Male Dominance In Lord Of The Flies

In the novel Lord of the Flies, William Golding demonstrates how male dominance can lead to violence and chaos. Society depicts men as violent and aggressive whilst women are thought to be nurturing, gentle, and caring. We naturally think of men as being testosterone driven creatures, whereas women are seen as being rational. It is said that men and women balance each other out so that men are not too abrasive and women are not too passive. People often think of boys as being easily drawn to violence. When boys get into trouble most people just say "well boys will be boys". Throughout the novel, the natural desire for male dominance is shown. Those who strive for power find a way to get power. In the novel, two groups are formed, one is violent

At the end they come to realization of everything that they have done and break, knowing that they have changed and will never be "kids" again. "The loss of innocence for which Ralph weeps at the novel's close is not, however, a matter of transformation from childish goodness to adolescent depravity, is not a growing into wickedness. It is rather the coming of an awareness of darkness, of the evil in man's heart that was present in the children all along." (Boyd). The children have changed from innocent little boys to barbaric and violent men. They indulged into their inner beast, their natural violence. Throughout the novel, the boys try to kill this "beast" they feared. With this need to kill, they themselves become beast. The moment Jack changed was when he killed the pig. At first he could not kill the pig because he could not bring himself to take the pig's life. He has been taught by society not to kill and that taking the life of another is wrong, his conscience prevents him from killing the pig at first. He then becomes determined to kill a pig, wanting to be seen as the manliest of the group, and this leads to his uncontrollable nature throughout the rest of the novel. Jack influences the other boys to be “men” and manipulates them to have a need to kill. The boys could have died at the end of the story by the fire they

Once we reach the age of reason we are governed by powerful laws that impact the way we live. William Golding shows that without the influence of civilized society and laws, people can change back to a primitive behavior. Throughout the novel, the boys had to strive for power and in turn they lose their civilized nature. "Today's sociobiologists will embrace these boys, whose aggressive reversion to savagery 'proves' the power of testosterone-fueled behavior. In fact, one approach to studying this novel could involve research into the rash of books and articles about male violence, about raising and educating boys." (Roy). When put in certain situations, people naturally turn to cruelty, savagery, and barbarism. The boys destroy their own patriarchal society. Ralph, the first leader, watches his society crumble at the hands of Jack. Jack demanded control, outlawing laws and morality. The boys get so involved into their barbarian society that by the end of the novel the boys do not feel the need to be rescued anymore. They believe that they could survive without rules, that they could handle being “grown men”. They also do not want to go back to following the rules, they have learned to embrace their rage and have become ruthless. Man reverts back to it primal instincts for