Authority In Lord Of The Flies

Words: 1169
Pages: 5
Open Document
Lord of the Flies by William Golding is a story about how humans can denature and lose certain beliefs in a short amount of time. In Golding’s book, a group of young boys are stranded on a deserted island during the midst of World War II. The boys must learn how to be self-sufficient and work together to get rescued, but the boys turn savages without realizing what they had become. During the boys time on the island a series of unfortunate events occur before the boys are rescued by a passing naval officer. The time on the island the boys had show a strange part where they end up losing all normal traits and morals. Even though Lord of the Flies is a fictional text, when the boys separate into groups with leaders and obey those in authority …show more content…
Once the boys set the first sense of order when choose Ralph as the designated island leader, the boys decide they will use the conch to call meetings. Even if the boys were to be midway through an activity they would stop everything to go to where they heard the conch be blown from. This second sense of order is shown when Ralph blows the conch, “They obeyed the summons of the conch, partly because Ralph blew it, and he was big enough to be a link with the adult word of authority” (Golding 59). When Golding uses the word “obeyed” it shows that without a question from their conscience the boy go immediately to the site of the meeting. The use of authority is usually never questioned by authority and this is proven in both Lord of the Flies and the Milgram’s Obedience Study. For the Milgram’s Obedience Study, people were found using an ad in the newspaper and they were told to send potentially lethal “shocks” to a person being questioned, who was a confederate in the experiment, answered a question wrong. The biggest shocker during the experiment was, “many of the subject became extremely agitated, distraught and angry at the experimenter. Yet they continued to follow orders all the way to the end” (Cherry). When Cherry says the subjects just continuously follow orders, even though they were “hurting” the confederates, this is an example of human nature when they listen to authority without reason. Humans will continue to do things even if they do not want to because humans are taught to
Show More

Related Documents: Authority In Lord Of The Flies

Symbols In Lord Of The Flies Essay

try to keep everyone from turning evil. In the novel Lord of the Flies, author William Golding uses symbolism from the beginning of the book to the end. William Golding provides different symbols throughout the course of the novel Lord of the Flies, to show the deterioration of the island’s civilization and condition. Three symbols that are provided are Piggy’s glasses, the conch, and the pig’s head otherwise known as the Lord of the Flies. Piggy’s glasses are an important symbol for the deteriorating…

Words 901 - Pages 4

Symbols In Lord Of The Flies

Have you ever read Lord of The Flies? The Lord of The Flies is a book, written by William Golding, about some boys that crash landed in an island and had to live there for quite some time. The two boys that first came out in the book are Piggy and Ralph. Later on in the book come Simon, Samneric, and Jack and the choir boys. All these boys have a main part in this book. When the boys crash landed they had to find help some way. That’s when Piggy and Ralph had met and find the conch, which is something…

Words 1168 - Pages 5

Power In Lord Of The Flies Quote Analysis

In a world full of power and influence, individuals find themselves in a state where power influences their thoughts and shapes their destiny. In the text Lord of the Flies by William Golding, the narrative unfolds on an uninhabited island, where a group of boys grapples with the complexities of power. Golding illustrates the absence of proper supervision and how power can transform individuals, leading to both positive and negative consequences. The short story “Blues Ain’t No Mockin Bird” by Toni…

Words 958 - Pages 4

Essay about lord of the flies

11/1/13 Lord of the Flies In the novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding, describes the cruel actions and terror of children. As a soldier of World War II, Golding witnessed the destruction and absurdity of human beings. After that time period of his life, he decided to write books. Lord of the Flies came with a stronger message than boys on an island. It expanded to the flaws of human nature and society. Golding believed people control their own actions and thoughts not society. Golding illustrates…

Words 292 - Pages 2

The Milgram Experiment In William Golding's Lord Of The Flies

someone(Wikipedia). In the novel Lord of the Flies a group of schoolboys had crashed onto an undiscovered island, where they went along with whatever the leader of the group said to do. Even though some of the things they did got some of the boys killed(N.p.). Events in the novel Lord of the Flies and behaviors observed in the “Milgram Experiment” show that humans tend to follow any order given to them by the one with most power. In the novel Lord of the Flies, there was a group of schoolboys who…

Words 540 - Pages 3

Lord Of The Flies Influence

recognition by the guidance – or lack of it – that we absorb directly from our families.” (Why Boys Become Vicious, Golding 3) In Lord of the Flies there are a group of schoolboys who crash onto the island when being flown to safety, and become stranded due to the war taking place around the island, with no adults, no shelter, and no way out. In the novel Lord of the Flies, William Golding’s writings portrays that without guidance from an adult, the corrupted human nature inside of a child becomes more…

Words 861 - Pages 4

Lord Of The Flies Symbolism

The Importance of Symbolism Golding uses symbolism in the Lord of the Flies novel to effectively portray his intended message to his audience. Golding attempts to show us how our nature can take over without the societal constraints we encounter in our everyday lives. In my personal opinion Golding’s use of symbolism in the novel is very effective and well done. I will explain three of the symbols that I found to be most important in bringing the novel to successfully portray Golding’s message. These…

Words 1239 - Pages 5

Lord of the Flies Essay

Zachery Fortson Mr. Scholar 9th Literature 8, August 2013 Lord of the Flies Lord of the Flies overall theme portrays survival from a civilization vs. savagery point of view. Kids are being flown from England to a different country so that they aren’t near the war On their way there the kids plane went under attack and crashed on an island. It was on the island that changed the course of the stable life they once knew. Before, they had a normal life with normal everyday conditions and…

Words 524 - Pages 3

Essay about The Decency of Men

The Decency of Men William Golding’s novel Lord of the Flies looks closely at how a lack of authority results in the fall of man. When English school boys are left to govern themselves on a deserted island, their seemingly perfect civilization begins to disintegrate as the evils of man are exposed. Golding wrote Lord of the Flies to prove that without some method of authority or civilization, man descends into savagery. Man’s desire for power, Golding suggests, plants the seed for his ultimate…

Words 1698 - Pages 7

Frank Darabont and Shawshank Redemption Essay

Connections across texts. Through the texts The Shawshank Redemption directed by Frank Darabont, Lord of The Flies written by William Golding, Jack Reacher directed by Christopher McQuarrie and Anthem for Doomed Youth written by Wilfred Owen, the main theme that is seen extensively throughout these texts is conflict between the powerful and the powerless. This conflict is revealed through internal and external conflict, developed through theme and character. I chose these texts because they all…

Words 1091 - Pages 5