Graham

Lord Of The Flies – William Golding

“Lord of the Flies” by William Golding centers around a conflict between two of the main characters, Jack and Ralph. This essay will look at how the conflict eventually ends in tragedy for most of the people on the island, using the writer’s use of symbolism and the characterisation of the two characters.


The novel tells the story of a group of English schoolboys whose plane crashes on an uninhabited island whilst being evacuated from England. The boys elect Ralph as their leader, and Jack and his choir as hunters. Some of the younger boys worry about a beast which they claim to have seen in the trees. The group start a fire to attract attention from passing ships, however, it burns out of control, killing one of the younger boys. Ralph sees a ship on the horizon one day and runs up to the top of the mountain to find that the fire has gone out. He is angry at the hunters because they were supposed to keep the fire burning, but they were too busy hunting pigs.


One night, Sam and Eric are keeping the fire burning, when they hear a noise in the trees. It is a dead parachutist that has landed on the island, but because it is dark, they do not know this and think it is the beast. They go back to the camp to tell the group and Ralph, Jack and Roger go off to find it.


The group eventually splits in two. Jack and his hunters, along with a few other boys, set up camp on the rocks, whilst the rest of the group stay at the beach. The hunters attack Piggy and steal his glasses. In an attempt to get them back, Piggy is killed by a rock which Roger pushes off the cliff above him. Ralph runs back to the beach to find a naval officer who has come to rescue them.


Golding uses lots of symbolism in the novel, and many of these symbolic objects are related to the conflict. Firstly, the conch is the shell that Ralph uses to call meetings. At these meetings, only the person holding the conch can speak, so it symbolises order, democracy and leadership. “I’ll give the conch to the next person to speak. He can hold it when he’s speaking.” Jack and Ralph are fighting for leadership in the novel, fighting for control of the conch. This conflict is the starting point for the chaos which leads to the tragedies.


Piggy’s glasses are used to start the fire. “His specs – use them as burning glasses!” Without these, there would be no fire, meaning no food and no rescue, therefore meaning survival. The fire is what cause the first death on the island; the death of the boy with the birthmark. After the boys split in two, Piggy’s glasses are stolen by Jack’s group so they can use them to light fires. This leads to Piggy’s death when he tries to retrieve them. His glasses therefore symbolise life and death.


The “beast” and the pigs head – or Lord of the Flies – both symbolise power and the veil that is present in all of us. Simon talks with the Pig’s head as if it understands him and talks back to him, and realises that the boys are scared of the beast because it exists in all of them. “There isn’t anyone to help you. Only me. And I’m the beast. Fancy thinking the beast was something you could hunt down and kill! You knew didn’t you? I’m part of you?” It’s this evil in the boys which leads to the chaos that results in the deaths.


As the story unfolds, the conflict between the two main characters intensifies, eventually ending in them leading their own separate tribes.
Ralph is a kind, fair-minded character, who immediately takes the role of leader. “We’re having a meeting. Come and join in.” This is not because he wants to boss people around, but because he knows that if they are going to be stuck on the island for a long time, there will need to be some order and authority. “We ought to have more rules.” This shows he is doing all he can to retain peace and keep everything running smoothly.


Jack is quite the opposite of Ralph. He is arrogant and violent and it would seem that Golding has created Jack with the intention of making the reader dislike the character. He is the leader of anarchy on the island, and the leader of the savage tribe which hunts the pigs. “He swung back his right arm and hurled it with all his strength.” This shows he is really determined to make his first kill. At the first meeting, he wants to be leader, but when Ralph is elected, “the freckles on Jack’s face disappeared under a blush of mortification.” This suggest he is probably used to being a leader, as he is head boy at his school, and does not like it when someone has more power than him. The fact the he feels power when he has a weapon in his hand shows that he a violent character. “Slammed his knife into the trunk and looked around him challengingly.”


At the start of the novel, Jack and Ralph seem to get along quite well, and work as a team. “Jack and Ralph smiled at each other with shy liking.” However, as the story goes on, the difference in personality becomes apparent. The first sign of conflict between the two comes when Ralph and Simon are building shelters at the beach, and Jack is out hunting pigs. Ralph is annoyed that nobody is helping them with the huts and confronts Jack in a very civilised manner. “You wouldn’t mind helping with the shelters, I suppose?” Jack however, replies in a very violent aggressive manner. “Suddenly Jack shouted in rage “Are you accusing me-?”


This clash in personality between Jack and Ralph is the main cause of the conflicts and Golding has used symbolism and characterisation very well to convey this idea.