Stealing Authority: Lord Of The Flies

Kaylee Tran
Ms. Cruz
English 2A (5)
March 2, 2023
Stealing Authority
Written by William Golding, Lord of the Flies is a novel about young British boys who, stranded on an uninhabited island, are forced to find leadership and order among themselves. In the beginning of the novel, the group of boys vote for Ralph to be chief, but as the story progresses, the power begins to shift to a boy named Jack who acts as the catalyst for the violence and savagery that the boys engage in towards the end of the novel. Although others may claim that as chief, Ralph should bear some responsibility for the tragic events that occur at the end of LOTF, Ralph is in fact not at all responsible because Jack diminished all of Ralph’s power when he ignored Ralph’s

It also has the power to call meetings, representing its power as a tool to get the boys to listen. Therefore, the words “except by me” is a verbal declaration by Ralph that states, as chief, his ability to speak out of turn demonstrates that his authority is equal to that of the conch. This implies to the boys that as the boys are to listen to the conch, they are also obligated to listen and follow Ralph’s words and commands. Yet although Ralph’s authority is established through this statement, Ralph’s lack of authority is evident on multiple occasions. For example, when Ralph and Jack argue about whether they should prioritize maintaining a fire or hunting. Jack repeatedly interrupts Ralph and asserts, "Bollocks to the rules! We're strong–we hunt! If there's a beast, we'll hunt it down! We'll close in and beat and beat and beat–!" (91). The word “bollocks” reveals a reckless tone from Jack who would rather throw away the authority of the conch than have to listen to or follow Ralph’s commands. Furthermore, although Jack uses the word, “we,” the action “hunt” and the repetition of the word

While it is true that in doing so, Ralph would have been able to prevent the reckless actions of the boys and the savagery in which joining Jack’s tribe would instill in them, it is evident that Ralph was unable to stop the boys on the island from joining Jack’s tribe. This is demonstrated when Jack utilizes both the bribery of food that his tribe hunted and violent punishments for those who do not follow his orders to force the boys to stay in the tribe. An example of the force Jack utilizes to maintain his authority in the tribe is when Samneric are forced to join. Roger, influenced and rewarded by Jack for his savagery is given the job of terrorizing Samneric, describing their fear as, “The yelling ceased, and Samneric lay looking up in quiet terror” (182). The words “looking up” show that Samneric experience a power imbalance that causes them to be at a disadvantage. Coupled with the words, “quiet terror” Golding implies that Samneric, under the control of Jack’s tribe, are forced to join against their will. While it is true that Ralph could have communicated better with the boys on the island, it is also equally as true that this communication would be useless against the bribery and force that Jack uses to amass and maintain his tribe, of which was responsible for the tragic events at the end of the