- Sun Sep 02, 2001 11:00 am
#106531
I can play as well!<P>Lord of the Flies is a didactic novel that, through the plight of a group of young boys on a desert island, shows the moral flaws in human nature that can lead to a group of civilised school children degenerating into a gang of mindless savages. Through the novel, Golding is portraying his views of hope and despair at human nature, and its frailty without moral guidance, as is shown by the lack of adults on the island. The novel was written just after World War 2, and many of Golding’s views in the novel were strongly influenced by observing the war. In fact, the novel actually takes place in a war, and the boys end up on the island after the plane in which they were being evacuated crashes into the jungle, presumably after having been shot down. This idea of a war going on in the outside world, the adult world, is important in the novel as it illustrates the isolation of the boys on the island, their innocence when they first arrive, and the similarities between a group of boys without moral guidance and an adult world with a dwindling faith in religion. <br>The language used by the boys in the book is very much of the time when Golding wrote it, with phrases such as “I got jolly badly hurt in rugger once” used by Ralph. This language clearly illustrates the youth of the boys, making the outcome of the story even more unbelievable and challenging to traditional beliefs. <br>There are many social and historical differences between today’s society and that during the time when Lord of the Flies was written, although the messages conveyed in the novel are still applicable to modern situations and conflicts. The use of ‘old fashioned’ language indicates the time and class differences between now and when the novel is set. For instance, Ralph is an upper class boy and Piggy is lower class. This affects their outlooks at the start of the novel - Ralph firmly believes that his father will come and rescue them “When he gets leave he’ll come and rescue us”. Piggy, on the other hand, has a much more pessimistic and consequently realistic view on the boys’ chances “this is an island. Nobody don’t know we’re here.” The members of the choir have all gone to a very exclusive choir school. However, there is a shocking contrast between this innocent language used by the boys at the start of the novel, and their mindless actions at the end - between the boyish language and the horrific deeds i.e. killing Piggy.<P>In Lord of the Flies, William Golding employs the ideas of hope and despair. Golding uses a number of symbols to represent these ideas. To represent the idea of hope on the island, Golding uses symbols of unity, organisation, survival and rescue. It is the breaking down of these symbols that come to represent despair later on in the novel. For instance, when the boys first arrive on the island, Piggy finds the conch. It becomes a symbol of organisation and unity when it is used to call the boys to an assembly, and once there, one can only speak when holding the conch. As the story progresses, the colour of the conch fades from “a deep cream” to “almost transparent” and finally it smashes “into a thousand white fragments” when Piggy is killed. This incident is typical of Golding’s use of symbolism in the book, as both Piggy and the conch are symbols of hope - then they are both destroyed.<br>At the start of the novel, Golding emphasises the idea of hope. The island is described as “a paradise” and “enchanted.” The island is seen as a refuge from the outside war, and so the boys are sheltered from all adult influence - a potentially adventurous situation, as Ralph points out “This belongs to us.” He also says “While we’re waiting we can have a good time on this island.” Golding shows the reader that there is plenty of food and clean water on the island, he shows Ralph and Piggy having fun in the lagoon as well as introducing the idea of a democratic society. When the boys all meet at the first assembly, everyone has the opportunity to speak, on the one condition that they are holding the conch. They also have the chance to vote for a chief, the leader. It is Ralph’s calm disposition and leadership skills that lead to his election as chief. <br>Golding uses Ralph as the main ambassador of hope in the novel. At the end, he is the sole survivor of the characters and symbols that represent hope. Ralph epitomises Golding’s view of hope in society - he is calm, organised, and has all the right qualities for leadership. His priority is rescue, although he also organises the building of shelters, the collection of clean water and the toilet site. Ralph is a natural leader “he found he could talk fluently and explain what he had to say” though he often relies on Piggy’s level-headed reckoning. <br>Piggy is also a main symbol of hope in Lord of the Flies. He is as important to the cause of good on the island as Ralph is, although most of the other boys cannot appreciate him for his knowledge, and do not take him seriously enough due to his physical appearance. However, it is the glasses on his face that represent his ability to see clearly and to think rationally, abilities that most of the other boys lack. Piggy has a very pessimistic view on the boys’ chances as I described at the start of this essay, however he thinks of many ideas that will contribute to the organisation and rescue of the boys “We can use this (the conch) to call the others. Have a meeting. They’ll come when they hear us.” Golding uses Piggy as a symbol of the breakdown of hope later in the novel, when his glasses are cracked then stolen. As Piggy can now not see, Golding is showing the loss of clear vision and hope. The death of Piggy near the end of the book represents the complete loss of rational thinking on the island, and the ensuing reign of despair as Ralph is left on his own. It is interesting to note that at the same time Piggy is killed, the conch is also destroyed, as Piggy is very closely connected to it. Piggy finds the conch, he knows how to use it, he thinks of the idea of using it to summon the other boys, he creates the rule that you can only talk at an assembly whilst holding it, he dies with it. Piggy and the conch represent a number of themes including democracy, order, clear vision and thinking, unity, survival and rescue. As hope fades within the boys, so does the colour of the conch and Piggy’s sight, with the cracking of the lens followed by the stealing of the glasses. The loss of both the conch and Piggy at the same time show the brutality of the boys as they degenerate into savages. This fact, the degeneration of the boys, had already been foreshadowed in the novel before Piggy’s death in similarly graphic detail with the death of Simon.<br>Simon is the third character representing hope in Lord of the flies, however Simon’s character is very different to Ralph, Piggy’s and all the other boys in the book. Simon represents the spiritual element of society, which Golding believes is necessary in a successful environment. Simon seems detached from others. He is the first to suggest, shyly, that the beast may just be an element of the boys’ fear. Simon is almost Christ-like - he cares for the others, but fails to communicate with them, which ultimately deprives them of having the benefit of his vision. “You’ll get back to where you came from” is what Simon says to the wondering Ralph looking out to sea. Ralph worries “it’s so big, I mean…” Simon, the Christ-like figure, reassures him again “All the same. You’ll get back all right. I think so, anyway.” Even Ralph and Piggy are not convinced that the beast may only be in the minds of the boys, but for Simon this is proven with his conversation with the Lord of the Flies, the pig’s head. This conversation shows Golding’s message perfectly, that evil and fear lies within everyone “Fancy thinking the beast was something you could hunt and kill!…..You knew, didn’t you? I’m part of you?” Yes, Simon did know, but he was laughed at when he tried to tell the others. He then runs back to the others to tell them all he had seen and heard, and he is killed brutally, like a pig, just as Christ was killed like a criminal. Simon appears while the boys are in a frenzy, even Ralph and Piggy are involved. They are chanting, after having been spurred on by the fear of the beast. They have gone wild.<br>“The Beast” is first introduced by a ‘littlun’ with a distinctive birthmark on his face. The idea is received with ridicule at first but quickly catches on within the group. The ‘littluns’ are scared at night, and very soon all talk involves the beast. Ralph, Piggy and Simon reject the idea, however Jack and his hunters encourage it, and talk of killing the beast. Ralph, Jack and Roger finally search for the beast and come into contact with the rotting parachutist on top of the mountain. This is enough for them, and they return back with the information that the beast is alive. Simon is not convinced “Simon felt a flicker of incredulity - a beast with claws that scratched, that sat on a mountain top, that left no tracks and yet was not fast enough to catch Samneric.” The boy with the birthmark who suggested the idea of the beast has been killed by it, then Simon is killed when the others believe he is the real beast. As Simon had realised, the beast is the tangible product of the boys’ fear, and he is killed by this very fear.<P>Golding’s views of hope in society involves uniting in order to survive, spirituality and faith, and discipline with moral guidance. In Lord of the Flies, these themes are reflected in cleanliness, clean water, survival and rescue. The breakdown of this leads to ill discipline, dirtiness (boys’ faeces in the jungle) and hunting. This is Golding’s view of despair in society, and in Lord of the Flies he shows it in great detail, using the degeneration of the boys into savages to represent moral and spiritual breakdown in society. There is one person who brings this about in Lord of the Flies, just as there might be in society, where there are many examples of one new, different train of thought influencing millions of people, for instance Hitler and the Nazis.<br>If Jack and Ralph could work together, then everything on the island would be perfect. However this is impossible, due to the totally different nature of the two boys - this is one of Golding’s main views in Lord of the Flies, how people with different natures clash. It is Jack who brings hunting into the novel, and who ultimately brings about the downfall of society on the island.<br>There are two sides to the island, one of paradise and fun, the other a hostile dark side. Jack believes the harsh ‘Castle Rock’ would be ideal as a base, whereas Ralph knows it is totally impractical. Ralph sees fire as a symbol of hope, using it for rescue purposes. Jack uses fire as a symbol of despair, using it for cooking meat and for flushing out Ralph in the final search. Jack is an aggressive and dictatorial leader, unlike the calm and quiet Ralph. Jack makes up for not being made Chief by asserting himself through hunting, for which he develops a talent. This hunting becomes a lust for killing, and Jack’s character degenerates into savagery - he brings the other hunters into savagery with him. Ralph does not believe hunting is necessary. Jack shows his attitude towards rescue when he is responsible for the fire going out as a ship passes by. He challenges then finally breaks the conch rule at assemblies, then he and his hunters kill a sow, the mother pig. This is significant, as it represents the killing of fertility and motherhood, and demonstrates another theme running throughout the story, one of nature being attacked. The killing of the mother pig shows the thoughtlessness of the hunters, as this is eliminating the supply of pigs on the island. Also the fire is a symbol of nature being attacked. It starts as a symbol of hope and rescue, but it destroys the forest firstly when the ‘littlun’ with the birthmark is killed, then when the hunters burn down the whole island in order to find and kill Ralph.<br>The descent into savagery of the boys is carefully planned by Golding. There are three deaths in the novel, the first is an accident when the littlun with a birthmark is killed, the second occurs when the boys are in a superstitious frenzy and kill Simon, finally the death of Piggy is the result of cruel and savage murder. Each time Jack and the hunters kill a pig, their confidence and experience in murder grows. They descend from civilised schoolchildren to a completely primitive level, and they are able to forget about their past lives by painting their faces and not wearing any clothes. At the end, Jack shows how he now regards Ralph by sharpening a stick at both ends - as a pig, and he plans to sever Ralph’s head and place it on the stick, just as he did to the pig’s.<br>Finally, the chasing of Ralph ends in his rescue by a sea captain. The fire that the hunters lit to flush Ralph out has attracted a ship out at sea. It is the fact that Ralph, one of the main symbols of hope in the novel, survives that shows Golding’s small yet significant amount of hope in society, that good may just survive despite the power of evil.<br>In Lord of the Flies William Golding demonstrates his incredible knowledge on the actions and thoughts of boys, and applies their adventures on a desert island to situations common in the modern world. He demonstrates that without moral guidance, society can degenerate into a primitive one, and he shows how closely connected good and evil are in the world. He shows that it takes just one person to affect society, as he no doubt experienced himself when viewing Hitler and the Nazis during World War 2. In my opinion, Lord of the Flies is a classic novel because of its immortal message of hope and despair, and the fact that it engrosses a reader by employing a horrific twist to the actions of a group of small boys. I believe Golding is displaying his view of despair in society, and yet he also believes that hope and goodness can prevail.<P><p>[This message has been edited by Tom Murphy (edited 02 September 2001).]
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