Rational Thinking In Lord Of The Flies Essay

Rational thinking is often the only barrier between civilization and chaos. In William Golding’s novel Lord of the Flies, Ralph’s logical thinking is at odds with Jack’s violent, primal instincts; meanwhile, a fear of a beast plagues all the boys. While Ralph tries to plan out what to do to stay alive and be rescued, Jack portrays a dark and savage side of humans through his obsession with hunting and killing pigs. Within all of them lurks the idea of a beast on the island that provokes paranoia, especially at night. The strife between Ralph and Jack creates a chaotic space that allows the fear of the beast to set in. It is this conflict between rational ideas, that create leadership and organization, and violent instincts that ultimately cause the downfall of the boys’ society. In the beginning of the novel, the

They begin by holding meetings, setting up rules for speaking and deciding upon leadership. Using a conch, Ralph calls assemblies where all the boys get together to discuss an issue or make a plan. All the boys are present at the meetings so everyone is supposed to know what is going on, therefore no one should be confused or ignorant. At the first meeting Ralph says, “Seems to me we ought to have a chief to decide things” (Golding 22). At this assembly, all the boys besides the choir and Jack vote Ralph to be the chief. The purpose of a chief is to have someone to be able to think for the group and make logical decisions. When conducting meetings having people hold the conch when they want to speak allows different people’s ideas to be heard individually and without interruption. The conch gives a sense of order and prevents the chaos caused by everyone speaking at the same time. In contrast to the rational plans that are laid out, Jack’s violent instincts are just beginning to surface. His need to hunt is not overpowering, but it begins to take up most of his time. This is evident when he returns from an unsuccessful