¶ … Lord of the Flies by William Golding Some parts of the book were quite interesting

At The Beginning

At the beginning of 'Lord of the Flies', a plane crashes into an isolated Pacific Ocean island. It was carrying some British boys aged 6-12. It is worth noting that the world is obviously at war when the plane crashed. The boys have no one to take care of them because there were no adults who crashed with the boys. Things take off on a good foot. The boys made use of a conch shell as a kind of talking stick; one of the older boys, Ralph, was made the chief of their little boys' community (Shoomp, 2015).

When Trouble Began

And then, trouble starts. The boys fear there may be a fierce beast hidden on the isolated island. They then took a decision to construct a kind of signal fire with Piggy's glasses. Piggy is a huge boy, and a very loyal friend to Ralph. However, Jack is jealous of Ralph's authority, and he decides it will be more beneficial for the boys to go hunting instead of maintaining the fire, even though the signal fire may be their only means to attract attention and be rescued. The longer they stay on the lonely island, the more savage Jack becomes. In the meantime, the other major player, a philosophical and wise boy known as Simon, build shelters with Ralph. With time, these concealed conflicts between the individuals become exposed, and the boys who have been asked to sustain the fire leave it to go with Jack to kill a pig. They are excited by the gore and blood of the hunt until they learn that a ship -- with a chance for rescue - passed by their island without taking note of their presence while they hunted for pigs. An angry Jack gives Piggy a punch in the face, breaking one lens of his glasses in the process (Shoomp, 2015).

The last game

From here on, everything goes downhill. Ralph and Piggy are attacked by Jack and the boys who have banded with him, and he steals Piggy's spectacles to make his own fire for his group. Ralph and Piggy make up their mind to talk it out with the boys who have become savages in a calm way. In the process, Roger shoves a large rock off a cliff, and ends up killing Piggy. Finally, Ralph runs for his life, discovering a head-on-stick prospect designed for him. He is lucky enough to make it to the island's shore alive where he meets a British soldier. The stranded boys are rescued from their mock warfare, but the Navy's ship is an image and reminder of the actual adults' warfare (Shoomp, 2015).

Themes found in the book

The author, Golding, was a navy officer and teacher who saw the cruelties of the Second World War. He puts forward a story which turns out to be both psychologically and realistically plausible. It provides a very powerful depiction of the inborn evil in the heart of (some) humans.

The island on which the boys crash has many features of the Garden of Eden. Then, slowly some of the boys lose every trace of innocence, little by little. Through the character of Simon, readers discover that evil is something that resides in our hearts and not outside.

This also shows that goodness comes through ceaseless moral struggle. However, leadership, is not just about rationality and morality. The success Jack had with most of the boys proves how appealing a leader can be by just working on the children's irrational nature. A leader will be more successful with children by relying more on the principle of pleasure. Trying to convince them to 'behave' with sermons on morals and very tedious sane arguments won't make a leader effective. The role of leadership during the Second World War is considered in the background, indicating the cult of political leaders (such as Hitler) and the allure of totalitarian regimes. The ethical dilemma faced by the children is that of innate freedom, or rebellion from rules, versus a more moral code, in a world where rationality seems far removed. The isolated island setting, remote from urban modernized areas, emphasizes a subject you can find in the works of Joseph Conrad, and his famous story 'Heart of Darkness'. Thus, in parallel between 'Lord of the Flies' and 'Heart of Darkness', it is necessary for man to face his heart of darkness in an isolated situation where his morality will come under examination devoid of any external regulations.

Nature is indifferent, despite its...

It is nothing but a background for staging the misfortune of human evil. Man may be quite conscious of nature, however, nature is unaware and unconscious of man. Evil is a part of human nature. It was the destiny of the Garden of Eden to be transformed into a kind of Hell. The decline from modernization to savagery is unavoidable. The dead bodies of both the navy officer and parachutist are some kinds of paradox. They remind us that the island is a representation of macrocosm by a microcosm.
The boys Ralph and Jack in 'Lord of the Flies' present two opposite perspectives on the role of a leader, and two different ways to picture society. The success Jack recorded is a good reminder of the shameful failure in not too distant history of reason-based policies, faced with the illogical drives of Nazism and fascism. Hunting is meant to be a kind of enticing ritual through peer pressures. This is filled with much excitement and represents a decline back into savagery. Even the most sensible logical characters such as Ralph and Piggy all took part in ritual killing-just like Simon. At the end, the naval officer plays the role of a life saver and is a good reminder of the ongoing more far-reaching global war and the atomic bomb. The darkness they experience in the little island symbolizes celestial darkness. According to Golding, the long course of evolution has made no reasonable change in the deepest inner nature of (some) humans. Today, we are just basically what we used to be in the past (Golding, 1954).

Types of characters

The characters are represented in a very realistic way, as boys who make use of the slang of their generation and showcase some childish tendencies sometimes. For example, Jack only plays when he is the leader, and Piggy is addicted to any kind of food. The four major characters include: Ralph, Piggy, Jack and Simon. Others were vaguely sketched characters like Maurice, Roger, Eric, Sam and Percival. The rest of the characters fall into two groups, the biguns and the littleuns (Piggy).

RALPH: this is the hero who emerged as the group leader. He shows a deep concern for his little community, longs for the reasonableness and order of an adult society, and attempts to replicate them on the island. He holds consultation with the community, and forms the habit of controlling the conch, to give everyone who wishes to speak the chance to do so without any interruption.

JACK: This is Ralph's main antagonist. Jack is a very ambitious boy, who gives his own importance a boost by utilizing the fear of the Beast. He makes everyone of the littleuns buy into the idea of a vague danger, using fear to make them need his tyrannical leadership and protection. He lives completely in the present and treats all Ralph's rules and worry for the fire with contempt and disdain.

PIGGY: his appearance gave him his nickname. He has a working-class background, while several of the others are from the upper middle-class. He is short-sighted and asthmatic, but often acts up and speaks like a full-grown adult. Golding's depiction of Piggy, with his attitudes and clumsiness make him a boring and ridiculous personality. Every one of the boys pokes fun at him. He comes up with very practical ideas and smart suggestions all through the novel, which shows his strong belief in the power of democracy, science and reason. He fears anything he finds obscure that has no rational explanation.

SIMON: a contemplative, lonely and sensitive boy. Loyal and generous, he is the only one of the boys that does not make fun of Piggy. He often shows a tendency to faint; he is possibly prone to seizures and fits. This feature is attributed to his prophetic gifts. His prophetic gift can be seen from his assurance to Ralph about his imminent rescue from the island. He fathoms the Beast's real nature (Golding, 1954).

Lesson to be Learned

This book, Golding's masterpiece, reflects a number of important issues. There are essential lessons like the need for the boys to cultivate respect, empathy, maturity, and responsibility. However, in my own thoughts, it seems that Golding wanted to prove to us that man is fundamentally defective. This explains why he makes use of children for his narrative. They grow and react according to their inborn instincts, which are generally more evil than good. Golding tries to remind us…