Lord Of The Flies

March 18, 2008

8-9 Orange (English)

8-9 Black (History)

The Lord of the Flies Essay

In the book, Lord of the Flies, William Golding connects a disaster to a bunch of little English kids with the government and civics. There are at least five different ways William Golding connects the civics and the boys that were stranded on the island. Some of the events are reflected directly from our government. The Constitutional principles tie into the book a lot by the popular sovereignty, limiting powers, sharing powers, separation of powers, and protecting against tyranny. There are many different elements of the government which includes voting, symbol of government authority, and committees which are of the most important.

For instance, voting is a huge part of our government. It is the citizens’ duty to vote for who they want making decisions for them. If you didn’t vote, there would be no way that you could complain about what or who has been elected because you didn’t fulfill your duty. There are three different times that people vote in the book Lord of the Flies.

вЂ?A chief! A chief!’ вЂ?I ought to be chief,’ said Jack simple arrogance, вЂ?because I’m chapter chorister and head boy. I can sing C sharp.’ Another buzz. вЂ?Well then,’ said Jack, вЂ?IвЂ"’ He hesitated. The dark boy, Roger, stirred at last and spoke up. вЂ?Let’s have a vote.’ вЂ?Yes!’ вЂ?Vote for chief!’ вЂ?Let’s voteвЂ"’ вЂ?Him with the shell.’ вЂ?Ralph! Ralph!’ вЂ?Let him be chief with the trumpet-thing.’ вЂ?All right. Who wants Jack for chief?’ With dreary obedience the choir raised their hands. вЂ?Who wants me?’ Every hand outside the choir except Piggy’s was raised immediately. Then Piggy, too, raised his hand grudgingly into the air. Ralph counted. вЂ?I’m chief then.’ (22-23).

This symbolizes an election that would happen when we vote for our president. There are two different parties on the island, just like in our government. The choir could represent the republicans and the rest of the boys could represent the democrats. In the quote:

вЂ?Perhaps that’s what the beast isвЂ"a ghost.’ The assembly was shaken as by a wind. вЂ?What d’you want me to say then? I was wrong to call this assembly so late. We’ll have to vote on them; on ghosts I mean; and then go to the shelters because we’re all tired. NoвЂ"Jack is it?вЂ"wait a minute. I’ll say here and now that I don’t believe in ghosts. Or I don’t think I do. But I don’t like the thought of them. Not now that is, in the dark. But we were going to decide what’s what.’ He raised the conch for a moment. вЂ?Very well then. I suppose what’s what is whether there are ghosts or notвЂ"’ He thought for a moment, formulating the question. вЂ?Who thinks there may be ghosts?’ For a long time there was silence and no apparent movement. Then Ralph peered into the gloom and made out the hands. He spoke softly. вЂ?I see.’ (90).

it shows that the president, Ralph, wants to decide if he should go to war with the beast or not. The legislature, the rest of the boys, is voting on if there actually are ghosts or not to decide if they should go to war with the ghosts.

He held the conch against his chest with one hand and stabbed the air with his index finger. вЂ?Who thinks Ralph oughtn’t to be chief?’ He looked expectantly at the boys ranged round, who had frozen. Under the palms there was deadly silence. вЂ?Hands up,’ said Jack strongly, вЂ?whoever wants Ralph no to be chief?’ The silence continued, breathless and heavy and full of shame. Slowly the red drained from Jack’s cheeks, then came back with a painful rush. He licked his lips and turned his head at an angle, so that his gaze avoided the embarrassment of linking with another’s eye. вЂ?How many thinkвЂ"’ His voice tailed off. The hands that held the conch shook. He cleared his throat, and spoke loudly. вЂ?All right then.’ He laid the conch with great care in the grass at his feet. The humiliating tears were running form the corner of each eye. вЂ?I’m not going to play any longer. Not with you.’ Most of the boys were looking down now, at the grass or their feet. Jack cleared his throat again. вЂ?I’m not going to be apart of Ralph’s lotвЂ"’ He looked along the right-hand logs, numbering the hunters that had been a choir. вЂ?I’m going off by myself. He can catch his own pigs. Anyone who wants to hunt when I do can come too.’ He blundered out of the triangle toward the drop to the white sand. вЂ?Jack!’ Jack turned and looked back at Ralph. For a moment he paused and then cried out, high-pitched, enraged. вЂ?вЂ"No!’ (127).

That quote shows that Jack who is part of the legislature wants to impeach Ralph and take his position. The rest of the legislature voted on the impeachment and the conclusion was to keep Ralph in power. Jack acted like a child and said that he wasn’t going to play with Ralph anymore. So Jack walked off and decided to try and survive on his own by hunting all of the time. Jack was able to hold a vote and to say what he wanted because he had the conch. With the conch no one could stop him from speaking.

Secondly, there are several of symbols of government that are used in our government today. The donkey and elephant are two symbols that represent the party that the politician belongs to. The most major symbol of government in the book Lord of the Flies is the conch that Ralph and Piggy found when they first were stranded on the island. One quote that shows how powerful the conch is:

�And another thing. We can’t have everybody talking at once. We’ll have to �Hands up’ like at school.’ He held the conch before his face and glanced round the mouth. �Then I’ll give him the conch.’ �Conch?’