Commentary on Lord Of The Flies Essay

Lord of the Flies

The novel Lord of the Butterflies written by William Golding is about a plane shot down over a deserted tropical island. When they landed there were two boys, Ralph and Piggy, who discover a conch on the beach, and Piggy realizes it could be used as a horn to gather the other boys. Once assembled, the boys had an idea about electing a leader and leading a way to be rescued. They choose Ralph as their leader but another boy named Jack wanted to become leader. During the time the boys were exploring the island, there was a part when the littleuns discovered that there was a beast. When Jack found out about it, he took the chance to manipulate the boys to take control of them. Ever since then, Jack was trying to persuade the boys that there was a beast. On page 126, it describes what Jack is trying to do with the beast to manipulate the boys.

Throughout the novel William Golding used different objects such as sticks and a conch to represent civilization and savages. In this case, the conch wasnt only an object, it was an object that organized and united the boys. Piggys idea to do with the conch was to use it as a microphone. Whenever someone wanted to be heard, they had to have the conch on their hand to talk. When having the conch on their hands, you were the only one that was able to talk. In the novel, there was a part where Piggy wants to be heard so he says, I have the conchIm the only one that suppose to talk, you guys!! This proves that the boys wanted to be civilized or act at least civilized. Piggy being more of the smart person with the glasses thinks there is no beast. Through most of the novel, Piggy wanted to say there wasnt a beast and that the beast was messing up our minds. This supports my opinion of Piggy.

But I tell you that smoke is more important than the pig, however often you kill one. This also proves that Jack really wants to be rescued by creating a fire on top of the mountains, as a signal that they are people in the island. They also create a system to make sure that the fire stays lid over night. The system didnt work as it was supposed to because they came to Jack and the fire turned off. For the fact that Ralph said they could be a ship out there right now passing and you let the fire burn out, Ralph was angry and started to loss control and show savagery because that was the only chance the boys had to get rescued. To create the fire, Ralph used Piggys glasses without permission, and when the boys figured out Ralph stole Piggys glasses, the boys called him names making him angry and losing his mind. He wanted to prove a point but it turns out the boys dont really care. The conch that Ralph and Piggy discovered became very important to not only be civilized but to Ralph who was one of the boys who wanted and proposed to act civilized.

As novel heads towards the end, civilization starts to fade away. Ralph and the others start getting desperate and Jack is starting to manipulate the boys. Things are breaking up. I dont understand why. We began well; we were happy. And then -- ...Then people started getting frightened, was what Ralph said. It was then when it got worse. Piggy who at that time was holding the conch die when a bolder fell on top of him because he didnt have his glasses. All hells break through. A quote that supports this is on page 181, the conch exploded into thousand white fragments and ceased to exist. This quote supports on the destruction of the conch. This made civilization among the boys extinct and Ralph left with Jacks mind to kill Ralph. Once Jack had some type of control, Jack provides attention and wants to have fun. Instead of listening to Ralph about building a shelter and being told what to do, Jack decides to tell the boys to come and hunt with him. Not only are they going to have something to eat but have fun and kill Simon. Simon in this novel was one of the boys who disappeared during the fire. He was hiding through the whole struggle and was the only person who knew for sure that they werent a beast. Not only that but during the time that he wasnt with the boys he started hallucinating and overheats. One of the reasons why they killed Simon was because he said, "What I mean is... Maybe it's only us."... Simon became inarticulate in his efforts to express mankind's essential illness. Everything is going well with Jack and he then decides to go hunting for the beast.

With Jacks plan about killing Ralph still on his mind, he goes after Ralph. At the end of the novel Lord of the Flies, Jack and the hunters/ salvagers light the forest on fire. The fire that was lid up on the forest caused the death of Ralph. While the boys were walking, they see adult (officer). They go towards him and know that was their chance to get rescued. The officer having some thoughts on his mind was confused. He found it weird that they would be kids by themselves without an adult would be in the island. He was also confused because he didnt know if one, the boys were talking the truth to him, two whether or not they were US citizens. But it all turns out that the officer lets them go in. After the entire struggle the boys had and disaster they have caused the boys from the novel Lord of the Flies gets rescued and are happy.