Lord of the Flies

A detailed Summary of Lord of the Flies

Lord of the Flies by William Golding is a book that has many different interpretations that would possibly come to the reader's mind. The story, for the most part, circles around the protagonist, Ralph. Ralph is a twelve-year-old with blonde hair; he is also elected to be the leader of the island. Ralph has his head on straight, and is always trying to keep the group of kids safe and on the right track to be saved. Jack is the main antagonist in opposition to Ralph and his proposed system. Jack is also twelve, but he has red hair. Jack is appointed, by Ralph, to lead the hunters; who happen to be the choir that Jack already led. Lord of the Flies has an interesting plot that puts kids in the position where they have to make their world work, without adults. When put into this situation the children flourish, for a while, with the tremendous task at hand. Throughout the story the children are confronted with new problems, not only external dilemmas but internal evils as well. The concepts of Democracy and Dictatorship come up, and this helps to show the way everyone has an "inner beast." "The author contends that civilization is merely a thin veneer covering humanity's savage instincts." (Grolier Inc. 12: 413) Having

been in World War II Golding, an Englishman, understands both forms of government and how they affect the people under them. (Books and Writers. William Golding 1) This story of kids creating their own form of government and civilization shows how different children will react in opposite ways to the same situation. Also, if given the opportunity, almost all children will act in a manner that will benefit only themselves, and pay no attention to the needs of the others in the group.

Dictatorship is a government with absolute authority or power is given to one leader. (Babcock, Dictatorship) Jack is an advocate of this form of government. For the kids this form is much more appealing. A dictatorship will allow the children of the island to do what they want until the leader, Jack, stops their actions. Jack holds ritualistic ceremonies with tribal dances. This is an illustration of the madness and chaos that a dictatorship will lead to. Jack is basically a leader who only wants the people around that are going to follow his every lead. This is a characteristic of the Nazi leader of World War II, Hitler. As long as Jack gets what he wants it doesn't matter what he has to do to get it, even murder. This blatant disregard for others is displayed when Piggy is killed, and again when Simon is murdered. Jack is an oppression oriented leader. He wasn't even elected as chief, it just so happened that almost everyone found his actions as a leader to be much more fun than those of Ralph. As far as getting the kids to do what he wanted Jack did a better job than Ralph. One set back was that there was no organization, and everyone catered to their own needs. With Jack leading it was total luck that the children were saved at all. Jack uses a dictatorship to run the children of the island, and this form of government led to complete confusion and bedlam; even death.

Jack is the antagonist to Ralph, and opposes his ideals as a leader. When Ralph is elected leader Jack becomes furious. He is only given power over the hunters; a group of boys who already follow his command as the choir. Jack is an anti-democrat; he represents more of a Nazi style approach to leading. He loves to have all of the power, and he does not care who he hurts along the way. When the power becomes his he urges the lifestyle of a savage: camo face paint, hunting, and the act of ritualistic tribal dances. The children follow Jack because he encourages adventure and excitement in a situation that is quite terrible. Ja

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Approximate Word count = 1699
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English