Lord of The Flies by William Golding - Essay Example

?Lord of The Flies Lord of The Flies, the work by William Golding, was published in the year 1954. This work deals with the matter of human nature and survival instinct. To be specific, the author makes use of the characters to portray human nature and its characteristics. One cannot predict human nature during natural disasters or other problematic conditions in life. Some people may try to act like dictators and some others may try to gain the leadership. This is the unpredictability of human nature. Thesis statement: The allegorical importance of the work Lord of The Flies is deeply indebted to the themes used by the writer like violence, pessimism and tragedy. Plot/ brief summary The work’s plot is simple, because it deals with problems faced by a group of boys who survived a plane crash and reach an isolated island. Among the survivors, the boys selected Ralph as their leader. But Jack, another boy among the survivors, was not satisfied with this decision. Gradually, Jack began to question the authority of Ralph and planned a rebellion against Ralph. Besides, Jack and his followers began to neglect Ralph’s orders. This divided the group into two: Ralph and his supporters and Jack and his supporters. Later, Jack and his supporters kill Simon and Piggy and captured Sam and Eric. Besides, Ralph was forced to flee. While searching for Jack, a naval officer from a warship appears and helps the whole group of boys to escape from the island. Characters The main characters in the work are: Ralph (leader), Jack (later became the leader), Piggy, Simon, Sam and Eric (twins). A. Ralph: Ralph is a boy with leadership quality. But this did not help him to lead the whole group as a single unit. Most of the boys were ready to agree Ralph’s leadership. This proves that leadership quality is inherent in his character. He was able to take decisions at apt situations but failed to implement the same with success. This failure forced him to face a number of problems during his life in the Island. B. Jack: Jack was selected as the second leader of the group, and his duty was to find out food for the whole group. But Jack was not satisfied with his status as the leader of the hunters. So, he decided not to be under Ralph’s leadership. In addition, he was able to gain the confidence of some of the boys among the group. His attempt to dethrone Ralph proves that he is ready to kill his fellow beings to gain leadership. C. Piggy: In the novel, Piggy is portrayed as a complex character. For instance, he tried his level best to reduce the scope of a battle between two groups. Besides, Piggy’s knowledge helped the group to overcome a number of troubles. But his knowledge did not help him to escape from death. D. Simon: Simon is similar to Piggy. For instance, both of them were loyal to Ralph. Simon did not join Jack’s group and undertook Jack’s decisions. This proves that Simon was not ready to give up his hope to escape from the Island. Later, Jack and the members of his group killed Simon. E. Sam and Eric: In the beginning, Sam and Eric (twins) were ready to accept Ralph’s leadership. But when Jack threatened them, they joined Jack’s group and began to enjoy their adventurous life in the Island. At last, they were able to save their lives. They were practical because they enjoyed their life in the Island and managed to escape in the end. Analysis: Lord of The Flies as an allegorical novel The analysis is based upon the themes like violence, pessimism and tragedy. A. Violence: One can see that violence is the dominating theme of the novel. Besides, the author made use of violence (say, as an important theme) to prove that savagery is inherent in each and every individual. Within this context, violence is interconnected with survival instinct. When one tries to survive, one will not be able to take care of other individuals. For instance, during the fight with Jack’s group, Ralph came to know that he cannot save the members of his group and he decides to flee. This proves that violence is one of the important themes related to the allegorical dimension of the novel. B. Pessimism: Pessimism is another theme made use by the author to unveil the future of human race. One can see that over exploitation of natural resources will lead to clash among societies. For instance, Jack’s ultimate aim was to be the unquestioned ruler of the island. The authors state “Power lay in the brown swell of his forearms: authority sat on his shoulder and chattered in his ear like an ape” (Golding and Foster 210). So he decided to destroy Ralph’s group. Within this context, Jack did not consider the fact that they were entrapped in an island and were sharing the same fate. This proves that the author is pessimistic about the future of human race and he made use of the same to communicate with the readers. C. Tragedy: The work unearths the tragic fate of the members of Ralph’s group. From a different angle of view, Jack and his members did not try to escape from the island. Instead, they decided to lead an adventurous life. On the other side, Ralph and his group decided to escape from the island and it proved to be tragic. If Ralph was ready to accept Jack’s leadership, the tragedy might not happen. In short, Ralph’s inability to implement his decisions and Ralph’s cruelty forced both the groups to face a number of problems. Summing, William Golding makes use of the novel to portray the future of human race. Within this context, indecisiveness cannot save the human race from future problems. Instead, human beings must take apt measures to reduce the unrestricted encroachment upon renewable and non-renewable resources. If the human beings are not ready to take apt measures at critical situations, the future will be similar to the problems faced by Ralph and his group. So, the themes made use by the author (violence, pessimism and tragedy) proves the allegorical dimension of the novel. Works Cited Golding, William, and E. M. Forster. Lord of the Flies. New York: Penguin, 1954. Print. Read More