Role Of Power In "Lord Of The Flies"
Uploaded by spootyhead on Mar 06, 2007
Role Of Power In "Lord Of The Flies"
The role of power in the novel Lord of the Flies is very important to the storyline. In this tale, power takes on two different visages: good and evil. The balance of strength lies between Ralph and Jack, two elementary school-aged British children who battle for the right to rule the island on which they are marooned. They both have the potential to influence the rest of the stranded students with their seniority. Ralph is the well mannered, think-ahead type of boy who is usually right, but not always heard. Jack Merridew is the kind of child who is egotistical and short-tempered: a tyrant in the making. Both boys were born leaders, and at first, both were morally straight. In the development of this book, both children will have their chance to affect the younger children, for better or for worse.
At the beginning of the story, Ralph was the first to organize the boys and create a social order. By a democratic vote, he was nominated the island chief over Jack. His first agenda was to start a smoke signal at the highest point of the island for rescue. The irresponsible boys didn’t want to tend the fire because of fear of the beast atop the mountain. And, eventually, the boys did not want to be rescued: they had everything they wanted in this paradise. This was the first sign of mutiny towards Ralph. The symbol of authority on the island during Ralph’s political reign was the conch. If you were in possession of the shell, you could talk and all would listen attentively. The conch system broke down when Piggy began to use the conch regularly and Jack controlled the body of the island. Nobody on the island took Piggy seriously, not really even Ralph, until it was too late. Soon, what was left of order on the island collapsed when Piggy perished. Some of Piggy’s final words were: “I got the conch.” As Piggy is struck by the rock that killed him, the conch was shattered. No more conch, no more rules.
All of the children had not yet realized that no authoritative figure other than the older ones was on the island to order them around...