Essay Example on The Lord of the Flies written by William Golding is a Novel

Lord Of the Flies Essay The Lord of the Flies written by William Golding is a novel in which the theme of brutality and leadership roles are immensely explored This novel takes place with a group of British boys crash land on a stranded island On the island we see conflict between two of the main characters Jack and Ralph who represent brutality and leadership roles throughout the novel Golding addresses this theme through the elaborate symbolism of his novel The theme of leadership roles are first introduced through the symbol of the conch shell in chapter one We relate the shell to Ralph because he is the first person to use it Taking into account that Ralph is the first person who uses it he is elected leader of the boys through a vote This symbolises authority amongst the boys At the first meeting Ralph addressed I ll give the conch to the next person to speak he won't be interrupted 33 This supports Ralph taking leadership because he is allowing each boy to take part in having an equal say among the rest of the boys If they have the conch shell no matter who they are or what age they are they will be given the chance to speak Whereas Ralph is chief now hidden tensions arise between characters Jack and Ralph in a subtle dispute regarding power I ought to be chief said Jack with simple arrogance because I'm chapter chorister and head boy 22 Jack felt that he should have been the leader because he is the leader of the boy's choir This causes Jack to feel embarrassed in front of all his choir boys 

This contradicts his point of proving that he is mature enough to rule over the littluns One of the biggest conflicts shown between Jack and Ralph is when Jack goes hunting instead of keeping the fire lit There was a ship Out there You said you'd keep the fire going and you let it out He took a step toward Jack who turned and faced him They might have seen us We might have gone home 70 This causes conflict between Ralph and Jack because there was a ship along the horizon that could have potentially saw smoke from the fire and come to the rescue When Ralph finds out it was Jack's fault he gets extremely mad at Jack Considering Jack wanted to be chief or the leader of the boys Ralph is frustrated with the lack of discipline coming from Jack Ralph exclaimed I was chief and you were going to do what I said You talk But you can't even build huts then you go off hunting and let out the fire 46 Even though Jack convinced some of the boys to hunt instead of keeping the fire going it does not prove he is a good leader Jack cannot be trusted to keep the fire going let alone boss others around when he's incapable of focusing on the most important job at hand getting saved In conclusion The Lord of the Flies by William Golding is a novel in which the theme of brutality versus social leadership roles are explored Ralph represents leadership among the boys as he tries hard to establish some kind of working order Whereas Jack represents a more brutal side as he rules over the boys and slowly becomes overpowering Through Jack and Ralph's actions Golding shows us that following directions in the first place and to consciously impose them as a leader ensures a stable community When rules are not met sometimes the consequences are bigger than actually following the rules in the first place