William Golding wrote “Lord of the flies” in 1954. In it, he tells a gripping story about a group of human beings who find themselves on a deserted island alone, which not every human psyche can handle. So they try to set rules and organize life independently, but without responsible adult supervision to help them do it in a civilized way. As a result, children begin to act violently. Since there is a person with innate evil, they develop many conflicts and begin to kill. Let us examine in more detail the main flies themes of “Lord of the flies”.
Major Themes in “Lord of the Flies”
One of the major themes in “Lord of the Flies” is the confrontation between human nature and wild nature. The flies themes of congenital human vices, loss of innocence, and flies are also acute. Each chapter of the “Lord of the Flies” novel describes new events that take place on a desert island, telling about all the complexities of human beings’ life outside of civilization. Some parts of the story are reminiscent of supernatural or religious accounts due to the unusual views of the writer.
“Lord of the Flies” Team #1 : Civilization Versus Wildlife
Human beings strive to comply with the rules of civilization and be closer to it. This is one of the major themes of the story. The two main characters of the novel “Lord of the flies” Ralph and Jack, the whole time, are fighting for power, and Jack wants to kill Ralph. They have a conflict because of different representations of human nature in “Lord of the flies”. Jack has innate evil and this human evil dreams of gaining power over other human beings to satisfy his primal impulses since he is a member of the wild and reveals flies themes. He leads his tribe, where everyone worships him. Jack believes that the wilderness is like a totalitarian system where the government is illegal, shows real human evil, and intends killing Piggy. At the same time, Ralph uses his right of power to make some rules in society, protect his group and ensure that all moral concepts are respected.
In his story “Lord of the Flies”, William Golding emphasized that the consequences of savagery are negative for human nature, so this is regarded as a complete approval of civilization. In the first chapters, he talks about how important it is for human beings to let wild impulses come out while living in a civilized society.
Jack thinks about killing Piggy, showing his courage and innate human evil. He found this way of manifestation in the hunt, which helped the boys not to remain hungry. Jack was within the civilized realm, he did not pose a threat to the group because he found the right purpose for his wildness, and Jack believes hunting does not threaten the surrounding boys. But at the moment when he refuses to recognize the norms of society, begins to reveal flies themes, and ignores the authority of Ralph, he shows the most dangerous traits of his character.
The main symbols described in the “Lord of the Flies” novel are the shell, associated with Ralph, and the Lord of the flies – Jack. It’s like supernatural or religious accounts. With the help of the shell, the concept of order in the group on the island is conveyed and confirms the character’s leadership. But as the boys’ conflict develops, the shell loses its symbolism. Jack argues that the shell is not a symbol of order and eliminates its significance, provoking civilization’s decline on a desert island. Lord of the flies becomes the group’s main savagery and shows Jack’s power over the other boys.
The destruction of the shell and the killing Piggy shows the utter destruction of civilization and adequate human nature on the island. While Jack is trying to kill Ralph, he is simultaneously trying to remove the “lord of the flies” with a stick, using it as a necklace, thus descending into violence and savagery. The last chapter tells that the civilization on the island was destroyed, and the decision to act violently became the norm for boys.
“Lord of the Flies” Team #2: Birth Defects of Mankind
Lord of the flies is trying to figure out the relationship between a desert island with human nature. When the boys find themselves on a desert island where there have never been human beings, they show their true attitude to human nature and show their essence. A group of boys fell into the category of human beings who submit to human nature and feel harmony, which may be contrary to the human psyche.
Lord of the flies fell under the category of human beings who become wild when interacting with nature. He showed his innate evil and immediately began behaving aggressively, hunting and killing Piggy. After killing Piggy, he tried to subordinate human nature to humanity with such actions and opened flies themes. In the course of events, Jack began to engage in other cruel deeds after Piggy’s death – he set fire to the forest, which showed his contempt, dislike for nature, and cruel human nature. And under the second category are human beings who are in harmony with nature and consider the environment beautiful. Only Simon indicated that nature is part of humanity but not the enemy. Killing Piggy grealy shows this.
The last category belongs to Jack. He believes that laws creates chaos. He has a completely different stance from Jack’s innate human evil, but at the same time, he doesn’t have the same harmony with nature as Simon because of the belief that laws creates chaos.
Ralph is aware that nature is a kind of obstacle to their life but does not behave as aggressively as Lord of the flies and does not kill animals and trees. Ralph prefers to stay away from nature and not go on various excursions around the island with Simon because he believes that human nature does not provide for this kind of travel and knows about Jack’s intentions to kill Ralph. Instead, he prefers to stay on the beach, where he feels as safe as possible and eats human beings.
“Lord of the Flies” Team #3: Losing Innocence Through Struggle
Among other major themes in Lord of the flies is the loss of innocence. At the end of the story, the characters mourn this moment. Because when a group of boys leaves the territory of a desert island for the first time in a long time, they behave like little children while showing their subtleties of human nature and homesickness. But at the same time, at the end of the story, they show human evil, which in no way corresponds to civilized society, and mercilessly kill each other. In the last chapter, human beings finally lose their innocence while on a desert island.
At the beginning of Lord of the Flies, an island is described as a heavenly place with beautiful scenery, where human beings enjoy good weather and plenty of tropical fruits. But in the course of events and the loss of innocence, the uninhabited island changes its appearance. Only Simon noticed the change in the ocean’s tide and knew right away that things weren’t going well.
When Ralph is first described in the story “Lord of the flies”, he is shown as a cheerful child who loves to swim in the ocean, laugh, and play with Piggy. Ralph convinces Piggy that his father, a naval commander, will save them, passing off his desires as reality. He is against statements that laws creates chaos. Throughout the “Lord of the Flies” novel, he talks about believing in the rescue of their group and that his father will find them by signaling from the ship. But in the end, realizing everything that is happening and seeing Piggy’s death, he is finally disappointed in human beings and loses faith in salvation.
The Main Characters of the Novel “Lord of the Flies”
William Golding thought out each character’s role in the novel “Lord of the flies” and gave them a clear description. The “Lord of the Flies” novel has the following main characters:
- Ralph (the protagonist of the novel “Lord of the flies” and the leader of a group of boys)
- Jack (an aggressive character who shows human evil and reveals flies themes in “Lord of the Flies”)
- Piggy (is the smartest representative of the boy group in “Lord of the Flies”)
- Simon (the kindest hero of the story “Lord of the flies”, which shows all the kindness of human nature)
- Roger (is a cruel character and promotes innate evil in “Lord of the Flies”)
- The Beast (this is a fictional character in “Lord of the Flies” that symbolizes the strength of the enemy)
Ralph
William Golding describes Ralph as a twelve-year-old boy with blond hair, handsome features, and an athletic build. Human beings often compare him to a boxer, but he has nothing in common with boxers. Instead, Ralph is the main character chosen as the leader, which is why the Lord of the flies is very dissatisfied.
He tries to make the stay on the island civilized and organized and keeps a close eye on the signal fire. With these actions, Ralph reveals the “Lord of the Flies” novel’s major themes. He insists on constructing shelters so that he is always safe. Ralph is considered a born commander because he has a strong character, solidarity with human nature, and logical thinking.
Piggy
Piggy is one of the main characters in the novel “Lord of the flies”. He is the smartest member of the group. Piggy is short, suffers from asthma, has a few extra pounds, and wears glasses. Piggy constantly whines and whimpers, having a weak human psyche, and believes that if there were responsible adult supervision, everything would be fine with them. For this, human beings constantly mock him. He avoids physical exertion and does not help others build shelters or get food. The novel “Lord of the flies” does not mention his name, only the nickname Piggy, although he asks not to call him that.
The character is exclusively on the side of Ralph, excludes flies themes, and often helps him in many matters thanks to his mind. Although Piggy cannot help physically, his human nature and knowledge often help the boys. He is also an important member of their group. Unfortunately, the “Lord of the Flies” novel’s ends with killing Piggy and Piggy’s death. After killing Piggy, Ralph is left without his best mentor.
Jack
Jack calls himself “Lord of the flies” and has innate evil. He is thin and tall. The color of his hair is always hidden under a black hat, but red hairs are visible from under it. He has blue eyes and an ugly face covered in freckles and wrinkles. Innate human evil interferes with him throughout his stay on the island.
Lord of the flies is the personification of human evil in the novel. He is cruel and can easily break the human psyche. Throughout the “Lord of the Flies” novel, he competes with Ralph for the title of leader and reveals flies themes. In the first chapters of the story “Lord of the flies”, he directs his character in the right direction and shows that he knows how to survive and help others. But over time, he loses his innocence and becomes an evil dictator. Jack believes hunting helps to survive and is not a manifestation of cruelty in “Lord of the Flies”.
Simon
Simon is one of the main characters of “Lord of the flies” and personifies spirituality and harmony with nature. He likes to walk alone in nature and often tells supernatural or religious accounts. He is very kind and helpful, but many boys consider him an outcast and strange. Only Simon manages to find the Beast. After trying to tell their group that it was just a dead pilot, the other boys panicked and killed him.
The Beast
Even though the hero does not appear in his guise, William Golding made him one of the main characters in the novel “Lord of the flies”. Simon found this dead pilot in the clearing while walking through the woods. Boys mistakenly think the human psyche is dangerous. a supernatural beast, and start to act violently. The “Lord of the Flies” plot tells that after the incident, the boys try to appease his soul with the help of the Lord of the flies.
Use Our Essay Writing Service
Students often don’t have enough time to write lengthy college essays. Our essay writing service is ready to help write an article of any size at any time. A team of specialists has already completed more than 100 such tasks, so you can be sure that you will receive high-quality work promptly at an affordable cost.
