lord of the flies

A detailed Summary of lord of the flies

Lord of the Flies, William Golding's first novel explores the themes of adolescence, 'man's inhumanity to man' and failure of small societies to succeed when individuals act out of personal desires rather than out of recognition for the 'common good'. In the beginning of the book, the boys are stranded on a deserted island. They seem somewhat excited that they will be able to live without the rules of the 'adult world'. They thought they had found the ultimate freedom where they could be in control - (every kids desire). In the opening chapters of the book, the boys seem very excited and jubilant having the opportunity to live without adults. When Ralph states, "While we're waiting we can have a good time" (p. 38),or when the boys clamour to compare their experience to Treasure Island, Coral Island or the Swallows and the Amazons, it is evident that they are enthused by the opportunity. What is also evident as the story progresses is that the lack of rule

they had not understood the rules but had merely lived by them. They were immature in their decision to elect Jack as their leader. While he seemed to be appealing as a leader based on his age and his size, their fear of him was the ultimate reason for their choice. Jack, in return confuses their following as kindness and deference. Without adults to act as supervisors, he loses his fear of being punished. This freedom allowed for the darker side of his nature to emerge. The lack of regulations as well as the others penchant for savagery continue to determine the boys failure. Jack's power trip clouded his awareness and sensitivity to the others. His leadership was based on fear and not responsibility. Ralph recognizes this is happening, and tries to stop it. When he fails, he becomes just as ruthless as Jack. In short, the boys chose a poor role model and paid the price.

The boys on the island were brought up with rules and taught to have manners. When they had the opportunity to live

Some common words found in the essay are:
Animal Farm, William Golding's, Piggy Simon, Swallows Amazons, Jack Napoleon, boys doomed fail, doomed fail, opportunity live, book boys, choice jack, boys doomed, jack leader,

Approximate Word count = 670
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

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lord of the flies

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