Lord of the Flies by William Golding - Literature review Example

 William Golding’s Lord of the Files is a wonderful attempt in novel writing, as the novelist represents the human community in a miniature model, which means that he has made use of children as his characters instead of adults. He tries to represent the themes such as need for a social order and the fear for the unknown etc., behind the life of children who have been left in a lonely island due to a air mishap. Golding’s observation on the society is revealed through the life style the children follow inside the island. It has to be understood from this novel that Golding emphasises the presence of a beast in every human being, which will come out during a circumstance that disturbs the social order. Though he might have introduced only adolescent characters, Golding has concerned a wide analysis of the human behaviour controlled by the surrounding and finally the outcome of human behaviour determines either a positive or a negative aspect according to the bounds that hold the society. According to Burris [1999] Golding “describes the breakdown as resulting from nothing more complex than the inherent evil of man” Golding’s purpose is hinted in the beginning chapter. It reflects Golding’s introduction of the atmosphere of the island as well as the theme. His characterisation should be considered as intricate meaning of the society and its structure. Golding introduces the main characters such as Ralph, Jack, Piggy, Simon, and Roger by specific characteristics features. Ralph and Jack represents the authoritative accept of a society in which power of individual dominates, Simon and Piggy represent the positive and obedient side of the society who try to participate within their limits, and however they appear to have an unapproved goodness among other boys. Simon’s death at the later stage of this novel proves this aspect. Roger on the other hand is a typical example of individuals who are merciless and evil minded and more than this, he appears to have a heartless tendency towards Piggy and enjoys troubling Piggy. As the story proceeds the leading characters appear to reflect their wish of leadership one after the other. Golding has captured in this novel the evil side of human nature. The loss of innocence in human has been reflected through the characterisation of Jack, and his followers. The reason behind the social disorder has been criticised by many critics. One of the interesting comments would be of Burris [1999] who observes, “The implicit assumption behind all of these explanations is that if the children had simply done something different, the breakdown might not have occurred; in other words, the beast within man can be contained under certain circumstances. However, Golding's explanation provides no such hope. Disaster arises "simply and solely out of the nature of the brute." In addition to this aspect, it could be analysed as Piggy representing the innocent side of human beings and Jack represents the transformed side. The society of the little boys inside the island is a reflection of the society of adult living outside. Ralph represents the aspects of Governmental role in the society. This becomes clear form his two way thinking of Piggy’s as well as Jack’s principles. Piggy is a fine incarnation of discipline, his way of orderly living struggles with that of Jack and Ralph. His suggestions and comments are a proof reflecting his nature. for example when he says “How can you expect to be rescued if you don’t put first things first and act proper?”[Chapter -2] Ralph’s rationality is exposed right from the beginning, his need for a protection from nature and the emergency tips to save all the boys from this island appears to be his particular goal, this is revealed when he says, "There’s another thing. We can help them to find us. If a ship comes near the island, they may not notice us. So we must make smoke on top of the mountain. We must make a fire." [Chapter -2] The Need for a social order is emphasised on the scene where Jack , Ralph and others are found with different decisions, for example Jack seems to stick to hunting where as Ralph and Simon were engaged in constructing huts. An important point, which has to be noted here, is that Jack and Ralph begin to exchange their different tempers from this incident onwards. When Ralph complaints on many of the other boys are not helping them, it shows the initial feeling of loss of identity in Ralph. Jack on the other hand was able to gather as many boys to follow him. However, Jack might appear with a fearless trait his idea of painting reveals a different Jack for the critiques, for example “Jack denies his own fears and humanity, hiding behind a mask of war paint. His facade is finally broken down when the naval officer arrives and imposes the order of the adult world” observes sff.net [2005] Simon remains innocent of the dominating trends of Jack and ruling trend of Ralph. Although Ralph insists on bringing a new solution to quit the Island, in terms if lighting fire etc he seems to expose a tendency of rationality mingled with authority. Where as, the other boys have been referred to as “littluns” in order to compare the tendency of mass in the society. The littluns are just gang of boys obeying the most authoritative side among them. Golding has treated the themes in equal proportion, for example, when the debate was going on regarding whether to accept hunting as important or to think of surviving, the fear of the unknown intrudes them. However, this fear comes out when the talk over the beast begins. According to small children, there exists a beast around them, but the fear reaches its height when they see the corpus of a pilot reaches the island from above through a parachute. Simon realises that there is not such thing called beast but a dead body of a pilot. Unfortunately, he was killed by the boys due to Jack’s evil intentions referred to Simon as the beast in disguise. Golding seems to have made use of each character and the important incidents in relation with these characters to represent the theme. The theme of different aspects of power, which could be identified with Jack and Roger and Ralph who represents evil and rationality respectively has been carried through out the play. In each incident, Golding carries the aspect of struggle between the powers successfully. Jack appears to be utilising his power from a wrong perspective, he prefers to implement his power from hunting point of view. Golding narrates Jack and his followers as “Eyes shining, mouths open, triumphant, they savored the right of domination.” [p-29]. Which means that Jack’s domination has began. Jack seems to expect other boys to follow him without caring for some resolution to escape from that island, where as Ralph reflects the aspect of social order. Hunting is yet another symbol reflecting the brutal side of the power. The Conch in the hands of Piggy symbolises the power from a disciplined side. The fear of the unknown enhanced by Jack reveals the power misused. The fear of the unknown is the fear of the beast. Some of the boys do not accept it but some were found to be obsessed with it. It is the fear of the unknown, which make the boys realise that the beast is not outside, but inside every one. The fear on the other hand indirectly represents the evilness found inside in some of the characters. The boys slowly loose their innocence when they act on a self-centred basis. In the sense, some of the boys decide upon things that appear favourable to them. For example, Jack’s age shows that he might be one among the innocent children but his notion to lead a group reflects his leadership ideas. Jack’s comment reveals his fear, when he says “if you’re hunting sometimes... you can feel as if you’re not hunting, but—being hunted, as if something’s behind you all the time in the jungle” [p-53]. Golding tries to emphasise on the point that savagery and uncivilised behaviour exists even in children. In actuality, children are associated with innocence, but according to Golding, brutality and evil mindedness exists inside all sorts of human beings. However, circumstances allow them either to develop or suppress that aspect of brutality. Tatjana. [2007] observes in the similar way and says that “Simon is the only one who never shows an evil side, because dark sides just don’t exist in Simon. His murder at the hand of the other boys makes us think more and more about the dark sides, which seem to exist in every human being except Simon”. The transformation of the boys from civilisation to savagery is yet another aspect, which develops along with the plot. This could be realised from the glasses of Piggy. It would be fine if we mention the “Glasses” of Piggy as being personified by Golding to reveal the transformation-taking place in the boys. In the beginning of the story, Piggy appears with the glass, which gives him a look of disciplined personality. Here it would be appropriate to add the comment given by Olsen [2000] who observes that “The remarkable thing is that, despite being very much a product of its place and time, full of dated schoolboy slang and cold war anxiety, Lord of the Flies remains an influential and powerful commentary on human evil” The glasses remain safe until the time Piggy holds that, but during the course of events such as the fight that takes place between Ralph and Jack, one side of the spectacle glass gets broken leaving a broken lens to Piggy. This is an illustration of the development of savagery. The glasses are then used to lit fire is another strong indication of the savagery growing among the boys. However, the same behaviour could also be illustrated as an instance of understanding the level of civilisation among the boys. In addition to the above-discussed themes, Golding has included yet another interesting theme that is the “Vision”, which means the different notions of the boys concerning the different situations in the island. For example, when the boys were caught in the fear of the unknown Jack makes use of this fear as an advantage. Therefore, his vision shows that he is a worst opportunist. Piggy on the other hand, appears to be blind to the neighbouring things; however, he has been portrayed in such a way that he has a deep vision to identity what kind of situation is going on in the island and what would happen. Golding seems to have purposely portrayed his appearance with a spectacle, because he would like to emphasis on the point that Piggy has a different vision and understanding for that of the other boys as he possess a clear sight, and brilliance. Through the themes, which have been treated in equal proportion, Golding is trying to emphasise on the issues related to a society of adults. His intention is to show that evil intentions are part of the human nature and it exists in all. In addition, if situation did not favour one lets out his evil side. In the final stage at the time of rescuing, all the remaining boys go back to their normal temper their savagery at this instance becomes a matter of surprise. Reference: “Book Review :Lord of the Flies”. October 27th 2005. online available from http://www.sff.net/people/lucy-snyder/brain/2005/10/book-review-lord-of-flies.html Burris Skylar, Hamilton. “What makes things break up like they do?” Alternative Explanations for the Societal Breakdown in William Golding’s Lord of the Flies. 1999. online available from http://www.literatureclassics.com/AncientPaths/lord.html Olsen, Kirstin. “Understanding Lord of the Flies: A Student Casebook to Issues, Sources, and Historical Documents”. 2000 Greenwood Press. Tatjana L. “Lord of the Flies” A Review. Online available from http://www.gymmuenchenstein.ch/stalder/happy_reading/tatjl.htm#criticism Read More