Lord of the Flies by Nash McLeod

Ralph

nashparkerm — 2023-11-02 15:26:58 UTC

Tall, fair boy; Extroverted, leader
Evidence: “and he wont be interrupted. Except by me.” (33)
Determines his role as a leader is an actual responsibility. Tries to ensure safety for the boys via building shelters etc.
In Lord of the Flies, Ralph develops from a state of confusion to an understanding with the subject of savagery within the boys. In the beginning, Ralph was skeptical about the idea of savagery convincing himself that the small boy “must have had a nightmare” about the beastie. This later would change as Jack would start his own tribe making “Ralph [go] crimson” revealing Ralph is going through a point of maturity realizing that he can no longer convince himself that Jack will do right as he has transformed to an Id state of nature as they know only “the fulfillment of immediate desires” as they deviated from their path of being true hunters for the need of all but rather for his group and his group only. Ralph now understands that he has no control over the human state of nature although he doesn’t want to believe it.
Became more scared and defeated as he lost the last of his supporters after supporting Piggy’s attempt to stick up for himself.

Piggy

nashparkerm — 2023-11-02 15:27:05 UTC

Short and fat boy with glasses, orphan (lived with auntie) embarrassed of nickname, blunt
Evidence: “nobody knows we are here” (33)
Still supports Ralph but holds a greater independent state of mind although he is still picked on
Piggy quite literally dies due to a fall off the cliff after wanting to stand up for himself for good.

Simon

nashparkerm — 2023-11-02 15:27:20 UTC

Intelligent, practical
Evidence: “Simon dropped the screen of leaves back into place…darkness poured out…took possession of the island.” (62)
Goes from quiet to impulsive, irresponsible and skeptical

Jack

nashparkerm — 2023-11-02 15:27:24 UTC

Self centered, arrogant
Evidence: “The conch doesn’t count on top of the mountain…so you shut up” (43)
Loves to express dominance over the others as well as nature
Evidence: “Kill the pig! Cut her throat! Spill her blood!”
The mask represents the savagery within the boys. The masks had an effect on the boys which provoked them to want to be violent and “bloodthirsty” ultimately reflecting Hobbes’ philosophy of individuals making actions based on their self needs.
In Lord of the Flies, Jack developed an extreme level of savagery throughout the book. In the beginning, Jack was one to agree that the boys had to “have rules and obey them” representing Jack’s superego state of nature early on. He managed to see consequences in actions causing him to see that need for rules. This state of nature, however, changed as the story progressed as Jack got himself caught up with the violence of hunting resulting in Jack admitted “we hunt and feast and have fun” suggesting they do not give any care in the world about being rescued and that they have embraced their new lifestyle showcasing the savagery of individuals with an Id state of nature.
Remained very savage until the soldier at the end showed up on the island which ended up making Jack process the negative nature of the majority of his actions on the island to which he breaks down

Symbol: Conch

nashparkerm — 2023-11-02 15:28:33 UTC

The conch was introduced as a form of summoning as its whistle brought all of the boys together. It was ultimately decided that the conch resembled a source of power as they almost unanimously agreed to accept Ralph as the chief of the group. The conch became the object which gave the power to speak, implementing strict rules to maintain order and organization of the small group, although it didn’t seem to apply to Piggy
The conch started off as a powerful object to unify the boys but now it has been weakened. Not only do we know that based on the character interactions with the conch but also the conch itself is showing signs of depleting power as it was “ yellow and pink” but now “white and transparent. This relates to Hobbes' state of nature, suggesting the boys are now making decisions based on their own goods.
The conch continued on a path from unity to disunity with Jack's last chance at striking unity using the conch to try to unite with Ralph. This never happened as Jack’s conditions were too harsh and insulting. Jack called for Ralph to be removed as a leader due to him being “a coward” and this interaction resulted in the conchs ability to unite the boys.

Symbol: Fire

nashparkerm — 2023-11-02 15:29:00 UTC

The fire was presented as a glimmer of hope for some but as the hope expanded, it started taking its physical toll on the boys. Although it seemed to bring the boys together just like the conch originally did, the fire also caused some members to deviate from the pack.

Chapter 4 saw the meaning of the fire develop into the civility’s influence of the boys leaving them. Jack and the hunters decided to let the fire go out while a ship was passing the island representing the boy's denial of old society’s standards and the acceptance of their new standards.

The fire towards the end revealed how the balance of old and modern is needed to create a united sense of society. Utopia is impossible meaning that savagery will always be around in one way or the other. The fire in this case represents the old savagery lifestyle as it ends up out of control. This event, however, is the reason the adult soldier ended up on the island to bring back the sense of societal rule in the boys life.

Theme: Civility vs. Savagery

nashparkerm — 2023-11-02 15:29:51 UTC

Chapter 3 begins with Jack trying to hunt the pigs on the island until he runs into Ralph. Ralph informs Jack of his decision to build shelters to which Jack blows up after misinterpreting that comment. Ralph had learned of the snakes on the island as had decided that before they resort to Savagery, they had to work together to form one cohesive environment for each individual in order to achieve success in the most efficient manor.

Roger destroyed the sandcastles as a way to display his violence through their civility. Although he walked through the sandcastles showing his carelessness for others feeling and properties, he reveals that he would never physically harm anyone because his brain has been influenced by the “taboo of the old life” which explores Hobbes philosophies of humans being savage and then becoming civilized through standards set by society.

Id, Ego, Superego

nashparkerm — 2023-11-02 15:30:06 UTC

Jack

ID; He’s selfish and primitive

”I haven’t finished yet.”

Ralph

Superego; acts matured and finds wrongs in some of his behaviors

”Unwilling Ralph felt his lips twitch; he was angry with himself for giving way.”

Piggy

Ego; he is rational and uses accurate reasoning to judge others actions

”Piggy by advertising his omission made more cruelty necessary… “no more did Ralph”…”nor Simon””

Symbol: Beast

nashparkerm — 2023-11-02 15:30:29 UTC

Jack and Ralph’s argument brought out the so-called beast within the boys as well as Jack’s mask. The savage animals are what the term beast is correlated to making their fear savagery. Chapter 4 is when this sense of savagery comes out as Jack and the hunters put on masks which showed a “darker shadow…beneath the swarthiest of his skin” representing the growing savagery within the boys

The boys get more scared of the beast throughout these chapters which ultimately represents the savagery level within the boys. More determined to locate this beast unaware the beast is within themselves, the boys head to a mountain where they encounter and get scared by an ape-like figure. This ended up just being a normal human representing what the future will ultimately look like for the boys.

The pig on the stick represents a peace offering. It can be assumed this is a peace offering for the beast as it is said “The head is for the beast” giving a direct meaning for this object. This symbol is emphasized as we find out “It’s a gift” for the beast.

The beast towards the end of the book is revealed to the boys as the adult soldier arrives resulting in the realization of the wrongful actions taken without societal rules ultimately revealing the identification of the beast being nonexistent just like Simon had said before he was beaten due to the cruel state of nature the boys ended up with.

Poem: We Wear The Mask

nashparkerm — 2023-11-02 15:30:57 UTC

2. The speaker wears the mask because of the serious oppression his race still had to face making them “let the world dream otherwise

3. Melancholy; The speaker states the hardships faced such as the oppression they faced

4. Use of the words “we” and “our” suggesting this issue is not limited to the speaker and the extended metaphor of the mask as it doesn’t exist and the speaker keeps referring back to it.

5. Both Lord of the Flies and this poem use masks as a way to hide emotion. In the poem, the speaker speaks in an era where slavery had ended but the discrimination still existed leading to the speaker wanting to “let the world dream otherwise” about how African Americans felt in this ‘new era’. The same can be said about the Hunters in Lord of the Flies as they wanted to move on from the old society rules and live with new “bloodthirsty” social constructs they had recently developed. This can be traced back to Hobbes’ philosophies as he believed people would start making actions based on their own individual needs if no social rules were enforced. With the discrimination the speaker faced in the poem, the whole usage of the mask was based on the individual need of fitting in with old enemies.

Essay

nashparkerm — 2023-11-03 02:26:33 UTC

In Lord of the Flies, the island setting as well as Jack’s character development and the various physical symbols throughout had a negative effect on Ralph’s character and the overall theme of inherent evil in the world.

Throughout Lord of the Flies, the setting of an island helped convey the overall meaning of society being inherently evil. In the beginning, the boys had a satisfactory mental state as they all got along and accepted Ralph and his conch as entities of leadership. This deteriorated rapidly as the isolation drove the boys mad to the point of inflicting harm. The boys ended up using the geographical features of the island as showcased in the death of Piggy. Even before Piggy, the boys made a very damning action in their decision to kill Simon. There was no reason for Ralph to participate showing the dismantled state of nature in Ralph and the boys.

Jack’s character development altered Ralph’s perception at times and served as a key example of inherent evil. At first, Jack was obedient and agreed on having societal rules with Ralph as leader. This changed as soon as Jack let the fire burn out due to him hunting for the first time. This violence was enough to kickstart a rift between the two which could be labeled as good vs evil. Over time, Jack’s eagerness to draw blood grew exponentially until he was determined to slay a non-existent beastie ultimately drowning Ralph’s call for societal order out. More and more people started to join the side of evil negatively affecting Ralph’s mental state. Even with the great amount of evil present, true colors were shed at the end upon the arrival of the adult soldier who made all the boys realize the mass scale of their wrongdoings during their stay on the island revealing the inherent evil cast among the boys with a failed system of regulations.

Various symbols helped influence Ralph and the inherent evil in the world. The very first symbol the reader is introduced to held a lot of meaning throughout the story. The conch was the original and only peacemaker for all the boys but only for a limited time. The conch allowed Ralph to hold power as he was selected chief for being the founder of it. Ralph decided that the conch would serve as the main source of power giving people the ability to speak to all the boys without interruption. This quickly became inefficient as disagreements turned to rifts and hatred depleting the power of the conch as well as Ralph’s share of power. Thought the book, the conch started to lose its color representing the loss of unity and increase of evil among the boys. Eventually, through selfish actions, the conch ended up shattered revealing that any remaining chance of peace and good on the island was now completely gone. The conch’s lifespan showcased the inheritance of evil within the boys and the loss of hope and good within Ralph.