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Literary Analysis Essay
Lord of the Flies written by William Golding is a novel about a group of young
British boys who are stranded on an island after their plane is shot down. The group
encounters countless problems during their duration of being stranded on the island,
resulting in multiple disputes between the boys. Conflict is apparent all the way through
the novel, whether it's being man versus man, man versus himself or man versus nature.
One of the ways that Golding portrays conflict is through two of the main characters,
Ralph, leader of the civilized group, and Jack, leader of the savage group. Golding
reveals the growing tension between civilization and savagery in three key moments in
the rising action: when the signal fire is let out and a boat passes by the island, when Jack
leaves the civilized group to create his own, and when the savages steal Piggy’s specs to
make their own fire. If these events did not happen, the climax would not have been
possible.
The first key moment in the rising action that shows the growing tension between
civilization and savagery is when Jack and his hunters let the fire die out, causing a ship
to pass by without a smoke signal showing and allowing the group of boys to miss an
opportunity of being rescued. This key moment is important because it marks the first
strife between the antagonist and protagonist in the novel. Ralph’s priorities are to build
shelters and keep a signal fire going in order to get rescued, however Jack’s priorities are
to hunt meat for the boys and have fun. Tension is shown in this moment when they
argue and Jack ends up taking his built frustrations out on innocent Piggy. Golding
writes, “he took a step, and able at last to hit someone, stuck his fist into Piggy’s
stomach” (100, 14). This event reveals a clear difference between the savage and the