Lord Of The Flies Contrast Essay

In the novel, The Lord of the Flies, author William Golding explores and differentiates the nature of good and evil in society, by comparing the survival instincts of two very different young boys named Jack and Piggy. Jack and Piggy are both thirteen year old boys from Britain who are stranded on an island during World War III and are struggling to survive, but as similar as they appear to be, they are very different from one another and have opposite intentions. Piggy represents civilization, while Jack represents savagery. Piggy believes in living by the rules, acting peacefully, following commands, and signifies the good of humanity, while Jack believes in fulfilling immediate desires, acting violently to gain power over others, and controlling everything and everyone around him. The two boys share different attitudes towards the other boys on the island, they do not agree on the plans for rescue and survival, and their ideas on what rules should be followed differ completely. This creates a major conflict between the two boys and furthermore proves how different they really are from each other.

To begin, people sometimes seem similar to one another but this does not always mean they are. Jack and Piggy may both be two young British boys who are stuck on an island together but they are far from being alike. This can be seen through the way that they treat the other boys on the island, whether they are the older boys or the "littluns." Their attitudes towards others differ because Piggy chooses to treat people equally and is always nice while Jack is rude, singles people out, and tortures them. Piggy's fairness towards everyone represents civilization, while Jack's cruelness represents savagery. Savage boys like Jack use their power to satisfy their own desires and are constantly cruel towards everyone for their own amusement, especially the smaller boys also known as the "Littluns." Jack is mean to the boys and tortures them and in the end gets a laugh out of everything. He is most cruel towards Piggy. "You're talking too much. Shut up fatty!" (28) Jack says this to Piggy, not realizing that he is hurting Piggy's feelings. While reenacting a hunt that took place earlier, Jack gets so caught up in "pretending to kill a pig" that he uses Robert as the target. Robert is screaming in pain because he is being tortured, but Jack just keeps on laughing. Roger tells Jack to use a real pig next time, but Jack starts laughing and says that it is funnier using one of the smaller boys to torture. "Hold him! Kill him! Kill him!" Jack said. All at once Robert was screaming and struggling. Jack had him by the hair and was brandishing his knife. (142) "You want a pig, like in a real hunt," said Roger. "Use a littlun!" Jack said and everybody laughed. (142/143) Piggy is different from Jack because in the beginning of the novel, he tells a boy named Ralph that he is called Piggy by everyone back home but he does not wish to be called that on the island because everyone makes fun of him when they know his name. The fact that he is fat emphasizes the name "Piggy." Soon Ralph tells everyone Piggy's name and everyone starts laughing at him. He is humiliated, and rather then going and yelling at Ralph, he politely confronts him and asks him why he would do such a thing. This shows that Piggy will never be mean to anyone no matter what happens. "You told Ð''em after what I said about being called Piggy. I said I didn't care as long as they didn't call me Piggy; an' I said to tell and then you went an' said straight out-" Ralph looking with more understanding at Piggy, saw that he was hurt and crushed. (33) Piggy was deeply hurt, but he never got mad to the point of being as cruel as Jack would have been if this happened to him. Piggy does not have it in him to be mean to the others around him. He is a good person with a good heart, and only wants to be