Golding's Lord of the Flies - Research Paper Example

Lord of the Flies William Golding‘s Lord of the Flies, is an insightful allegorical novel that explores the innate nature of humans under certain circumstances, for example, when faced with fearful circumstances (Golding 3). Golding’s characters marooned on a deserted island; away from adult supervision and institutionalized rules and regulations put in place to ensure order within the society, offers readers insight on the true nature of humans when left unsupervised in an uncivilized setting. The relationships formed between the different characters in the novel influence the revelation of their true, inner dispositions (Golding 5). In addition, the alleged existence of the beast induces fear among the characters influencing the overt display of certain internal traits of the characters. Discussed below are the revealed traits manifested after the formation of relationships among the characters when faced with impending fearful circumstances. Golding’s portrayed Ralph from the beginning as a level headed, moral, charismatic, protagonist character (Olsen 44). This explains why the majority elected him as their leader during the election held when all the boys found themselves stranded on the island. Crippling fear of their new surroundings, homesickness and a need for social order caused the boys to be instinctively drawn to Ralph’s leadership traits. Ralph took charge of the responsibility given to him and exercised his mandate democratically by commissioning the use of the conch (Olsen 47). The conch gave every member a chance to express themselves in an orderly manner during meetings. Ralph played an integral role in sustaining the boys’ hope of returning back to their homes safely. He ensured every member played a part in keeping the fire lit throughout the day and night. This increased the chances of rescuers spotting them when sailing past the island. Ralph’s resilience helped him lead his followers before they defected despite the constant upheavals caused by Jack’s hunger for power and innate need to dominate over everyone (Olsen 53). However, when Ralph let the fear of the looming beast get the better of him, he faltered and found himself engaging in the inhumane act of killing Simon. The reality of what they had done weighed heavily on him. This catapulted him back to reality giving him the strength he needed to redeem his morality. His casting the ‘Lord of the Flies’ to the ground and using the stake initially used to impale the carcass as his defense weapon shows this clearly (Olsen 55). Fear brought out the worst in Ralph. However, his ability to overcome his fear and set an exemplary, moral model for the other boys shows that people can overcome their innate disposition to irrational, barbaric behaviors by opting for rational, civilized behaviors (Olsen 56). Jack was the exact opposite of Ralph. He craved power and with time his need to dominate others consumed him enabling him to engage in inhumane acts (Reiff 34). Golding makes it clear that Jack had a few inhibitions at the beginning before his obsession with disregarding social order became blown out of proportion, for example, his inability to slay the wild pig during his first hunting session. These inhibitions were as a result of the societal moral expectations instilled in him before getting stranded on the island (Reiff 38). The lack of these social constraints heightened his strong-willed character and his desire for power. As a result, his narcissistic inflated ego enabled him to conjure up a story of a monstrous beast living on the island. As a result, this instilled fear among the other boys. Jack capitalized on the boys’ fear of the beast and his hunting skills to lure them to his camp set up at Castle Rock. He sustained his followers through manipulative ploys aimed at discrediting the leadership of Ralph. As a result, most of the boys deserted Ralph (Reiff 39). Castle Rock was a place characterized by no sense of social order, savagery and barbaric behavior. Residents of Castle Rock engaged in sacrificial rituals aimed at appeasing the beast. Golding claims that people’s innate dispositions to engage in evil acts prevail in places where there is no sense of social order (Reiff 41). This also applied for the boys living in Castle Rock. It became apparent that the level of savagery and violence escalated with Jack’s increased disregard of moral restraints; for example, the torturing of Sam and Eric in order to force them to accept Jack’s leadership (Kelly 46). Golding portrays Piggy as a character keen on providing a scientific explanation to situations. Despite physically appearing vulnerable, Piggy’s intellect remains unmatched. He serves Ralph in the capacity of his personal adviser (Kelly 89). Meaning, he provides a rational explanation to situations encountered allowing Ralph to make reasonable decisions. For example, Piggy tried to provide a scientific explanation as to why Simon came to a tragic end. Golding makes him out to be the only character keen on ensuring civilization prevails during the tumultuous stay on the island. Social convention is a matter Piggy holds dear because it ensures rationality prevails over irrational, barbaric acts. Piggy is also innovative in nature (Kelly 91). This manifested itself clearly when he used his spectacles as lenses to concentrate the sun’s rays in order to start a fire. Piggy remains calm when confronted with fearful situations. It could be argued that his exposure to constant mockery by the other boys because of his physical stature helped him develop tolerance towards intimidating situations (Kelly 93). As a result, he attempts to reason with the other boys in order to reach a middle ground. For example, he tried to reason with Jack’s camp after they stole his spectacles. Piggy holds his ground; retains all his convictions to the end of his life (Reiff 50). Simon differs from all the characters because his demeanor remains consistent and inherently good despite the rise in savagery and violence amongst his peers (Shmoop 68). He remains kind to the younger boys and becomes protective over them. Simon possesses an innate sense of morality; therefore, he does not abandon his morals at the onset of the disintegration of their social order (Shmoop 70). His peers’ sense of morality is socially conditioned by the different agents of socialization. Meaning, the absence of the socializing agents responsible for instilling a sense of morality results in the disregard for laws or rules put in place to maintain order in the group (Shmoop 72). Simon remains one with nature; as a result, he connects with it and revelations occur through him. For example, Simon discovered that the alleged monstrous beast was not real but an extension of the moral deprivation of his peers. He remains at ease even with the inherent danger posed by the fearful beast lurks around them (Shmoop 75). Golding’s ascribed these attributes to Simon as a way of showing that people possess an innate sense of goodness. However, he posits that the innate savagery found in people prevails over their innate sense of goodness. Simon’s tragic death also symbolizes the rarity of individuals who possess an innate sense of goodness and morality (Shmoop 77). On the other hand, Roger differs from Simon in all his attributes. He is ruthless in his actions (Kelly 19). Moral constraints bear no restrictions on his sense of morality. However, at the beginning he felt a sense of obligation towards aspects of civilizations. This soon faded during his stay in the island. In addition, he remained close to Jack and shared in his thirst for violence and the disintegration of society (Kelly 23). This explains why he purposefully let go of the boulder that went on to kill Piggy. Roger did not fear the beast; instead, he remained keen on offering sacrifices to the beast. Roger’s actions imply that he is sadistic in nature, deriving pleasure from the pain of his peers. He served in the capacity of the Executioner, torturer in Jack’s camp. Absence of rules to restrain him bring out the worst of his traits, as a result, he instills fear among his peers forming imbalance relationships with them. The younger boys appear impressionable in the novel (Reiff 15). Therefore, they find themselves drawn to the leader with a larger following. As a result, they end up modeling the behaviors of the person they perceive as an influential figure in their lives. This explains why the engaged in savagery, violent acts, which emulated Jack’s behaviors. The older boys, for example, Sam and Eric, had a mind of their own. This explains why they remained in Ralph's camp before Roger tortured them to join Jack’s camp (Kelly 96). In conclusion, Golding’s allegorical text is a portrayal of people living within any society (Golding 113). The themes addressed in his novel put emphasis on the need to preserve social order within any given society as a way of keeping people’s innate inclination towards evil, barbaric acts at bay. He also makes it clear that moral restraint is integral in preserving a civilized society. In addition, moral restraint allows rationality to prevail (Golding 120). The characters of Ralph, Simon and Piggy portray what an ideal individual’s character ought to resemble; whereas, Jack’s and Roger’s character showcase the negative characters that ought to be avoided within a society (Golding 156). Works Cited Golding, W. Lord of the Flies. New York: Penguin, 1954. Print. Kelly, Maureen. CliffsNotes on Golding's Lord of the Flies. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 2011. Print. Olsen, Kirstin. Understanding Lord of the Flies. New York: ABC-CLIO, 2000. Print. Reiff, Raychel Haugrud. William Golding: Lord of the Flies. Los Angeles: Marshall Cavendish, 2009. Print. Shmoop, Shmoop Staff. Lord of the Flies: Shmoop Literature Guide. Carlifonia: Shmoop University Inc, 2010. Print. Read More