Lord of the flies by William Golding Themes Essay

Ralph says, â€Å"Why do things break up as they do?†. Explain why things went wrong on the island, and say what this tells us about human nature in general. Aspects of media throughout the world contain true meanings, in some cases general but in others unambiguous and very strong. These meanings are often shown clearly through books, sculpture, music and other consumable media. It is important for these meanings in connection with human nature to be shown through these means to represent the ‘real’ and ‘true’ things that relate to us as humans, also these meanings offer strong links between things showing that happenings in a microcosm relate to humans and show some similarities. The artists who create the media are often well known and respected for there clever but unadorned creations the public domain look for these links and usually publicise successful ones. The question posed gives students an opportunity to reflect there opinions and thoughts regarding the novel Lord of the flies. The question is open and allows for a range of answers, there is no specific model answer, however the response to the question should be focused directly on why things break up, showing links from the island to the rest of the happenings in the world, the response to the question needs time, as the answer could become too long and most importantly missing the point of the essay, there is a need for a balanced view and this should reflect in several points being raised within the answer. Golding is renowned for his imaginative and meaningful novels, all created to show strong links with Human nature in a specific scenario in comparison to Human nature in general, from this there is usually a message which is true and probably undertakes in an every day situation. From the beginning of Lord of the Flies there are signs of misjudgement and disrespect, as the novel continues these implications become much stronger consequently leading to an up rise in rivalry and jealousy, the first meaningful misjudgement in my opinion begins with the fact of the beast, jack says, â€Å"A snake-thing. Ever so big. He saw it.†, this shows exaggeration and misjudgement, in comparison to Ralph who says, â€Å"There isn’t a beast†, showing consideration for the little uns’ and offering reassurance. From the early encounters and ideas of the beast up to the very latter stages of life on the Island fear and horror loomed with uncertainty being the main feeling, this feeling of fear is one of the first signs of a break up, the little uns separate and change into scared and unsettled beings, the respect from the big uns was required and from the outset simply wasn’t. Ralph however along with a minority offered reassurance, this shows respect throughout the novel and this reflects his personality and character, this difference also adds to the reasons for the break up of Ralph’s society. The fire appears the next apparent reason, Ralph as chief says, â€Å"A fire, make a fire!†, from the outset this appears a good idea with the main purpose of signal being for rescue, a clever but original method of attraction used first by the Indians, this shows that Ralph can produce ideas which could have excellent purposeful results, however the fire is also a signal of misjudgement, with no true thought and planning going into the idea leaving devastating outcomes, the alleged opposition saw this as a weakness although they weren’t respectful themselves offering comments in the nature of, â€Å"he was only a little un anyway†, this whole compilation of disrespect and misjudgement all cluster together and yet again provide a reason for break up. Things could of been different if more rules and regulations were introduced from Ralph’s hierarchy, if rules and punishments were enforced more order probably would have been present within life in general, the behaviour represented from the big uns isn’t uncommon, there is a certain expectancy for some controversy and child play, in relation to the whole world boys on a daily basis will issue a sense of stubbornness. The absence of adults has led to a break up in communications and rather than everybody pulling together trying to formulate an escape plan a majority instead enjoy the whole experience and use the time to absorb freedom, this has been a disadvantage of the island scenario and again builds up to create another reason for the break up, piggy says, â€Å"no adults†, this shows that there is a realisation of absence, however in comparison to the current happenings in the world (within book) the adults suppress themselves just as bad, rather than been guiders they are destroyers after all they are fighting a war wiping out generations of people, so as the ‘war’ unfolds within the island environment as a mini scenario the adults who were respected as supreme change into beings ten times as worse fighting a large scale war, in context the adults or just as worse as the island inhabitants if not worse. Golding has created a perfect world within the island scenario, almost in comparison to Eden, with perfect tranquil surroundings and from the outset a smooth collection of objects to make life on the island so perfect, with provisions for eating and accommodation, consisting of different panoramic areas to suit the needs of different characters. Although life on the island was set up to be perfect, the attitudes exposed from the humans were in absolute differential comparison to the island, with obscene behaviour changing the surrounding area worsening as life carried by. The thought that the island inhabitants could have such an impact; showing total disrespect and selfishness for human nature, just as Golding had planned when he wrote the novel. When the humans arrived they participated in an act which is specific to human nature in general, at first things were fine just as in Eden, however as time advanced the destruction and disrespect followed, with an up rise in jealousy and rivalry, this being the result of freedom and sense of boredom. From this there is a strong link to the real world which proves against the actions from humans. As with the other strong meanings throughout the novel this joins to form a worrying concept, it shows that humans have no respect for nature and the surrounding environment, taking actions irrespective of the long term effects, the main theme therefore relates to selfishness and disregard. The three deaths on the island were drastic and devastating, with outcomes which were preventable. They were the result of rivalry jealousy and domination, all sharing the causes. The most significant death was that of Simon, his death was the result of carelessness and the obsession to kill. Ralph says, â€Å"that was murder†, piggy replies â€Å"what good are you doing talking like that?†, there is a mixture of emotions within the characters, some showing anger and retaliation with the others showing remorse and giving forgiveness for the opposition, from this a link between a happening and human nature can be established, showing that no matter how bad an action there will always be a sense of exoneration and mercy. The death of Simon was the most significant because of his characteristics, different, sensitive, wise and also introverted, this reflected through his personality consequently making him an outcast and excluding him from the others. His death was preventable, although blame cannot solely be burdened to jack as this shows selfishness and a sense of an easy route out of the scenario. The death of piggy was again preventable with the happenings being extreme and malicious. There was an urgency for jack to withhold power and authority, to the extent where protection and barricades had to be enforced. If power is so valuable and meaningful, why are outcomes of its effects so devastating? The death of piggy was the result of two people, jack and Roger, with jack indirectly offering his alternative to Ralph’s society, and roger directly carrying out the death, this shows in comparison to human nature that an event is not just the sole responsibility of a single human, instead there are indirect effects which link the action with other people. Power and authority made up to be a significant part of the break up, from the beginning of the novel there were early signs of conflict and rivalry, showing also jealousy and an urgency to withhold it. Ralph says, I’m chief!†, in comparison to jack who says, â€Å"Follow me, not him!†, this shows that there are leadership issues with jealousy being the main feeling from the oppositions point of view. Authority and power means respect and influence, allowing for somebody to rise above the rest and be noticed, in comparison to human nature some beings live from power and would be out of control without its presence. There are certain turning points within the novel and the necessity for power became much clearer, showing through characters actions and emotions. There were a number of beings throughout the novel who showed emotive actions seeking power, these included Jack, roger and piggy, all from the outset different in character although in some instances harsh and exploiting. From this there led to be a clear split between the group leaving the democratically elected chief with just a handful and the opposition with the majority. Power and authority can have devastating outcomes and results when used within the wrong context, consequently within the novel ending the life of an innocent opposition member, there are certain limits and extremes in which power should be used, this shows in comparison to human nature that power and authority should be respected and not misused as in some scenarios. The main and most revealing cause appeared to be that of the long and uprising rivalry between the two main characters Jack and Ralph, from the early encounters of island life an apparent clash of personalities was shown between the two members, starting from the initial meeting of the characters, up to the very latter stages of island life. There was a range of activities which uprooted a long and uprising feud, which was consequently going to lead to an all over split of the whole group. Ralph says, â€Å"I’ve been thinking†, in comparison to jack who says, â€Å"three blind mice†, this from the outset shows that Ralph from the beginning shows thought and respect for his fellow inhabitants, in contrast to jack who is more interested in criticising and himself, the two characters are of very different natures and consist of different mannerisms, in comparison to human nature this shows that every one is different and should be respected for their individually an d also for their own characteristics. Also in context the rivalry between two humans in a small scenario relates to rivalry within a big scale scenario for example jack Vs Ralph in comparison to contention between world leaders. Leadership was an important aspect of life for Jack and Ralph, this became clear when things started to go wrong and eventually leading to Jack taking over as the chief, the rivalry could be classed as a cause for the deaths with indirect effects. Golding used this idea of indirect killing and outcomes to create a suppressed atmosphere and to give the reader a much more enjoyable read. The differences between the wide range of characters personalities proved to be another cause, each individual offers different opinions and participates in different activities to each other, however there are some similarities amongst humans and this was shown through a simple means of mutual bonding, some characters naturally bond forming a strong relationship on the other hand some people do not bond and instead hold grudges and other similar feelings against each other. Jack says, â€Å"piggy!†, in context the comment seems harmless, just a remark expressing his surprise at the unusual name, however from between the lines there is more depth to the comment showing that he is horrified at his outset appearance, attitude and emotions, this simple comment led to hatred been displayed from a stronger character towards a much weaker one. A clash of personalities can consequently erupt to a much bigger scale, with more harmful and demoralizing effects. This shows that in relation to human nature, everybody is an individual with their own personal morals and emotions. In comparison to the world it shows that there will always be a group of people who’s personalities clash consequently leading to a much bigger dispute. The simple fact of boredom and isolation from the real world led to an up rise in misjudgement and unforeseen consequences which arose from actions which were that of an unformed decision. Within the island scenario there were a collection of beings that were under the influence of boredom and isolation, piggy says, â€Å"when are we going home?†, this question shows clear thought making it a valuable contribution, however there is another meaning to the statement, it shows boredom and also reflects that he and other island inhabitants are worrying about the return to normal civilisation, the separation from the real world allowed for signs of misjudgement and actions were taken from outside the beings conscious, this meant that emotions took control of their actions allowing for unusual activity, the worst outset scenario was the killing of Simon, in relation to human nature this shows that humans cannot always control their actions and instead undergo actions which are that of an unusual outcome. The title ‘lord of the flies’ suggests a leader of a small group, this shows that the title is meaningful and contains a link to the bigger world. Golding in comparison to other superior writers made his novel title significant, with a true meaning, Golding constantly throughout the novel tried to offer this image of a happening within a small environment links in context to a large scale meaning. The idea of a fly leader appears preposterous, but in relation to the real world the idea appears more explanatory, with clear motives and reasons, Golding was trying to portray an idea of a microcosm within the title also stating that all things must have a leader. The novel in general consists of many true and meaningful links between happenings within a small scale happening, in comparison to happenings within a large scale. Golding successfully transferred a wide range of human nature into a novel. The links within the island represent a small earth, technically called a microcosm, generally this shows that small things relate to big. The main reasons for the break up fall into certain themed categories; good Vs evil, authority Vs weakness, law Vs order and mentality Vs immaturity. Golding’s main strength shown in the novel is the use of irony showing how seemingly good events often lead to bad. There were a variety of reasons for the break up of Ralph’s society and they all have some meaning, Golding was a successful writer and his writing displays true significance with all of his wishes displayed clearly and thoughtfully.