Lord of the Flies Literary Analysis
Anoushka Divekar
November 6, 2012
English 9
Mr. Hartwig
Lord of the Flies Literary Analysis
Are humans innately kind, or are humans really evil, masked by a façade of kindness worn in society? This complex part of human nature is explored in William Golding's Lord of the Flies, a plane carrying young English schoolboys crashes on an island in the ocean in the midst of World War One. While the boys struggle to stay true to the “proper English way,” two leaders, Jack and Ralph, emerge from the many conflicts that arise. Both Jack and Ralph show leadership qualities. However, Ralph displays his qualities positively, while Jack displays his qualities negatively. Ralph and Jack both accomplish incredible feats while stranded on the island ;albeit, the latter’s achievements seem more heroic the Ralph’s. All the other boys stranded on the island have strong perceptions about Ralph and Jack. Ralph keeps a poised, calmer demeanor during the story, while Jack has a very demanding personality. Because his leadership as a whole makes more or and impact on the boys than Ralph’s, in the novel Lord of the Flies, Jack Merridew is the better leader.
Jack and Ralph booth show leadership qualities. Both boys, however, have different ways of expressing their authority through Lord of the Flies, by William Golding. Ralph is very committed to having a peaceful environment where all the boys on the island get along with one another. Ralph says, “ ‘ With the conch. I’m calling meeting even if we have to go on into the dark. Down on the platform. When I blow it. Now’ “ ( Golding 75). However dire the situation, Ralph keeps his cool, and blows the conch. The conch shell is blown to call and assembly on the island. The boys get the turn to talk by holding it. This shows how Ralph leads very systematically, and does everything with a process. While this works at the beginning, as the boys’ behavior strays away from the ‘proper English schoolboy’ they become harder for Ralph to control in a peaceful manner. While Ralph is a better leader towards the beginning of the story while the environment is calm, he is not able to control the boys in situations that are more severe. In contrast to Ralph, Jack is a very brutal leader. Jack says, “ ‘ You got to join the tribe.’ [...] and poked sam in the ribs[...] The yelling ceased, and Samneric lay looking up in quiet terror’ “ (182). Even though Sam and Eric are loyal to Ralph at the end of the story, Jack is able to take the twins captive by inducing fear into them. Jack’s leadership style is like that of a dictator. He is the only person in his tribe with any power. He rules by scaring people into doing what he says. Under Jack’s rule, the boys work together, and as a whole, get more done than when the boys are under Ralph’s rule. Because overall Jack produces more of and outcome under his own rule, Jack Merridew shows better leadership qualities in this story than Ralph does.
While on the island in Lord of the Flies, Ralph and Jack both accomplish many feats. All the feats that the boys accomplish ate a big deal in the story, but at times, some feats seem more heroic than others. Boldly, Jack states, “ ‘ He’s not a hunter. He’d never have gotten us meat [...] ‘ “ Goldling (126). Here, Jack is showing the rest of the boys how much better he is than Ralph. Jack defends himself by telling all the boys that Ralph would not have been able to provide them with food, something Jack is able to do. He later proves this accusation, stating, “ ‘ Tonight, we’re having a feast. We’ve killed a pig and we’ve got meat [...] ‘ “ (140). This shows that Jack is able to get meat for the group. This is a major accomplishment on the island because in the beginning of William Golding’s novel, the boys struggle to find any meat at all, While Ralph has accomplishments pertaining to the boys general, Jack’s accomplishments seem more heroic, because they provide immediate results. For these reasons, Jack Merridew has greater accomplishments than Ralph dies.
All the other boys in Lord of the Flies have strong opinions of Ralph and Jack. Ralph is viewed as a caring, and a positive person whereas Jack is viewed more negatively until the end of the story. At the beginning of the book, Ralph says, “ ‘ All right. Who wants Jack for chief?; With dreary obedience the choir raised their hands. ‘Who wants me?’ Everyone outside the choir except piggy’s was raised immediately. The Piggy, too, raised his hand grudgingly into the air” ( Golding 23). This quote comes from the beginning of the story when the boys are electing a chief to run the island. Based on first impressions alone, all the other boys vote Ralph as chief to run the island, for the most part, think Ralph is kind, and would make a good leader. Contrary to the beginning of the book, at the end of William Golding’s novel, Ralph says, “ ‘ But we’ve got to have a list! There’s you and me and Samneric and -’ He would not look at Piggy but spoke casually. ‘Where’s Bill Roger?’ [...] ‘ I expect they’ve gone. I expect they won’t play either’ “ (131). This shows that at the end of the book, all the boys besides Sam, Eric, and Piggy have gone to Jack’s tribe. Though Ralph gives a good first impression, the boys think becomes boring towards the end. Ralph makes the boys work and calls assemblies to tell the boys that they are not working hard enough. In a time of need, however, Ralph was not able to get the boys on his side was, let the boys have fun, and do whatever they wanted. For this, they liked him. While Ralph is clearly the ‘better men,’ Jack is able to get the boys to respond to him through his personality when he really needs to. Because Jack has a higher peer opinion when it matters most, Jack Merridew has a more positive peer perception.
Leadership skills, accomplishments and peer perceptions and three comparable traits of Ralph and Jack from the novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding, and three comparable characteristics of a leader. Because Jack had better leadership skills, accomplishments, and peer perceptions when he needs them most, Jack Merridew is the better leader of the two boys. Jack Merridew is a compelling character, and Golding develops him well to explore human nature throughout the story.
November 6, 2012
English 9
Mr. Hartwig
Lord of the Flies Literary Analysis
Are humans innately kind, or are humans really evil, masked by a façade of kindness worn in society? This complex part of human nature is explored in William Golding's Lord of the Flies, a plane carrying young English schoolboys crashes on an island in the ocean in the midst of World War One. While the boys struggle to stay true to the “proper English way,” two leaders, Jack and Ralph, emerge from the many conflicts that arise. Both Jack and Ralph show leadership qualities. However, Ralph displays his qualities positively, while Jack displays his qualities negatively. Ralph and Jack both accomplish incredible feats while stranded on the island ;albeit, the latter’s achievements seem more heroic the Ralph’s. All the other boys stranded on the island have strong perceptions about Ralph and Jack. Ralph keeps a poised, calmer demeanor during the story, while Jack has a very demanding personality. Because his leadership as a whole makes more or and impact on the boys than Ralph’s, in the novel Lord of the Flies, Jack Merridew is the better leader.
Jack and Ralph booth show leadership qualities. Both boys, however, have different ways of expressing their authority through Lord of the Flies, by William Golding. Ralph is very committed to having a peaceful environment where all the boys on the island get along with one another. Ralph says, “ ‘ With the conch. I’m calling meeting even if we have to go on into the dark. Down on the platform. When I blow it. Now’ “ ( Golding 75). However dire the situation, Ralph keeps his cool, and blows the conch. The conch shell is blown to call and assembly on the island. The boys get the turn to talk by holding it. This shows how Ralph leads very systematically, and does everything with a process. While this works at the beginning, as the boys’ behavior strays away from the ‘proper English schoolboy’ they become harder for Ralph to control in a peaceful manner. While Ralph is a better leader towards the beginning of the story while the environment is calm, he is not able to control the boys in situations that are more severe. In contrast to Ralph, Jack is a very brutal leader. Jack says, “ ‘ You got to join the tribe.’ [...] and poked sam in the ribs[...] The yelling ceased, and Samneric lay looking up in quiet terror’ “ (182). Even though Sam and Eric are loyal to Ralph at the end of the story, Jack is able to take the twins captive by inducing fear into them. Jack’s leadership style is like that of a dictator. He is the only person in his tribe with any power. He rules by scaring people into doing what he says. Under Jack’s rule, the boys work together, and as a whole, get more done than when the boys are under Ralph’s rule. Because overall Jack produces more of and outcome under his own rule, Jack Merridew shows better leadership qualities in this story than Ralph does.
While on the island in Lord of the Flies, Ralph and Jack both accomplish many feats. All the feats that the boys accomplish ate a big deal in the story, but at times, some feats seem more heroic than others. Boldly, Jack states, “ ‘ He’s not a hunter. He’d never have gotten us meat [...] ‘ “ Goldling (126). Here, Jack is showing the rest of the boys how much better he is than Ralph. Jack defends himself by telling all the boys that Ralph would not have been able to provide them with food, something Jack is able to do. He later proves this accusation, stating, “ ‘ Tonight, we’re having a feast. We’ve killed a pig and we’ve got meat [...] ‘ “ (140). This shows that Jack is able to get meat for the group. This is a major accomplishment on the island because in the beginning of William Golding’s novel, the boys struggle to find any meat at all, While Ralph has accomplishments pertaining to the boys general, Jack’s accomplishments seem more heroic, because they provide immediate results. For these reasons, Jack Merridew has greater accomplishments than Ralph dies.
All the other boys in Lord of the Flies have strong opinions of Ralph and Jack. Ralph is viewed as a caring, and a positive person whereas Jack is viewed more negatively until the end of the story. At the beginning of the book, Ralph says, “ ‘ All right. Who wants Jack for chief?; With dreary obedience the choir raised their hands. ‘Who wants me?’ Everyone outside the choir except piggy’s was raised immediately. The Piggy, too, raised his hand grudgingly into the air” ( Golding 23). This quote comes from the beginning of the story when the boys are electing a chief to run the island. Based on first impressions alone, all the other boys vote Ralph as chief to run the island, for the most part, think Ralph is kind, and would make a good leader. Contrary to the beginning of the book, at the end of William Golding’s novel, Ralph says, “ ‘ But we’ve got to have a list! There’s you and me and Samneric and -’ He would not look at Piggy but spoke casually. ‘Where’s Bill Roger?’ [...] ‘ I expect they’ve gone. I expect they won’t play either’ “ (131). This shows that at the end of the book, all the boys besides Sam, Eric, and Piggy have gone to Jack’s tribe. Though Ralph gives a good first impression, the boys think becomes boring towards the end. Ralph makes the boys work and calls assemblies to tell the boys that they are not working hard enough. In a time of need, however, Ralph was not able to get the boys on his side was, let the boys have fun, and do whatever they wanted. For this, they liked him. While Ralph is clearly the ‘better men,’ Jack is able to get the boys to respond to him through his personality when he really needs to. Because Jack has a higher peer opinion when it matters most, Jack Merridew has a more positive peer perception.
Leadership skills, accomplishments and peer perceptions and three comparable traits of Ralph and Jack from the novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding, and three comparable characteristics of a leader. Because Jack had better leadership skills, accomplishments, and peer perceptions when he needs them most, Jack Merridew is the better leader of the two boys. Jack Merridew is a compelling character, and Golding develops him well to explore human nature throughout the story.
Lord of the Flies Self Reflection
Title of the Piece
Lord of the Flies Literary Analysis
Content
This essay is written on William Golding's Lord of the Flies. It explores the qualities of a leader, and whether an effective leader is necessarily a nice and well-liked leader. It is concluded through specific evidence that though Jack Merridew is a more brutal leader than Ralph is, Jack is the better overall leader.
What Do You Feel is Good in this Writing?
This was my favorite essay I have written this year. I felt that I put a lot of time into it, and my word choice was particularly good. I think this is especially true in the first paragraph. I think my attention-getter was a well flowing sentence that made a reader want to keep reading the essay. I think my first paragraph used more advanced words without becoming so wordy that it was hard to read. I think the fact that I really liked writing this essay helped me add some punch to my supporting points and thesis. This is definitely also the best first paragraph that I have ever written.
I also really like my supporting points themselves, and this was one of the few essays this year about which I was passionate about what I was writing about. I actually believed my supporting points, and personally agreed with what I wrote. It is definitely helpful when I am not personally opposed to what I am writing.
Throughout the essay I think I did a particularly good job choosing my quotes to support my argument. I think a lot of credit for this goes to the fact that I liked the plot of this book and didn't mind reading it again to find quotes I thought were perfect for my argument.
I really like how my essay was structured. I think it flowed well and my argument could be easily followed. Like my first paragraph, I think that my words were well chosen for the essay and yet didn't interrupt the flow of the actual writing. Overall, I liked this essay because the arguments were valid, and they had quotes to back them up.
What Do You Feel is Poor in this Essay, and How Would You Change It?
Throughout this essay, I think I needed to add more explanation to my explanation of the quotes. Sometimes my explanations were a little bit vague. I think this could have been solved by adding more context from where the quotes were taken from. Also, maybe I could have added examples to whatever was already there for explanation.
I think I had quite a few comma splices, and places where I still needed to add commas in my writing. This was prevalent especially in the third paragraph. This could have been solved with more careful proofreading, and also
reading it aloud, because I would have been able to hear whether or not there should have been commas where I placed them.
Lord of the Flies Literary Analysis
Content
This essay is written on William Golding's Lord of the Flies. It explores the qualities of a leader, and whether an effective leader is necessarily a nice and well-liked leader. It is concluded through specific evidence that though Jack Merridew is a more brutal leader than Ralph is, Jack is the better overall leader.
What Do You Feel is Good in this Writing?
This was my favorite essay I have written this year. I felt that I put a lot of time into it, and my word choice was particularly good. I think this is especially true in the first paragraph. I think my attention-getter was a well flowing sentence that made a reader want to keep reading the essay. I think my first paragraph used more advanced words without becoming so wordy that it was hard to read. I think the fact that I really liked writing this essay helped me add some punch to my supporting points and thesis. This is definitely also the best first paragraph that I have ever written.
I also really like my supporting points themselves, and this was one of the few essays this year about which I was passionate about what I was writing about. I actually believed my supporting points, and personally agreed with what I wrote. It is definitely helpful when I am not personally opposed to what I am writing.
Throughout the essay I think I did a particularly good job choosing my quotes to support my argument. I think a lot of credit for this goes to the fact that I liked the plot of this book and didn't mind reading it again to find quotes I thought were perfect for my argument.
I really like how my essay was structured. I think it flowed well and my argument could be easily followed. Like my first paragraph, I think that my words were well chosen for the essay and yet didn't interrupt the flow of the actual writing. Overall, I liked this essay because the arguments were valid, and they had quotes to back them up.
What Do You Feel is Poor in this Essay, and How Would You Change It?
Throughout this essay, I think I needed to add more explanation to my explanation of the quotes. Sometimes my explanations were a little bit vague. I think this could have been solved by adding more context from where the quotes were taken from. Also, maybe I could have added examples to whatever was already there for explanation.
I think I had quite a few comma splices, and places where I still needed to add commas in my writing. This was prevalent especially in the third paragraph. This could have been solved with more careful proofreading, and also
reading it aloud, because I would have been able to hear whether or not there should have been commas where I placed them.