph is one of the oldest boys on the islands, he was elected as leader at the beginning of the book. Ralph treats all the boys with respect throughout the book even when he begins to lose sanity himself. Ralph organizes all the boys in hope to keep them alive until they get saved, he makes them build shelters, keep the fire burning, and keep them all fed. Constantly throughout the book Ralph tries to keep the boys civilized whereas Jack does the opposite.

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William Golding’s Lord of the Flies is an influential novel which reveals the darkness of mankind and evil inside of all humans. Lord of the Flies is set in the early 20th century, during a time when Europe is under attack and surrounded by war. For this reason, a plane carrying a group of British schoolboys is flown away from the chaos in hopes of bringing the boys to safety. Suddenly, the airliner is mistaken for a military aircraft and taken down. After all of the pandemonium the boys soon realize that they are the only survivors.

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Ahmose-Nefertari was a powerful queen and religious leader who lived during the 18th dynasty of ancient Egypt, around 1550-1530 BCE. She was the first consort of Pharaoh Ahmose I, who founded the 18th dynasty and reunited Egypt after the expulsion of the Hyksos invaders. Ahmose-Nefertari was also the mother of Pharaoh Amenhotep I, who succeeded his father as ruler of Egypt. Ahmose-Nefertari was known for her religious piety and her role in promoting the cult of the god Amun, who was the patron deity of the 18th dynasty.

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While war is still ongoing in the world, Europe is much more peaceful today then it was a hundred years ago and people in general are being taught to resolve conflict in a humane way. Since William Golding wrote Lord of the Flies there have been many improvements in society over the last 70 years. While William he was alive, teenagers were often mean and inhumane like those portrayed in the book. If William Golding were to observe the life of a teenager in 2018 he would be impressed and pleased about the acceptance of others, the use of technology, and the teaching of humanity to children as these things did not occur during the 1950s or in the book. Golding would be fascinated and satisfied to know that society today accepts people’s differences and tries to help them out, something that didn’t happen in the 1950s.

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In the allegorical novel Lord of the Flies, Golding incorporates violent imagery, personification, metaphor, and the characterization of Ralph and Jack as character foils in order to illustrate two vastly different approaches to creating a community; thus showing Ralph’s civilized leadership through intelligence and logic versus Jack’s savage leadership through intimidation and fear. In this scene, the reader views these two differing styles of leadership through the eyes of Simon, one of the older boys on the island. Jack and the hunters return from the forest marching as a group and proudly displaying their slaughter of a wild pig. Although, they are proud of their prized pig, they have neglected their responsibilities or keeping the

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The Peer Pressure Factor of Lord of the Flies William Golding’s Lord of the Flies paints two stark and opposing images of reality. On the one hand, the novel suggests that certain characters have venerable attitudes, making them seem like the protagonists, like Simon or Piggy. This can be seen from the motivating forces behind Simon’s decisions, or by the civilized behavior portrayed by Piggy. On the other hand, the novel also suggests that a deep built-in mechanism exists in every human being, one that prioritizes survival over morality. Just by observation, the novel demonstrates Jack’s exercise of hunting instincts, his combat of the social recourse from Ralph, his influence on everyone else to join him, and his eventual takeover of the

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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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As time passes, Ralph grows to appreciate Piggy 's maturity, while Jack encourages anarchy and savagery among the boys. Eventually, Jack gains the majority of influence over the other boys, encouraging them to let go of the remnants of their civility, culminating in the murders of Piggy and another boy, Simon, at the hands of the other children. After Piggy 's death, the other children begin to hunt Ralph who, while running for his life, collapses on the beach and is found by a naval officer. The officer does not believe Ralph 's story, thinking that the boys have just been playing games. The children are taken from the

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Human behaviors are easy to be changed by the experiences and environment. As the time passes by, the changed behaviors can be worse or better than before. However, most people become worse because of the specific experiences in their life time. In Lord of the Flies, the changes of behavior are occurred obviously in the characters of Jack, Roger, and Ralph.

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Ralph is first introduced as the fair boy who is a natural born leader. He applies Piggy’s intelligence to think of a way to summon the other survivors on the island. Ralph follows through with Piggy’s idea and uses the conch which emits a loud sound that can be hear through the island. The sound eventually lures the group of boys towards them. His leader instincts are best portrayed when he’s able to side with Jack after offering to share his power: “The suffusion drained away from Jack’s face.

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Societies and the people that constitute them vary widely across the globe and throughout history. But how do these societies impact the people that are a part of it, and vice versa? Authors George Orwell and William Golding each addressed this question in their respective books, 1984 and Lord of the Flies. In 1984, a man named Winston struggles with an oppressive, totalitarian government called the Party, which represents itself through a symbolic figurehead known as Big Brother. The Party wants complete control over every aspect of their citizens’ lives, and to achieve this, it surveils them constantly.

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In society, there are many standards that people must uphold to. In western society, it is uncommon for men to have long hair or for women to have short hair. Naturally, people will be conscientious of their differences between other people and try to change them or cover them up, and often times people who do not follow the standard are looked down upon. This leads to people trying to fit into the groups around them almost thoughtlessly. However, when people conform without thinking, it can lead to dangerous consequences.

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William Golding’s novel Lord of the Flies does not simply describe the life of a group of children stranded on an island, but rather it is a representation of the qualities of human nature. As the novel progresses, the children grow deeper into savagery, performing actions that would be often criticised in society. The absence of law and order devolves even those that attempt to recreate it, like Ralph and Piggy. In this novel, Golding uses children to answer the question whether or not humans are born inanimately good or truly evil. Golding answers this question by symbolising the main characters and their descent into savagery.

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Ralph represents leadership, civilization, and order. He decides to build huts and find ways of being rescued while the other boys play and have fun. This is why Ralph is elected leader by the boys. Ralph also refuses to give into his savage instincts over the course of the novel while the other boys gradually

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In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, Golding attempts to compare and contrast two opposite strategies of control. Golding portrays that while Ralph and Piggy’s government may have been a morally sound solution, the boys chaos is too strong to be controlled by a democracy. It must be controlled by a feared dictator. While the idea of democracy, represented by the conch, is a pure concept and can provide an equal opportunity for all of the boys on the island, the animalistic need for power and chaos that controls the boys can only be reined in by a powerful dictatorship. Democracy on the island could have provided an equal opportunity for all the boys on the island.

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