Essay On Lord Of The Flies-Democracy Vs Dictatorship

Democracy vs. Dictatorship It is assumed that if kids were ever forced to choose a government, they would choose the most reasonable and civil option, but that may not always be the case. In William Golding's novel, Lord of the Flies, a group of boys gets stranded on a deserted island without any adults. They have to manage to keep everything under control until rescue arrives. Early on upon their arrival, the boys decide they are going to need a leader. The options for leader are two of the main boys in the story, Ralph and Jack. The boys hold a vote and Ralph wins the election, he establishes a democracy. As the book progresses, Jack begins to take control and he begins to show signs of leaning towards a different style of leadership, dictatorship.

We know who ought to say things” (Golding, 110–111). Additionally, when Ralph reminds him about the importance of rules on the island, he says, “Bollocks to the rules!” (Golding, 99). Jack also believes that he should be in charge instead of Ralph, and there should be no vote on the matter. This is evidenced at the start of the story, when the group is deciding who should be chief. "‘I ought to be chief,’ said Jack with simple arrogance.” (Golding, 18). A further example of Jack being a symbol for dictatorship is his use of violence with the boys when they do not do as he pleases. This can be seen with Sam and Eric after they both refuse to join his tribe. “The chief snatched one of the few spears that were left and poked Sam in the ribs.” (Golding, 202). Nonetheless, even though dictatorship is more cruel and savage than democracy, democracy proves to be ineffective compared to dictatorship. Jack’s dictatorship proves to be more effective in Lord of the Flies. One reason why Jack's style of leadership is more effective is because he knew what the boys wanted and provided that for them. Tonight we're having a

In addition, he takes advantage of the boys desire to go full savage. This can be seen with the chant Jack has the boys recite. Kill the pig. Cut her throat. Spill her blood in her blood." Golding, 72. He uses this desire of the boys to get them to join his tribe and follow all of his orders. Although people are to assume that kids would choose a fair and rational leader if ever they were forced to, Golding proves otherwise. He uses the character of Ralph to represent dictatorship by having him practice the principles of equality, voting and by having him stand up for human rights. He uses Jack instead to oppose him by having him discourage the process of voting, equality and having him ignore the boys human rights. Although Jack is cruel towards the boys, by the end of the novel the boys prefer him to Ralph. Jack proves more favorable because he used the boys fear to have them follow him and along with that he provided the boys what they wanted. By using the characters of Ralph and Jack, Goldings shows how if the rules of democracy are not followed, dictatorship will be the more effective style of