Lord Of The Flies Literary Analysis Essay
Hannah Skidmore
Mrs. Dorman
Engl II Honors
15 February 2013
Lord of the Flies Literary Analysis
In Lord of the Flies, a group of English boys are marooned on a deserted island without any adults to control them. Initially, this freedom seems pleasing and exciting to the boys, but they soon turn into uncontrollable savages with no desire for order and no civility. In the last chapter of the novel after being on the island and seeing what lack of law and order can do, it says that “Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man’s heart…” (Golding 202). In Lord of the Flies, the innocence of children is lost when faced with total freedom. This is shown through the experiences on the island of Ralph, Roger, and Jack. Ralph …show more content…
He is less and less an innocent little English boy and more and more a savage animal. With every hunt and kill, he and the boys get more wild because “each time they reenact the same event,… they become more frenzied, more cruel, [and] less like representation than identification” (Rosenfield 95). Murder becomes natural to Jack. He delights in killing, and he feels more empowered when he does. He shows no restraint in his rule and has the only sane boys on the island, Simon and Piggy, murdered because of his evil desires (Niemeyer 192). Jack’s dehumanization makes him a narcissist as well. He does not care about anyone but himself. He wants all of the power and does not want Ralph to be in his way. When Jack finally has enough of Ralph and his directive he decides to kill him, and “the final hunt,… is the pursuit of the figure representing law and order…” (Rosenfield 97). Jack wants his competition out of the way. He wants complete control of the boys on the island and will do anything to get it. Man is naturally evil, greedy, and selfish. It is not the island that corrupts Jack; it is the problems that ensue when given total freedom that corrupts him (Spitz 24). The only thing that stops Jack’s terrible reign is the man who comes to the island and saves the group of boys. The reader is reminded here that Jack is still a little kid because he cries when he sees the adult who represents authority …show more content…
Politics and History in William Golding: The World Turned Upside Down.
Columbia: University of Missouri, 2002. Questiaschool.com. Web. 12 Jan. 2013.
Golding, William. Lord of the Flies. New York: Perigee Book, 2006. Print.
Henningfeld, Diane Andrews. Topics for Further Study. Gale: 1997. 187-89. Print.
Niemeyer, Carl. “The Coral Island Revisited.” College English 22.4 (1961): 241-245. Print.
Olsen, Kirstin. Understanding Lord of the Flies: A Student Casebook to Issues, Sources, and
Historical Documents. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 2000. Questiaschool.com. Web. 12 Jan. 2013.
Rosenfield, Claire. “‘Men of a Smaller Growth’: A Psychological Analysis of William
Golding’s Lord of the Flies.” Literature and Psychology 11.4 (1961): 93-101. Wed. 12 Jan. 2013.
Slayton, Paul. “Teachings Rationale for William Golding’s Lord of the Flies,” Censored
Books: Critical Viewpoints, Nicholas J. Karolides, lee Burress, John M. Kean, eds., The Scarecrow Press, Inc., 1998. 189-192. Print.
Spitz, David. “Power and Authority: An Interpretation of Golding 's 'Lord of the Flies. '” The Antioch Review 30.1 (1970): 21-33. Web. 12 Jan.
Mrs. Dorman
Engl II Honors
15 February 2013
Lord of the Flies Literary Analysis
In Lord of the Flies, a group of English boys are marooned on a deserted island without any adults to control them. Initially, this freedom seems pleasing and exciting to the boys, but they soon turn into uncontrollable savages with no desire for order and no civility. In the last chapter of the novel after being on the island and seeing what lack of law and order can do, it says that “Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man’s heart…” (Golding 202). In Lord of the Flies, the innocence of children is lost when faced with total freedom. This is shown through the experiences on the island of Ralph, Roger, and Jack. Ralph …show more content…
He is less and less an innocent little English boy and more and more a savage animal. With every hunt and kill, he and the boys get more wild because “each time they reenact the same event,… they become more frenzied, more cruel, [and] less like representation than identification” (Rosenfield 95). Murder becomes natural to Jack. He delights in killing, and he feels more empowered when he does. He shows no restraint in his rule and has the only sane boys on the island, Simon and Piggy, murdered because of his evil desires (Niemeyer 192). Jack’s dehumanization makes him a narcissist as well. He does not care about anyone but himself. He wants all of the power and does not want Ralph to be in his way. When Jack finally has enough of Ralph and his directive he decides to kill him, and “the final hunt,… is the pursuit of the figure representing law and order…” (Rosenfield 97). Jack wants his competition out of the way. He wants complete control of the boys on the island and will do anything to get it. Man is naturally evil, greedy, and selfish. It is not the island that corrupts Jack; it is the problems that ensue when given total freedom that corrupts him (Spitz 24). The only thing that stops Jack’s terrible reign is the man who comes to the island and saves the group of boys. The reader is reminded here that Jack is still a little kid because he cries when he sees the adult who represents authority …show more content…
Politics and History in William Golding: The World Turned Upside Down.
Columbia: University of Missouri, 2002. Questiaschool.com. Web. 12 Jan. 2013.
Golding, William. Lord of the Flies. New York: Perigee Book, 2006. Print.
Henningfeld, Diane Andrews. Topics for Further Study. Gale: 1997. 187-89. Print.
Niemeyer, Carl. “The Coral Island Revisited.” College English 22.4 (1961): 241-245. Print.
Olsen, Kirstin. Understanding Lord of the Flies: A Student Casebook to Issues, Sources, and
Historical Documents. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 2000. Questiaschool.com. Web. 12 Jan. 2013.
Rosenfield, Claire. “‘Men of a Smaller Growth’: A Psychological Analysis of William
Golding’s Lord of the Flies.” Literature and Psychology 11.4 (1961): 93-101. Wed. 12 Jan. 2013.
Slayton, Paul. “Teachings Rationale for William Golding’s Lord of the Flies,” Censored
Books: Critical Viewpoints, Nicholas J. Karolides, lee Burress, John M. Kean, eds., The Scarecrow Press, Inc., 1998. 189-192. Print.
Spitz, David. “Power and Authority: An Interpretation of Golding 's 'Lord of the Flies. '” The Antioch Review 30.1 (1970): 21-33. Web. 12 Jan.