Democracy In Lord Of The Flies By William Golding

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

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