Lord of The Flies Critical Analysis Essay

Published by Aster Phoenix, July 1, 2010

This was a critical analysis essay on the popular novel "Lord of the Flies". I turned this one in as an assignment, but feel free to read and give me

feedback on what I could have done better.

Lord of the Flies

            The Notes on Lord of the Flies is a series of reflections written by E. L. Epstein on the well-known novel, Lord of the Flies, which is written by William

Golding. In these notes, he talks about many themes and symbols presented in the novel. With these themes and symbols, the author is able to portray

modern day society with the novel. I personally agree with Epstein’s analysis of the novel, but I also believe that there is much more to it.

            In Notes on the Lord of the Flies, E. L. Epstein discusses the themes and symbols presented in the novel Lord of the Flies. He states, “The theme is

an attempt to trace the defects of society back to the defects of human nature.” He is saying that the problems that arise in the society are actually due to the

problems in the humans themselves. He is also saying that society should be dependent on the nature of the individual rather than on a system of

government. This is shown through the destruction caused by the children. Due to the natural desire for leadership, the group of children who have

established a government and were cooperating eventually split up and started going against each other. Due to his instinctive and acquired hatred for Ralph

and Piggy, Jack, with the help of his hunters, not only kill Piggy, but they even ignite the entire forest in an attempt to kill Ralph. This demonstrates only a

fraction of the devastating effects of human nature.

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            Another theme presented in Epstein’s notes is the emergency of basic wildness. He explains how the struggle in modern society is presented through

the struggle between Ralph and Jack on a larger scale. This wildness is also the cause of the conflict between Jack, who has more of this wildness than any

other character, and Ralph’s brain trust, Piggy, who is the novel’s representation of science and intelligence.

            In his notes, Epstein also talks about the symbols that were presented in the novel. One symbol he talks about is the “Lord of the Flies”. The “Lord of

the Flies” is the bloody, severed sow’s head that Jack and his hunters impale on a stake as an offering to the beast. Epstein discusses how the “Lord of the

Flies” is a symbol for a devil dedicated to causing destruction, demoralization, and panic. The “Lord of the Flies” is also a symbol of the power of evil as well

as a sort of figure who awakens the beast within each human being.

            I personally agree with Epstein’s analysis and interpretation of the novel, Lord of the Flies. The novel clearly presents the themes and symbols

discussed by Epstein. I agree and believe that this book is symbolic in nature except the rescue of the children occur, because in real life, there will be no

upper force to stop fighting and rescue humans when they need it. In the Lord of the Flies, when there is no higher authority over the children, the evil from

within the children is exposed, showing the true nature of mankind. The surroundings and environment also contribute to the nature of man. If a man lives in

a poor and negative environment, as in the kid’s situation, he will adapt to this poor environment. People in reality will always be in competition and fight for

their own survival. We would all like to believe that, in times of depression, humans would all cooperate and work together for the greater good, but in reality,

when food and resources are extremely limited, they will compete for this and cause destruction in order to survive.

            There are also many themes and symbols that were not discussed by Epstein in the Notes on Lord of the Flies. One such theme is the loss of

innocence, which is presented in many novels. In the beginning of the novel, the boys clearly possessed a sense of innocence as they worked together and

had fun. As the story progressed, the children began killing animals and eventually even each other. At this point, they have clearly loss their innocence. This

goes along with another theme, which is the fight for leadership. In the novel, as well as in reality, people fight for the right to be the leader. The fight for

leadership eventually leads to bloodshed and destruction as well as death, as shown through the struggle between Jack with his hunters and Ralph with the

rest of the children. A type of conflict shone in the story is man against nature. This is displayed through the boy’s ability to kill. In the beginning of the novel,

during the boy’s period of innocence, they were scared of killing animals in order to survive. As they lost their innocence, they became increasingly prone to

kill. By the end of the novel, when the children have lost their innocence, the children wanted to kill, and not only did they want to kill animals, but they even

wanted to kill each other.

            Epstein also missed many symbols that were presented in Lord of the Flies. One symbol was the conch shell. The conch shell was discovered in the

beginning of the novel and it served as a symbol of civilization, order, peace, and unity. It was also a symbol of a democracy, as it was used to govern

meetings by giving the right to speak. Piggy’s glasses are also an important symbol; it is the symbol of science and intelligence. It is clear that the glasses

are a symbol of science when the boys use his glasses to start the fire. Another important symbol in the novel is the characters. Piggy symbolizes the

intelligence and sciences. On the contrary, Jack symbolizes the exact opposite; he symbolizes the savagery and desire for power. Ralph’s character lies in

between these two, portraying the government in modern society. He wants to support the desires of the public, but he realizes that certain rules must be

applied in order to prevent chaos. Ultimately, the turning point of the story was the destruction of two of these symbols: Piggy and the conch shell. The

destruction of these symbols marked the end of the democracy and order that was established by the children at the beginning of the story and the point

where the children officially became savages.

            E. L. Epstein’s analysis of the novel, Lord of the Flies, presented many great ideas. He discussed many themes such as the natural wildness in

humans, as well as the cause of the defects in human society. Epstein also discusses the central symbol of the entire novel, which is the “Lord of the Flies”.

Although Epstein mentioned many themes and symbols, there are also many more such as the loss of innocence, the battle for leadership, the conch shell,

Piggy’s glasses, and the characters. Lord of the Flies was a fantastic novel with many deep themes and symbols that all helped contribute to William

Golding’s use of the novel to portray modern day society.

and gave him the illusion of mastery." (Golding 61)

While Little Henry is only a small, weak child with little power, he still uses the little power

that he has to dominate over something weaker then him. Little Henry is the embodiment of a

child; even as an innocent young boy, he still has the craving and lust to dominate, to hurt,

and to destroy.

These three characters would show that inside every human there is a beast: a willingness to

act on personal desires to hurt and dominate the weak. But, there is Simon; he is the

exception. He is what shows that not all humans act on these evils. Throughout Lord of the

Flies, he is never seen hurting, dominating or destroying weaker things. He does not let this

beast escape from within. Samuel Hynes writes, "Simon understands that man must seek out

the meaning of evil . . . " (65). Simon never gives into the temptation of evil; in fact, he works

to destroy the source of evil. This is seen when he goes to confront the two beasts, the pigs

head and the dead pilot. Simon is seen throughout the novel helping the littluns where the

other characters seek to dominate them. He is the hope for mankind in Lord of the Flies.

Through Simon Golding shows that humans do not have to fall to temptation; one can resist

the urge to dominate and destroy weaker things.

Uncle Ben, one of the characters in the comic and film Spiderman, remarks that "with great

power comes great responsibility." While Spiderman may not bear much weight in the

literary community, the insight in Uncle Ben's words does. Power is not a right, yet it is not a

gift. It is a responsibility that should only be given to those capable of wielding it for good.

Power is abused by almost all people when they act on their desires to dominate, to hurt, and

to destroy the weak. This main theme is proved in William Golding's novel Lord of the Flies

by the actions of Roger, Ralph, Little Henry, and Simon. The feeling Golding gives is best

summed up by the late musician Jimi Hendrix: "When the power of love overcomes the love

of power, the world will know peace."

This was a critical analysis essay on the popular novel "Lord of the Flies". I turned

this one in as an assignment, but feel free to read and give me feedback on what I

could have done better.

Lord of the Flies

            The Notes on Lord of the Flies is a series of reflections written by E. L. Epstein on

the well-known novel, Lord of the Flies, which is written by William Golding. In these notes,

he talks about many themes and symbols presented in the novel. With these themes and

symbols, the author is able to portray modern day society with the novel. I personally agree

with Epstein’s analysis of the novel, but I also believe that there is much more to it.

            In Notes on the Lord of the Flies, E. L. Epstein discusses the themes and symbols

presented in the novel Lord of the Flies. He states, “The theme is an attempt to trace the

defects of society back to the defects of human nature.” He is saying that the problems that

arise in the society are actually due to the problems in the humans themselves. He is also

saying that society should be dependent on the nature of the individual rather than on a

system of government. This is shown through the destruction caused by the children. Due to

the natural desire for leadership, the group of children who have established a government

and were cooperating eventually split up and started going against each other. Due to his

instinctive and acquired hatred for Ralph and Piggy, Jack, with the help of his hunters, not

only kill Piggy, but they even ignite the entire forest in an attempt to kill Ralph. This

demonstrates only a fraction of the devastating effects of human nature.

            Another theme presented in Epstein’s notes is the emergency of basic wildness. He

explains how the struggle in modern society is presented through the struggle between

Ralph and Jack on a larger scale. This wildness is also the cause of the conflict between

Jack, who has more of this wildness than any other character, and Ralph’s brain trust, Piggy,

who is the novel’s representation of science and intelligence.

            In his notes, Epstein also talks about the symbols that were presented in the novel.

One symbol he talks about is the “Lord of the Flies”. The “Lord of the Flies” is the bloody,

severed sow’s head that Jack and his hunters impale on a stake as an offering to the beast.

Epstein discusses how the “Lord of the Flies” is a symbol for a devil dedicated to causing

destruction, demoralization, and panic. The “Lord of the Flies” is also a symbol of the power

of evil as well as a sort of figure who awakens the beast within each human being.

            I personally agree with Epstein’s analysis and interpretation of the novel, Lord of the

Flies. The novel clearly presents the themes and symbols discussed by Epstein. I agree and

believe that this book is symbolic in nature except the rescue of the children occur, because

in real life, there will be no upper force to stop fighting and rescue humans when they need

it. In the Lord of the Flies, when there is no higher authority over the children, the evil from

within the children is exposed, showing the true nature of mankind. The surroundings and

environment also contribute to the nature of man. If a man lives in a poor and negative

environment, as in the kid’s situation, he will adapt to this poor environment. People in reality

will always be in competition and fight for their own survival. We would all like to believe that,

in times of depression, humans would all cooperate and work together for the greater good,

but in reality, when food and resources are extremely limited, they will compete for this and

cause destruction in order to survive.

            There are also many themes and symbols that were not discussed by Epstein

in the Notes on Lord of the Flies. One such theme is the loss of innocence, which is

presented in many novels. In the beginning of the novel, the boys clearly possessed a sense

of innocence as they worked together and had fun. As the story progressed, the children

began killing animals and eventually even each other. At this point, they have clearly loss

their innocence. This goes along with another theme, which is the fight for leadership. In the

novel, as well as in reality, people fight for the right to be the leader. The fight for leadership

eventually leads to bloodshed and destruction as well as death, as shown through the

struggle between Jack with his hunters and Ralph with the rest of the children. A type of

conflict shone in the story is man against nature. This is displayed through the boy’s ability to

kill. In the beginning of the novel, during the boy’s period of innocence, they were scared of

killing animals in order to survive. As they lost their innocence, they became increasingly

prone to kill. By the end of the novel, when the children have lost their innocence, the

children wanted to kill, and not only did they want to kill animals, but they even wanted to kill

each other.

            Epstein also missed many symbols that were presented in Lord of the Flies. One

symbol was the conch shell. The conch shell was discovered in the beginning of the novel

and it served as a symbol of civilization, order, peace, and unity. It was also a symbol of a

democracy, as it was used to govern meetings by giving the right to speak. Piggy’s glasses

are also an important symbol; it is the symbol of science and intelligence. It is clear that the

glasses are a symbol of science when the boys use his glasses to start the fire. Another

important symbol in the novel is the characters. Piggy symbolizes the intelligence and

sciences. On the contrary, Jack symbolizes the exact opposite; he symbolizes the savagery

and desire for power. Ralph’s character lies in between these two, portraying the

government in modern society. He wants to support the desires of the public, but he realizes

that certain rules must be applied in order to prevent chaos. Ultimately, the turning point of

the story was the destruction of two of these symbols: Piggy and the conch shell. The

destruction of these symbols marked the end of the democracy and order that was

established by the children at the beginning of the story and the point where the children

officially became savages.

            E. L. Epstein’s analysis of the novel, Lord of the Flies, presented many great ideas.

He discussed many themes such as the natural wildness in humans, as well as the cause of

the defects in human society. Epstein also discusses the central symbol of the entire novel,

which is the “Lord of the Flies”. Although Epstein mentioned many themes and symbols,

there are also many more such as the loss of innocence, the battle for leadership, the conch

shell, Piggy’s glasses, and the characters. Lord of the Flies was a fantastic novel with many

deep themes and symbols that all helped contribute to William Golding’s use of the novel to

portray modern day society.

There are many themes used in the novel ‘Lord of the Flies by William Golding. Here

I’m choosing several themes to discuss in this essay. The first theme is civilization vs.

savagery. In the novel ‘Lord of the Flies’ there are clear situations that show the conflict

between the human’s violent behavior and the rules of civilization, they are all parts of

human life. In the novel, Ralph respectively represents civilization and Jack represents

savagery. The conflict between them is dramatized and clearly shown towards authority.

Ralph assembles the boys for a meeting and tries to set rules of order for the island to

protect the good of the group. He wants the boys to obey the moral and ethical codes of the

English society the boys were raised in.

Jack has the strong wish in gaining power over the other boys to satisfy his wish and

desire. When Jack begins to have power and leadership of his own team, he insists the team

to obey his instructions, which not only serve him but accept him as an idol. The violent

power that Jack desired is an illegal power that is not exists in normal organization.

We can realize that savage or violent is still exist in civilized society. From the novel,

Jack's desire is to kill pigs to demonstrate his bravery at the beginning. He is given

responsibility to find food for the entire group. As long as he follows the rules of civilization,

Jack is not harm to the other boys; his strong wish are being re-directed into a productive

work. If Jack refuses to follow Ralph’s instruction and show his violent, his action will create

harmful and slowing down the expression of civilization.

Disagreement between Jack and Ralph about the usage of the conch is also a major

conflict of savagery and civilization. Ralph suggests using the conch to assemble all the boys

for meeting because the conch shell is a powerful marker of democratic order on the island;

however, Jack disagree and he states that the conch is meaningless as a symbols of authority

and order. The importance and value of the civilization decline on the island.

On the other hand, Jack keep on influencing the boys to hunt the ‘beast’ together with

him, this increase the dominance of savagery on the island and Jack's authority over the other

boys. The boys form up and join Jack where they were motivated by the fear of the beast.

The cancellation of the conch shell usage at the scene of Piggy's murder show the

destroy of civilization on the island. Ralph intends to use the stick as a spear to destroy ‘Lord

of the Flies’ also shows his own descent into savagery and violence. At the end of the novel,

savagery has totally displaced civilization as the common system on the island.

The second theme is individualism vs. community. There are few problems on the

island occur related to the role of the individual in society. They are the extinguishing of the

signal fire, the lack of shelters, the mass abandonment of Ralph's camp, and the murder of

Piggy. All these had happened because boys choose to follow the principle of self-interest

more than the principle of community. That is, the boys would rather fulfill their individual

desires than cooperate as a coherent society, which would require that each one act for the

good of the group.

Therefore, Jack symbolized the principles of individualism. Jack wants to have

personal happiness and independence on the island and satisfy his desire. Ralph symbolized

the principles of community. Ralph wants to secure the group's rescue, a goal they can

achieve only by cooperating and reveal the importance of teamwork. Although Ralph's vision

is the most reasonable, it requires work and sacrifice on the part of the other boys. They put

away their societal duties and fulfilling their individual desires. The boys would rather play,

instead of building the shelters; the signal fire is extinguished when Jack's hunters fail to tend

to it on schedule. The boys were very excited about the offer that Jack proposed, that is their

total freedom. They decide to follow exactly what Jack’s planned to do. Jack knew that the

boys will exited about their self interest and they never know that what Jack had promised

them about their freedom is not real. The boys were not realized that the punishment,

irrational rules and behavior restrictions were far more than Ralph did.

It is very hard to sustain within a group dynamic with pure individual freedom when it

comes to a level that involving different groups of people in a community. Not much

individual are willing to give up their own freedom and interest and gain the benefits of being

in the group.

The third theme is man vs. nature. The boy will suffer the harsh consequences on the

natural world. They had to learn how to track, building shelter and kill wild pig. They have to

sustain their life in a natural environment of the island, which no humans exist before. The

boys have to face each other for many reasons, for example the argument between Ralph and

Jack about the importance of the fire. Jack feels hunting is more important than the fire, while

Ralph thinks contrary.

Next is the harmony with nature, represents by Simon. He likes the beauty and peace

in the natural environment during his back off to the isolated forest. He thinks that nature is

not man's enemy but is part of the human experience. However, Ralph does not find peaceful

harmony with the natural world, he retreat from the natural world. He refuse to take part or

participate in hunting, he just stays on the beach. Unlike Jack, he knows that difficulty of

staying human life on the island, he responds to this perceived conflict by acting destructively

towards animals and plant life.

The forth theme is the loss of innocence. Jack and Ralph repeatedly argue it occur

deal with the election of Ralph as chief all the way to the hunting of pigs. It seems that all

Jack wants to do is hunt and kill even before they have any shelter to protect them from the

elements. For instance, in chapter 3 it was said by Jack, "We want meat". Jack says this on

more than one occasion. It is also evident that the boys are becoming crueler. In chapter

eight, during the successful hunt of a pig Jack says, "Pick up the pig, this head is for the

beast". The head of the pig was stab by a spear through the ground as an offering for the

beast.

At the beginning of the novel, when the boys are first deserted on the island, they

behave like children, they enjoying their freedom, homesickness and fear. But at the end of

the novel, they reflect the war of their home country: they attack, torture, and murder one

another without uncertainly even regret. The best example for this is the forest that Simon

back off to is the natural and peaceful place of the island. But when Simon returns to tell the

boys of the "real" beast while the boys are in a chant screaming, "Kill the beast! Cut his

throat! Spill his blood!" Unfortunately Simon died under a spear. A powerful symbol of how

the innocence of childhood had totally changed by fear and savagery.

For another instance, when Ralph is first introduced, he is acting like a child,

splashing in the water, mocking Piggy. He tells Piggy that he is certain that his father, a naval

commander, will rescue him. Ralph repeats his belief in their rescue throughout the novel, he

hope that his own father will discover them that a passing ship will be attracted by the signal

fire on the island. By the end of the novel, he has lost hope in the boys' rescue altogether.

The last theme that I choose is the nature of evil. The main concern or the key point of

the novel “Lord of the Flies” is the evil innate within the human spirit. An external source

can influence a person but it depends on the circumstances each individual faces. The

capacity for evil varies from person to person. Societal rules and institutions play an

important role in the existence of human evil. Through detailed depictions of the boys'

different responses to their situation, it presents a complex articulation of humanity's potential

for evil.

The novel refuses to accept supernatural or religious accounts of the origin of human

evil. The motivation for the boys' increasingly cruel and they start to have violent behavior.

Their irrational fear of the beast influence the boys' mental and it leads to the separation

between Jack and Ralph and their respective followers. This is what prevents them from

recognizing and addressing their responsibility for their own impulses.

The beast is the internal force that present in every individual and is very hard for the

individual to win against it. But in the novel, there are also good things about the human

capacity for good. For example, Simon and Ralph recognize their own capacity for evil.

While evil impulses may hide secretly in every human’s mind, feelings and attitudes, the

intensity of these impulses appear to vary from individual to individual. Through the different

characters, the novel presents a continuum of evil, ranging from Jack and Roger, who are

eager to engage in violence and cruelty, to Ralph and Simon, who struggle to contain their

brutal instincts. The characters who struggle most successfully against their evil instincts do

so by appealing to ethical or social codes of behavior. For example, Ralph and Piggy demand

the return of Piggy's glasses because it is the "right thing to do." While evil may be present in

us all, it can be successfully suppressed by the social norms.

In conclusion, if the boys had not met with the plane crashed, these boys would certainly

never discover the darkness of human's heart. Through the actions of Jack, Ralph's decent into

savagery, and the innocence death of Simon in the novel, it proves that without laws and rules,

humans cannot control the inherent evil that is inside them. The novel proves that men are

inherently evil through the fate of Simon's death. His death symbolizes how a society without rules

will eventually destroy any good that may remain, as the inherent evil in most humans will

overpower the few people who are inherently good.