Lord Of The Flies :: essays research papers

Lord of the Flies opens with the introduction of a small group of English boys that are marooned on an island. The plane was evacuating them from atomic war-ridden England. This is a suiting time for this novel to be written- it shows how savage even little boys can be, and that adults are no different, with their wars and cruelties. A small society is set up, but Jack starts his own rule, contrary to Ralph's leadership. The boys turn on each other, eventually killing Simon in the middle of a hunting dance, and smashing a boulder on Piggy. The choice of "young English lads" is perfect- if, perhaps, "foreign ruffians" were chosen, a stereotypical person might expect cruel and savage behavior. On the contrary, these boys were the "cream of the crop", and all it took was a little trouble on an island to turn them into killing machines. The time is one that the world is turning on each other, and the boys follow suit and turn on each other. Their society is an ironic model of the real world around them. Many countries today are turning on each other, with violent wars and cruelties. Lord of the Flies shows one that mankind must choose to stop cruelty or face destruction. Many people do not believe in violence or cruelty, unless they are in power. When humans strive for power, they get so power hungry that the power backfires. When one is in total control power, one often turns into a more savage person than that same person that is under a rule or with the absence of a ruler does. Humans were not meant to be ruled or to rule. To coexist is mankind's purpose, yet with no rule, there is often an absence of order, but with a human rule, there is always conflict in society. Society today has order, but violence is also prevalent. Near the end of the novel, many of the boys start a fire to smoke out Ralph, and that same fire gets bigger and bigger and eventually is what a ship sees and saves Ralph's life and rescues the boys. What at first was made to bring the death of Ralph later saved him. In human society, and even in the animal kingdom, violent acts may turn into a salvation. Many animals must kill one another to eat.