Democracy In Lord Of The Flies And Cuckoo's Nest

Use of Democracy in LOTF and OFOTCN

The authors of Lord of the Flies and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's both use democratic societies in their novels. Kesey, in particular addresses American democracy. In OFOTCN, Mack and the inmates vote for a schedule change, and the majority rules in favor of altering the daily routine. However, Nurse Ratched decides to keep the day how it was. This process is similar to the American way of electing our president. As voters, we think we are voting for our future leader, but in reality, the Electoral College holds the power. Kesey is pointing out the irony in democracy's belief, power for the people by the people, because the government is taken out of the peoples hands. Golding is making a statement about democracy, in a post-war era where democracy is thought to be the saving grace that will create world peace. He highlights the fact that democracy cannot be tailored to fit everyone's needs, as shown in the government that Ralph created and its failure to meet the needs of the scared boys. He is commenting on the United States' policy of the separation of church and state. Religious beliefs have just as important and large a share in a human as political and monetary values. Golding notes that democracy is not the only item a person needs to thrive. Democracy by itself can not fix everything. But, if used correctly and if it has support from other areas, a democratic society can function. The authors of the two aforementioned books were not criticizing democracy; they were only bringing up some ironic subjects, and making a warning that simply democracy will solve everything.