Lord of the Flies
...Peaceful nothingness. Before the boys arrive on the island, it is picturesque, serene, and undisturbed. The boys land on the untouched island in amazement of its beauty. The island was covered in grasses, and trees, with a lagoon that was "blue of all shades and shadowy green and purple" (p. 10). Uncorrupted, the island was similar to the Garden of Eve until Adam and Eve entered slowly ruining its perfection...Ordered civilization. Ralph orders a civilization out of nothingness, by establishing laws in which everyone on the island has a job to do and a purpose to survive. They function like that of people all over the world, with rules, and duties, and a common goal to simply stay alive. Lack of clarity and instilled fear lead to the collapse of any ordered way of living...Savage chaos. Slowly destructive changes start to occur and with the newfound fear, and lack of control, the boys begin to alter their ways of thinking, as they gradually turn into beasts. They turn to Jack, the hunter, who has completely lost his mind, in hopes that he will teach them to protect themselves from the evils of the island. What they do not realize, is that the evils of the island are really only made up of themselves. Their civilization,
As soon as the boys land on the island, Ralph immediately takes control of the situation. His idea in establishing a democratic government of rules and obligations is a good one. In the beginning, everyone listens to what everyone has to say and their creation of a civilized society comes together quite quickly. From the first meeting, it seems as though everyone wants to make life on the island work, and that they all know right from wrong, good from bad. There are two keys to making and maintaining a newly created world. First, there must be laws made so that people have guidelines to live by. "We'll all have rules! Lots of rules!" (p. 33). With cooperation, they have no trouble in establishing laws and a system of government. The next key in creation and maintenance is for there to be an absolute leader, one who people will listen to. Since "there aren't any grownups" (p. 33), Ralph understands that one of the boys must take charge in looking after everyone. It is quite obvious that he immediately feels superior, because he announces that whoever has to conch "won't be interrupted. Except by me" (p. 33). The obvious symbol for any law and order that is on the island, is the conch shell. Ralph uses this for power to call meetings, and whoever talks into the conch is always heard - including Piggy. Ralph's idea of a civilized society is that everyone should have a say in the government. He was kind to almost all of the boys; however, he gave them too many freedoms and liberties, which is when their society began to fall apart. The boys would much rather play and enjoy the island then tend to it, and since there was no stress on following the rules, no one followed any of the laws originally established. Ralph's civilization fell apart because he did not know how to keep people in line or force them to obey any guidelines. He tried to be a friend as opposed to a political leader, and when things began to go wrong, the boys became afraid, and searched for a leader who had more was powerful and brave, so that he could protect them. Ralph had no trouble in establishing order, but because he was too nice, and too swept away by the idea that they were free from following rules, he immediately lost power over the boys, which is showed by the product of absolute chaos in the end of the novel. "Which is better, law and rescue, or hunting and breaking things up?" (p. 180). N
Some common words found in the essay are:
Lord Flies, Piggy Ralph's, Hobbes Locke, Adam Eve, Neither Laws, Ralph's Jack, History Textbook, , Hobbes Governments, John Locke, civilized society, enforce rules, world history textbook, world history, history textbook, successful world, successfully created, establishing laws, world rules, creating successful world, creating successful, evils island,
Approximate Word count = 1622
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
|
