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Lord Of The Flies: Liberalism And Realism

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Both liberalism and realism are evident in Lord of the Flies, influencing the behavior of the boys as well as the outcome of their time on the island. Concerning realism, the violent and egoistic behavior of the children in Lord of the Flies is unsurprising, if not completely expected. The realist perspective is succinctly described as a pessimistic approach to international politics. Realism expresses that states are unitary, egoistic, amoral, and power seeking actors on the world stage. On the other hand, the attempted cooperation and protection for all of the boys are liberal characteristics. Liberalism expresses cooperation as a means of achieving peace through international institutions. Liberals are less concerned with relative power …show more content…

From the beginning of the story, Ralph makes it clear that he expects the boys to cooperate to ensure the survival of everyone. He establishes laws from the beginning to ensure peace and is consistently seen reaching out to Jack to maintain peace among the two groups that eventually emerge. He sees cooperation as the only means to peace and survival, and encourages all of the boys to keep the fire burning and to watch out for each other, especially the younger children. However, like most critiques of liberal theory make known, Ralph lacks the authority to enforce his ideology because he does not use hard power to enforce his laws. By establishing rules, such as keeping the fire burning, in exchange for community, building shelters where all of the boys can sleep, Ralph attempts to maintain control over the group but ultimately fails. Ralph continually tries to advocate for a moralistic approach to governing the other boys, and though he fails often, he attempts to protect the weaker children by defending and watching over them. In other words, Ralph tries to protect the rights of all of the boys, though he realizes that they are in an anarchical system. Ralph is concerned with each “state” benefiting from the system, disregarding that the hunters will benefit more in the system they had developed. This contrasts to Jack’s need to be stronger and possess more power than Ralph’s “state”. In the end, Ralph is overrun by the hunters and forced to run, a fulfilled expectation after the breakdown of cooperation among the two groups or

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Over the course of the book, Ralph wants to create a positive society for the boys in which they will get rescued, while Jack as a Machiavellian, manipulates and twists the boys into a problematic society. In the quote, "The fire is the most important thing on the island. How can we ever be rescued except by luck, if we don 't keep a fire going?” (80), we see Ralph fighting hard to focus the boys on the bigger picture of getting rescued. Despite Ralph’s valiant efforts, we see in the quote, “Ralph was on his feet too, shouting for quiet, but no one heard him.

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Chapter 13: It’s All Political Lord Of the Flies can be viewed as “it is all about political.” Although this only happens after the group of boys on the island splits into two groups with different ideas. Ralph’s group which is the group that is all about shelter, being civilized and being rescued. Jack’s group which is all about hunting, survival, and being barbaric or savages.

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At the beginning of the novel, the boys try to establish a system of rules and order to maintain their society. However, as they become more desperate to survive, some of the boys begin to break these rules and resort to violence. For example, Jack becomes more and more focused on hunting and killing animals, which eventually leads to him becoming a violent and dangerous leader. In contrast, Ralph tries to maintain order and uphold the boys' moral code, even when it becomes difficult to do so. Overall, the novel demonstrates the difficult choices that characters must make when faced with the need for self-preservation versus the need to maintain their moral code.

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" Lord of the Flies" is a novel about a group of young boys who find themselves alone on a barren island. They build norms and organizational systems, but in the absence of adults to serve as a civilizing impetus, the children inevitably become violent and vicious. Through the emblem of the conch shell, William Golding shows how the loss of order/civilization and law leads to the emergence of barbaric behavior triumphing over society.

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Ralph has noticed a drifting between the boys, due to both of him lacking leadership, and to the hunters’ growing free-spirited but crazy morals. He noticed the longer they were away from home, the more sanity they loss. Within the last few weeks, Ralph lost his two only friends due to the horrid actions of the hunters. Seeing Stanley killed for the humor of a hunter, and glimpsing at Simon being stabbed and torn apart both made Ralph realized that not only the voice of reason and justice is gone, but also their hope of redemption, to be rescued. Even after counseling and therapy, Ralph himself felt like those mere five weeks were dreading, endless years, as if he matured throughout time spent on the

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Upon arriving, Ralph’s primary ambition is to get off the island safely, considering the expected immaturity in reaction to the boys’ sudden loss of authority. He manages to maintain this intention regardless of his job or worth in society among the boys. As evil challenges his capability to retain this quality by the irony of the fire, breaking of the conch, and overall destruction of civilization, demonstrates his level of mental strength considering all of the odds against his favor. Having the, “voice of someone who [knows their] own mind,” and instituting an independent attitude towards his goal, Ralph displays competence and trust in his capabilities rather than depending on that of others. As displayed in his immediate need for order, Ralph establishes a plan to get off of the island.

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In the quote above, Ralph is attempting to hide when the boys pass by him. Jack however notices him and Ralph realizes this may be the end. Jack, along with his tribe and their spears and painted faces run down Ralph through the forest even setting it on fire. In the end Ralph ends up being saved by luck, running into an officer. If it were not for the officer, Jack’s evilness would have got the best of him, and Ralph would not have survived.

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