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Hobbes Lord Of The Flies Quote Analysis

956 Words4 Pages

Nachiket Subbaraman
Ms. Kaufman
Lit. /Writ., Per. 1
19 October 2015 Comparing Hobbes and Golding Have you ever contemplated what people’s motives and desires are? Human nature is one of the most complex, abstract concepts that philosophers have ever pondered. Ordinary people might think about human nature from time to time, but philosophers dive deeply into the labyrinth that is human nature. The book Lord of the Flies written by William Golding is a story about a group of boys who survived a plane crash and are stranded on an island without any adults to guide them. Because there are no adults, there is no one to supervise them, and everyone has an equal voice in their society. But soon, the natural thirst for power starts …show more content…

He believed that the thirst for power is insatiable, and will never stop, as illustrated by this quote from Leviathan, “‘[…] Humans are driven by a perpetual and restless desire [for] power […] that ceases only in death’” (Hobbes). A human being’s goal is to survive as long as possible. Humans are so obsessed with power because the more power you have, the more likely you are to survive. “He [Hobbes] believed that all people are equal, and that this equality leads to competition and violence...Because he thought that people act in their own selfish interests if they are left alone, Hobbes did not believe that people should be trusted to make their own decisions”(Hobbes). Humans act like this in a state of nature, which is the name for a society that has no government, no rules, and everyone is granted equal power. Hobbes believed that the best government for our unruly and selfish behavior is an absolute monarchy. An absolute monarchy is when one ruler has all the power to make executive decisions. According to him, the people should give up all their rights to the monarch in exchange for …show more content…

Two boys who were forced to be a part of the tribe, Sam and Eric, said “We’re going to spread out in a line across the island...we’re going forward from this end...until we find you” (189) to Ralph. The boys who are a part of Jack’s tribe are going to hunt for Ralph tomorrow, but Sam and Eric do this unwillingly because they are still loyal to Ralph. Under Jack’s leadership, the boys became savages and uncivilized human beings. According to Hobbes, this is what a society should be, and Jack should have a huge amount of power. Contrast, Golding believes that Jack has too much power and it isn’t right that Jack feels that he can instill fear in the members of his tribe so that they follow him. Jack’s tribe enjoys the feeling of hunting and endangering another life. They are going to even hunt another one of their own

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