Lord Of The Flies: The Flawed Civilization

The Flawed Civilization
William Golding’s Lord of the Flies gives an overall grim and pessimistic view of humans and leadership. Heavily inspired by the events of World War II, psychology, and dystopian fiction, Golding develops these ideas through the characters, which all represent different types of people. The narrator is also used to explicitly state these ideas. In the book, Golding touches upon his views of the masses, leadership, society, and rules. The island, in Golding’s eye, is really a parallel of the whole world and all of society.
The two boys competing for the title of ‘the Chief’ is an excellent example in which Golding brings out his ideas of leadership and power. Jack says, “I ought to be Chief” (Golding 28), but Ralph is

In The Lord of the Flies, Jack stands out as the antagonist – he is objectively evil, because he is negatively impacting the survival of the boys, or society, by killing. Ralph is objectively good – he promotes rescue, or the certain survival of the boys. However, even Ralph has evil within him, as shown when he partakes in the killing of Simon, and even at the beginning of the novel: “Ralph shrieked with laughter…Piggy! Piggy!” (Golding 12). Piggy is no exception; he tries to deny that he, Ralph, and Samneric were ever involved in the murder, saying that “It was dark” (Golding 224) and “We was scared” (Golding 224). Golding also knows a lot of how society and people work. The ‘beast’ is actually the boys’ mental state; the more savage they become, the more they believe in this fake ‘beast’, and the more they follow Jack – therefore, the more they descend into savagery and impulse. Golding also thought that rules were crucial. Roger, who was throwing rocks at Henry, was held back by “the taboo of the old life” (Golding 87). The rules had “conditioned” (Golding 87) him to become a better person, though his innocence fades along with the belief of the