Society In Lord Of The Flies

In the novel, Lord of the Flies, written by William Golding, many ideas were used to comment on the nature of society. These ideas include the various themes in the novel, the many different personalities within the novel and also the setting in which the story takes place. Each of these ideas has something to say about the true nature of humans in general.

The first “idea” that is used to comment on the nature of society is the creation of the wild and savage personality that is Jack. Now Jack represents what is the hidden savagery that is within each and every one of us. In other words, he represents that hidden potential of evil and our capability to do really bad things even though we might make ourselves to be the last person anyone would

In this novel, Ralph represents the good things that are within each and every one of us. He represents the socialised/civilised side of mankind. He demonstrates common sense and has the qualities of a leader. Ralphs leadership capacity is evident right from the point when he is the only leader elected by the boys. When the boys are frightened sight of the dead paratrooper on the mountain. Ralph is able to keep the group's focus on the hope for rescue. When the boys investigate the castle rock, Ralph goes first by himself, despite his fear of the “beast”. I say that Ralph is the representation of a civilised society in the text because unlike the other boys from Jack’s group, he hasn’t resorted to acts of savagery such as fake rituals, sticking something up a pig’s anus and murder. In fact, he is totally against this and we know this because it says in the novel “We should be looking like we used to, washed and hair brushed -- after all we aren't savages really....” What Ralph advocates is that in order to survive on this island, we need to be civilised and follow sets of rules, we know this because it says in the novel “We've got to have rules and obey them. After all, we're not savages. We're English, and the English are best at everything.” In the text this ended up being true because the boys under the

Power being one’s ability to have control, authority and influence. In the novel, the idea of power is really present in the power struggle between Jack and his counterpart Ralph. Ralph represents a democratic society and Jack represents a dictatorship maintained through the use of violence/fear. The struggle for power is in the nature of human beings because humans constantly want to be above other human beings. The struggle for power between Ralph and Jack emerges right at the start of the story. When the boys gather around for the first time, Jack shows dictator like characteristics by treating the choir boys like his own military. He even tried to declare himself the leader by saying “I’m chapter chorister and head boy. I can sing C sharp”. Their conflict becomes even more obvious as the story progresses. The reason why Jack is always on about killing the pig is for power. By leading the “hunters”, he has authority and by providing meat to the “littluns”, he wins their trust. Jack, in order to gain even more power, promises meat to the “littluns” without the responsibilities demanded by Ralph. The difference in power eventually leads to the separation of the group, in which the kids fight each other rather than co-operating and working together for the benefit of the group and to aid get them rescued. If Jack co-operated with Ralph, everyone could have been rescued safely, however