Lord Of The Flies Contradictions

Though all societies throughout history have had their differences, all have been almost identical structurally. Marxism views the world and literature based on social and economic classes. Karl Marx, a communist reformer, once said "...stable societies develop sites of resistance: contradictions built into the social system that ultimately lead to social revolution and the development of a new society upon the old,” meaning that conflict, tension, and rebellion cycle through societies and allow mankind to grow and develop socially as a whole. In the novel Lord of the Flies, the author, William Golding uses character interactions and symbolism to show struggle between classes as a new society rebels against and replaces the previous system.

In Lord of the Flies, as soon as the boys elect a chief, thus forming a society, the boys have opposing opinions and ideas regarding the governing of the island, or in the words of Marx, “contradictions [are] built into the social system.” When Jack and Ralph argue about how much time should be spent hunting rather than working to build huts, Jack says “‘we want meat’” (51), to which Ralph responds, “‘well we haven't got any yet. And we want shelters.’” (51). Clearly, each boy has different priorities and desires, just like different social and economic classes throughout history. Ralph immediately suppresses Jack and his hunters wants and ideas and prioritises his own. By doing so, Ralph creates discrepancy in the tribe. Though Golding never explicitly specifies, the reader can understand that Ralph has a dismissive tone to his voice when he does not even try to think of a compromise. Therefore, in this instance, Ralph symbolizes the upper class because of his uninterested attitude. Similarly, since the birth of society, there has been contradiction in values between different classes. For example, in France during the late 1780’s, the first estate and the second estate were the minority however they had more power and influence when it came to voting. In addition, the first and second estate payed little to no taxes yet taxed the third estate, 96% of the population, very heavily. The classes each had contradicting beliefs on how France should be governed, similarly to the boys in Lord of the Flies. Both the historical example and the literary example solidify Marx’s theory that society cannot exist without contradicting beliefs among its members. Ralph and Jack’s disagreement displays characteristics that prove Karl Marx’s belief that exists in society; contradiction inevitably leads to