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  • Essay / Flaws within Society in The Lord of the Files

    Flaws in humanity's general psychological characteristics, behavioral traits, and emotions all impact a society. In William Golding's allegory "Lord of the Flies," a group of schoolchildren stranded on an empty Pacific island descend into savagery because of humanity's failings. Golding states that his novel is "an attempt to trace the faults of society to the faults of human nature." Through the boys' behavior, Golding reveals that because of fear, power, and loss of morality, a stable society is doomed to failure. Say no to plagiarism. Get a custom essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essay Fear drives humans to behave irrationally. The main source of fear on the island is the Beast, an invisible but incredibly feared creature. The only character who is not afraid of the Beast is Piggy, who represents reasoning, logic and intellect. This shows that fear is illogical and is not affected by the sense of the human mind. Once “people began to be afraid” (102), “the understandable, law-filled world of boys [began] to recede” (113). It begins with Simon's death when the other children mistake him for the Beast and beat him to death purely out of fear and imagination. The boys also demonstrate irrational behavior caused by fear when they abandon Ralph (a fair, rules-based leader) for Jack (a savage, violent dictator) just to feel more protected from an imaginary beast. Since the boys in Jack's tribe were unable to express themselves out of fear, this truly proves that fear is "the essential disease of humanity" (111); not only does this create problems, it prevents them from being resolved. From the weakness of fear, the strength of power becomes a constant complication on the island. The two ideal references of power are the democratic power of Ralph and the autocratic power of Jack. At the beginning, Ralph is in charge and the life of the company goes relatively well, even if Jack constantly tries to weaken Ralph's authority. Jack displays his desire for control when he proclaims at an assembly that "it's time for some people to know that they must shut up and leave the decisions to the rest of us" (126), thus showing his aspiration to control all colonies. on the island. Ultimately, Jack's wild strength overrides Ralph's stability, as the other boys join his tribe and chase Ralph away. The truth that Jack's "hunt and kill" mentality (222) subverted Ralph's impartiality shows how power makes humans flawed; human beings need power and a leader to have rules to follow and have a stable moral life; However, power and control often harm those who hold it, and cruel efforts usually triumph over democracy. As with the corruption that comes with power, the loss of morality can allow human beings to commit terrible and undisciplined acts. When we don't have to face ourselves, and therefore take responsibility for our actions, committing abominable acts is horrible. As the boys lose their morality, they also lose their humanity. An example of this loss can be demonstrated in Roger. When he arrives on the island, he is quite mischievous, throwing stones at Henry, but “throwing to miss” (78). However, at the end of the allegory, well hidden behind the makeup of the savages, he is much more malevolent. Roger advises pushing a rock “with a delirious feeling of abandonment” (222) at Piggy, causing him to fall towards.