What are hidden messages of hidden meanings in lord of the flies by William Golding?

Question

This is for my A.P. English project and im stuck our group needs to present an new idea in our presentation on the book please help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Answer 1

Hey Douglas,

The following was taken from a previous answer, by Panacia - if he answers, please select him as best answer:

"One thing it shows is the inherit folly of pure democracy. People are capricious and unreliable in the short term. They can very rapidly change and tear down the institution. They are prone to manipulation by evil. Evil comes from one or a few and infects the rest unless you make a bulwark against it.

That's why all modern democracies are balanced with the rule of law. There are very real boundaries to freedom. Rather than being free form, we have institutions. Rather than being pure, we have democracy by representation. Why? To prevent what happened in the Lord of the Flies.

Here is an example that happens when you don't build that bulwark strong enough....nazi germany. Hitler was a popular figure who was VOTED into power. He dismantled the rule of law and, in a very short time, his evil infected the rest of the people. As they engaged in heinous evil, the very concept of democracy for them was shattered.

This illustrates something very clearly using real world experience. Which is more important. Freedom or the rule of law? The rule of law.

Also, one of the main themes of the book is these are children. Inexperienced and capricious. They are both ignorant and disdainful of the rules that adults have (the rule of law). They opt for freedom, especially freedom from these rules. They learn the hard way what a spectacularly bad idea that is.

So the symbolic here is pretty strong. Democracy is beautiful, yet fragile. It leads to freedom. But that freedom can be dangerous because people act and think like children, are selfish and easily manipulated. This is fertile ground for evil which, if allowed to take root can destroy everything and shatter democracy. The way to prevent this is the rule of law. People, being immature and selfish, balk at the rule of law. But, God forbid you give into this from them. That way leads to death (the symbolic of Piggy).

This is quite the opposite of your conclusion. You assume that the power and control are inherently evil while freedom is good. While it was a desire to be free from moral constraints that lead to disaster and an insistence on pure democracy that left them helpless against it. You missed the point. "

Answer 2

We are all beast if put in the right circumstance. The boys actions parrallel that of World War II that is going on in the adult world.
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Piggy (and Glasses): Clear-sightedness, intelligence. Their state represents the status of social order.

Ralph, The Conch Democracy, Order

Simon Pure Goodness, "Christ Figure"

Roger Evil, Satan

Jack Savagery, Anarchy

The Island A microcosm representing the world

The "Scar" Man's destruction, destructive forces

The Beast The evil residing within everyone, the dark side of human nature.

Lord of the Flies The Devil, great danger or evil


secondary themes include the following:

* People will abuse power when it's not earned.
* When given a chance, people often single out another to degrade to improve their own security.
* You can only cover up inner savagery so long before it breaks out, given the right situation.
* It's better to examine the consequences of a decision before you make it than to discover them afterward.
* The fear of the unknown can be a powerful force, which can turn you to either insight or hysteria.

http://www.rit.edu/~sjg2490/lotf/analysis.html

Answer 3

I though it was about society and how humanity needs to fight against the primal tribalism that exists in order to live in peace.

If you need a new idea you could discuss what the adult at the end represents.