Lord of the Flies

            In the Lord of the Flies, William Golding showed the natural conflict of man vs. man.  Golding demonstrated this conflict through the two boys, Ralph and Jack and through the many symbolic items and events presented throughout the novel.

In man vs. man, or man vs. other man, Ralph symbolizes man’s desire and fight for order and rules in the troubled society. Even at the very beginning, this is shown in the use of the conch. On the other hand there is Jack who is the antithesis of Ralph. Jack desires power and control for personal pride and vanity (Kohl, n.d.). Golding created this character, a hunter which lusts for blood and uses fear to control others. His own thoughts established his character: “His mind was crowded with memories; memories of the knowledge that had come to them when they closed in on the struggling pig, knowledge that they had outwitted a living thing, imposed their will upon it, taken away its life like a long satisfying drink(p.70).” Here is a typical antagonist which was created to bring into the antagonist the forces he must overcome. Yet here we have a very realistic “man” who brings troubles to others remorselessly just so he can feed his sense of power and pride. All throughout the novel Ralph fought against this very evil. The manhunt part of the novel is the final culmination of his fight against “a very evil savage man” (Critical Analysis, n.d.).

Moreover, Ralph’s character also demonstrated a different man vs. man conflict, or man vs. himself, when he was forced to accept the dictates of Jack in order to survive. Ralph, as with every man, became aware of the existence of evil in all human beings. His turmoil was emphasized in the last chapter: “What was the sensible thing to do? There was no Piggy to talk sense. There was no solemn assembly for debate nor dignity of the conch.”  He understood the lure of savagery and evil, but his triumphant fight them proved that man can choose to be civilized and good no matter how desperate the situation is.

In the end, as Ralph was fully aware of the evils in every man, when they were finally rescued he despaired for himself and for others (Analysis of Major Characters, 2007). He wept for his friends who died and those who succumbed and became victims of the lure of savagery: “...Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man’s heart, and the fall through the air of a true, wise friend called Piggy.” (p.202).

Works Cited

Analysis of Major Characters Lord of the Flies. 2007. Sparknotes.

Retrieved 24 August 2007 from

http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/flies/canalysis.html

 Critical Analysis on The Lord of the Flies. n.d.

Retrieved 24 August 2007 from

http://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/91156.html

Kohl, Linsberg. n.d. Literary analysis: Symbolism in Lord of the Flies, by William Golding.

Retrieved 24 August 2007 from

http://www.helium.com/tm/224000/short-novel-flies-written