Lord of the Flies​ Analysis

A place without rules, parents, responsibilities; it may sound like an ideal

situation, but when all you want is to go home, chaos can ensue. In Wiliam Goldings

Lord of the Flies​, he gives us an insight on how people can turn from civilized to

savagery. When a group of boys are stranded on an island without “grown-ups” their fun

and games turn deadly. The boys eventually become so savage that when an individual

does not conform to their barbaric ways, they go against him. William Golding utilizes

plot and imagery in order to convey the idea that everyone goes against Ralph when he

will not become a part of Jacks savage hunters.

Throughout the book, Golding uses his plot to show us the idea of society against

Ralph. Near the end of the book, we see Jack creating his own tribe, turning people

against Ralph, and attempting to kill Ralph. After a while, with Ralph as the leader, Jack

gets fed up and decides that he is, “going off by myself…Anyone who wants to hunt

when I do can come too” (131). He even forces SamnEric to be in the group. Moving

along, we see how Jack makes the new tribe go against Ralph. Eric explains”[t]hey hate

you, Ralph” (188). Since Ralph did not want to be a savage hunter and wanted order,

the community is going against the individual. Golding further develops the plot showing

us the attempt to kill Ralph, nearing the end of the book. The rest of the boys are so

against Ralph that, “ [t]hey’re going to hunt you (Ralph) tomorrow” (188). Overall,

through the plot, we understand how, due to Ralph not conforming to Jack’s crazy tribe,
he is an outcast and is persecuted. Not only does the plot show this, but Golding uses

other tactics to convey this idea.

Golding’s imagery also shows readers the idea of the collective society versus

the individual. During the middle of the story when the boys are one collective “group”,

Ralph identifies his focus on the fire saying, “We’ve got to make smoke up there - or

die” (81). Alternatively, Jack, the more savage boy, becomes consumed on hunting and

killing. The imagery of Jack and his eyes that “...were bright blue eyes that in this

frustration seemed bolting and nearly made” (48), during his hunting, suggests that his

values lie in killing. We see this again when his hobby becomes the “destructive ritual”

that Ralph refuses to join. Ralph and his hunters kill Simon and “the crowd surged after

it (Simon), poured, bit, tore” (153). The savage behavior that Jack exhibited was

something Ralph wanted no part of, and that alienated him from the others at the end of

the book. All the boys decide to join Jacks destructive group with Ralph as the target of

their savage games.

Overall, through the disturbing images, and barbaric plot, William Golding shows

readers how a community can go against an individual. We saw how Jack turned

people against Ralph and targeted him when he was not conforming to Jacks ideas and

actions. The community turned on their original chief. This important idea of collective

group vs. the individual shows us how we need to stand strong on our own values and

always do what's right despite the majority. Always remember to do what you believe is

the right thing to do.