The Lord Of The Flies: Themes Essay -- essays research papers

The Lord of the Flies Themes     The human had witnessed the atrocities of World War II and began to attempt the defects of their social ethics. Mans purity and innocence was gone.Mans ability to remain civilized was faltering. This change of attitude wasextremely evident in the literature of the historic period. Writers, who through the use of dexterous symbolism, treated the tragedy of mans fate. One such writer was WilliamGolding. An author who has seen the destruction of war and despises itsinevitable return. Through the use of innocent and untainted children, Goldingillustrates how man is doomed by his own instinct. The novel is called Lord ofthe Flies, and is of extreme importance to help reconstruct the current wave ofrevolutionary ideas that swept the twentieth-century generation. Lord of theFlies portrays the belief of the age that man is in a constant compete between darkness and light, the defects of human nature, and a philosophical pessimismthat seals the fate of man. Goldings work are, due to their rigid structureand style, are interpreted in many different ways. Its unique style isdifferent from the contemporary thought and therefor open for criticism.     The struggle between darkness and light is a major theme in all theworks of William Golding. Strong examples of this are found throughout Lord ofthe Flies. The most obvious is the struggle between Ralph and Jack. Thecharacters themselves have been heavily influenced by the war. Ralph is therepresentative of Democracy. Elected as the leader he and Piggy his companionkeep order and maintain a civilized government. The strength of Ralphscharacter was supported by the power of World War II. Jack, on the other hand,represents authoritarianism. He rules as a dictator and is the assume oppositeof Ralph. Jack is exemplifying the Hitlers and Mussolinis of the world. Heis what the world fears and yet follows. This struggle is born at the verybeginning and es calates till the very end. The struggle in the book is anegative outlook on life in the future. One other example is the debate overthe existence of the beast. The idea of a beast brings all into a state ofchaotic excitement in which Ralph and Piggy lose control. Ralph and especiallyPiggy try to convince everyone that there is no such thing as a beast tomaintain order. Jack an... ...he war-paint and sticks of Jack and his     followers. He too is chasing men in order to kill, and     the dirty children mock the absurd civilized attempt to     hide the power of evil. And so when Ralph weeps for     the end of innocence, the darkness of mans heart, and     the death of his true wise friend, Piggy, he weeps for all     the human race." (Cox 164)     such(prenominal) a tragic view of the future of mankind and their nature is aperfect window for people to understand how the impact of the war made the worldrethink its ethics and how life was thought of as a punishment in the extremesense and that there was no hope for the future further fear. This view hassince changed but not greatly as one would imagine. The basic ideas are stilltheir and modern society may still relate to this novel. The edition maynot be exact but from now on mankind will always weep for " the end of innocence,the darkness of mans heart, and" the most upset" for all the human race."