Man Vs Self In Lord Of The Flies

Words: 458
Pages: 2

The conflict man vs. self holds the most importance in the Lord of the Flies. The conflict of man vs self describes the struggle between two opposing forces. In The Lord of the Flies, Ralph suffers from an internal struggle between himself and his subconscious:
Again he fell into that strange mood of speculation that was so foreign to him. If faces were different when lit from above or below--what was a face? What was anything? Ralph moved impatiently. The trouble was, if you were a chief you had to think, you had to be wise. And then the occasion slipped by so you had to grab at a decision. This made you think; because thought was a valuable thing that got results… only decided Ralph as he faced the chief’s seat, I can’t think. Not like Piggy. Once more that evening Ralph had to adjust his values ( Golding 78).
Ralph continues to struggle
…show more content…
And don't you want to be rescued?”
“Don't you all want to be rescued?”
“I said before, the fire is the main thing. Now the fire must be out--” (Golding 102).
As the plot progresses, Ralph’s internal struggles intensify:
They were regarding him gravely, not yet troubled by any doubts about his sufficiency. Ralph pushed the idiot hair out his eyes and looked at Piggy.
“But the ...oh...the fire! Of course, the fire!”
He started to laugh, then stopped and became fluent instead.
“The fire’s the most important thing. Without the fire we can’t be rescued. I’d like to put on war-paint and be a savage. But we must keep the fire burning. The fire’s the most important thing on the island, because, because--” (Golding 142).
Ralph has to battle with himself about what he knows is right: keeping the signal fire going and what he wants to do, being able to hunt, kill and “have fun” as Jack does. Ralph sees the fire as a hopeful sign for rescue when he begins to lose that sense of urgency on the rescue front and begins to feel in himself a sense to have fun, like