Lord of the Flies: Theme

The theme of Lord of the Flies was to reveal the evil nature of human being in a disrupted society. Jack and his group were well described as a symbol of wickedness. Even for young boys, human beings were born with evil and if there was no social structure to fit them, they follow the same ways as adult. There weren't any governmental structure that kept the boys in peace but only murder and blood remained. Human being followed the way of evil, no matter how they put effort to become good people; they were overcame by the root of evil. In the outside, people pretend to show only the good appearance. However, inside their mind is were full of trash and filthy thinking. Also, the author described the adults as useless people. Even if the officer saved the boys, did the boys solved their conflict? NO! Who could actually guarantee that there wouldn't be any massacre in the ship, too?

Piggy and Jack were the extremes of good and bad and Ralph was in between them. When Jack went wild, Ralph did his best to make the society stable. However, he didn't realized the importance of leadership to control the rest of the boys. No such government could control people perfectly. No matter how great and powerful the government was, the people would always criticize it. There was and will be no perfect society that pleased or pleases everyone in the world.

The reason why the theme of Lord of the Flies is important for teenagers living in 2008 because we all live in the society that hide their evilness in their mind but trying hard to show only their good parts. If there is no school or government, who knows if we are going to be part of Jack's group? I bet you who is reading my post have evil mind inside that didn't come out yet because of well-organized social structure and that counts for me, too. If I am thrown to the jungle, I have to hunt to survive and the hidden mind inside of me will eventually come out to fit in the situation. Remember, root of evil is a curse for human nature that drives everyone into the way of insanity in harsh situation. Don't think that you won't turn like Jack. There is always a possibility.

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Lord of the Flies: Setting

Somewhere over the darkened curved of the world the sun and moon were pulling, and the film of water on the earth planet was held, bulging slightly on one side while the sold core turned. The great wave of the tide moved farther along the island and the water lifted. Softly, surrounded by a fringe of inquisitive bright creatures, itself a silver shape beneath the steadfast constellations, Simon's dead body moved out toward the open sea.

The setting of the passage above was certainly memorable. Even though it sounded very beautiful, I could image the dead body of Simon floating slowly, but peacefully. Imagine, the son and moon moved along the world when we don't even notice it. Tides, surely, part of the ocean were also part of the world who in charge of moving the earth, too. Then, Simon's shiny body, the victim of evil floated toward the open sea. I read this passage more than ten times, to feel how the nature interacted with human being. I could realize that William Golding had distinguished ability to describe the connection and the harmony between nature and human.

Lord of the Flies: The Main Characters

The Main Characters

Ralph: He is calm, thinks deeply, and smart. However, even thought he treated the boys fairly, he didn't have charisma to lead the boys.

Jack: He is very good in speaking or speech and rival of Ralph. He doesn't think deeply but the acts right away. He has no fear but full of daring and very adventurous. When he made his own group, he killed a pig and made a sacrifice to the devil with the pig' head.

Piggy: He has asthma and wears glasses. He is very smart but he can't stand in front of people and weak.

Sam and Eric: They are twins and because of their weak mind, they betrays Ralph when Jack created his own group. But after Simon's death, they feel guilty very much.

Roger: He is quiet and kind at the first time but later when he gets use to the wild, the cruelty inside his mind comes out and becomes a sadist. He rolls a rock to kill Piggy and tortures the twin, Sam and Eric, when Jack's group tries to kill Ralph.

Simon: 'Martyr' of the Lord of the Flies; He is most nice and kind and loves everyone. He gets kill by the boys who thinks he was the monster. Amont all the boys he is the one with most merciful heart and the most innocent.

I couldn't really decide whether I liked the characters or not because I liked the character such as Simon and Piggy. They were the victim of cruelty and madness of human beings. Even if they tried convince other boys that the boys were going in the wrong way. No matter they put their effort in it, the evil overcame their virtue and goodness.

Roger and Jack were the representatives of evil, showing how brutal and heartless could young boys can turn into. They adjusted into wild society easily, showing bloody hunting and manly ruthlessness. Especially Jack, who tasted the power of authority, began to change as a barbarian, showing cruel leadership.

Ralph, who tried to help the boys, failed what he planned to escape from the island because he didn't have strong or powerful leadership as Jack. He wanted to lead the way of peace as a tender leader but responsible.

Sam and Eric represented most of the human beings, the weakness of people and being puny. They always obeyed to the most powerful person and did what the leader told them to do. These two's personalities were what most of the common people in the world have in common, obeying to the despot.

All the characters had unique characteristics, good verses evil. Each of them represents either good side or evil side. Jack and Roger were the examples of turning from good to evil. Ralph, Piggy, and Simon stayed the same all the time. Eric and Sam changed a lot, depending on their weak mind. The characters were all had the examples of universal human experience, they evil mind hidden inside and good appearance in the outside. However, there are still people in the world like Ralph and Simon who were always stay the same as good examples and more than half of the people in the world were Eric and Sam as the weak human beings.

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Lord of the Flies: The Climax

The climax in The Lord of the Flies was when Simon got killed. When Jack with his own, wild group, thought Simon was the beast (Actually, Simon said that he wasn't the beast. However, Jack and his group, with evil eyes, tore him into pieces.) . Jack was no longer a strong and charismatic boy but became a barbarian that wanted to kill everything he wanted get rid of. This was when the evil mind inside of his heart came out and

But I got confused when there was a death of Piggy. I thought this also might be the climax but later I realized that it was interesting rising action. When Piggy got killed and Jack took in charge of the group, revolting against Ralph's group. Jack's group ignored the rule of conch (A person who grabs a conch could speak among the group.) and Jack formed his own group and became barbarians, having bloody hunt on animals.

I was frightened when I read the death of two innocent boys. How these young boys could kill the boys so easily who used to be in their sides? The description of the two deaths gave me willies, and I imagined myself killed by my friends. What a tragic will that be! The evil mind inside of human beings victimized Piggy and Simon. The unsolved conflict between the two groups was the result of the ingenuous death of two boys. The climax revealed the hidden nature of human being, the buried mind of evil. Starting from Simon's death, Jack turned as wild animal, who tasted the blood and couldn't stop thirsting for blood. Without a grave, I could feel that Simon and Piggy were buried in the island, symbolizing the victim of evilness of human being.

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Lord of the Flies: Significant Passage

The significant passage to me from the novel was the last part of the novel.

When it said, Ralph looked at him dumbly. For a moment he had a fleeting picture of the strange glamour that had once invested the beaches. But the island was scorched up like dead wood-Simon was dead-and Jack had... The tears began to flow and sobs shook him. He gave himself up to them now for the first on the island; great, shuddering spasms of grief that seemed to wrench his whole body. His voice rose under the black smoke before the burning wreckage of the island; and infected by that emotion, the other little boys began to shake and sob too. And the middle of them, with filthy body, matted hair, and unwiped nose, Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man's heart, and the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called Piggy.

This passage was one of the greatest ending I've ever read. The true regret and repentant of the boys were well expressed. When Ralph thought about Simon and Piggy's death and began to cry, I felt sad but beautiful. Why crying sounded beautiful? It's because the emotion of rependance and penitence of his mind was very beautiful and touching. The cleanse of his mind would repay the deaths of two victims. With all the adventurous and cruel events he had faced, he finally thought of the true and innocent friends he had. Before he realized that, he probably didn't notice the importance of those too. But after loosing both of them, the value of his friends, which was included in his tears, was Ralph's grief and sorrow. Finally, Ralph became a beautiful boy not only in outside but inside, through the lesson of loosing two friend. The beauty of Ralph will shine more than ever, learning from the sacrifice of Simon and Ralph.

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