Commentary on Lord Of The Flies Essay

Lord of the Flies

The main conflict in the Lord of the Flies is the struggle between two different behaviors of human nature: ethical and corrupt. When the stranded boys came together on the island, they needed to develop a type of organization and orderliness. They elected a leader, Ralph, but a different boy, Jack, continued to strongly desire that position. Ralph was a responsible, efficient leader whose main goal was to establish civilization and get the boys rescued from the island. He assigned different jobs to the boys, such as hunting for food, building huts for shelter, and making sure the signal fire was lit at all times. He used a conch shell to gather everyone and lead in a form of Democracy when in discussion. However, the younger boys, known as the littluns started to become afraid and sensed a beast wandering on the island. Jack, a selfish and manipulative boy, used this sense of fear to take advantage of them. Being the leader of the hunters, he also used the lure of pig meat to attract supporters. In his struggle for power, he then formed his own tribe, convincing the others to join with food and the manipulation of emotions. He used dictatorship to control his people and violence to maintain and protect his power. In the novel, Ralph represents morality and civilization, and Jack represents chaos and savagery. The struggle between the two boys to be in control symbolizes the struggle between the good and evil. Those who remain on Ralphs side, such as Simon and Piggy, represent the good conscious, while those who join Jacks side, such as Roger and nearly every other boy, represent the evil conscious. There were not any laws or punishments so the boys could really do whatever they felt like doing. For this reason, many of the boys reacted irrationally. The conflict could have been reduced if the truth behind the beast was exposed, or if the boys simply just thought about the way they were acting and the type of people they were becoming.

This conflict relates to many of the issues people face today. Everyone has a good and bad conscious. For example, students can either try hard in school and make their parents proud, or they can just not care about education and just party everyday. The type of people shown in the novel and the type of people in society today are very similar. Many people nowadays are doing things they should not be doing. There is a lot of crime and sin in society happening. People turn to immediate and temporary pleasure like shown by the people who joined Jack. However there are still many that want to do what is right and have their morals and ethics in check, like Ralph and his few followers. This story also shows how the government acts in our society and how and why the people respond the way they do. Some people follow the laws and regulations because they are plainly because they are good people. However, others do so because they are supposed to, and to prevent consequences and punishments. The boys on the island expose the true meaning and reason behind the way human beings act.