I was familiar with the premise of Lord of the Flies long before I read the book.  The book has had a continual presence in Western culture since it was released in 1954, to the point where the title has become a established metaphor for describing a group of unruly children.  My impetus for reading Golding’s novel now was the Showtime series Yellowjackets.  I’d read that the series was originally conceived as an all-female adaptation of the book, but that the writers behind the show decided instead to use the story as the basis for an examination of teenage hierarchy.  Even though I’d read that Yellowjackets diverged widely from the book after the setup, knowing that Flies was one of the sources of its inspiration finally motivated me to read it.

I can’t say specifically when I’d learned what Lord of the Flies was about, but it might have been in high school.  Having now read the book, it feels like a perfect fit for a high school English class.  There are characters who one might either identify with or recognize from amongst their peers.  There’s Ralph, handsome and charismatic; the bookish, awkward, asthmatic Piggy; the shy, perceptive and enigmatic boy Simon; Jack, who wants to assert his dominance over everyone through violence and intimidation; Roger, who likes to tortures animals and inflicting pain on others; and Samneric, friendly and agreeable followers.  

Golding does more than make his characters relatable archetypes.  Through narrative omnipotence, he puts us into the mind of all of the significant characters and makes it possible for us to relate to them on a personal level.  I found myself identifying not with one character, but with aspects of several of them.  There were times in my life when I’ve felt like Ralph, and other times like Piggy.  I can relate to “getting hot” as Jack does when things don’t go my way.  (I’ve never felt the urge to apply warpaint and hunt pigs as an outlet, though.)  Like Simon, I’ve had moments when I’ve been inspired but am either too embarrassed to share it, or can’t find suitable words to communicate it with others.

Golding’s characters are surprisingly multifaceted, to the point where I recognized the traits of one surfacing in another.  Jack may be overtly violent, but Ralph isn’t above inciting a confrontation with him to settle who is in charge.  Piggy isn’t always about rules and procedures, he can be affable like Ralph when he puts his mind to it.  Jack, in his way, is as much of a proponent of order as Piggy.  The difference between them is that unlike Piggy, who wants to abide by the rules of English society, Jack wants to establish an order influenced by the rituals of tribal societies.  This is where I found Golding to be an excellent observer of human nature.  He knows that within every Ralph there is a Jack who will come out depending on the situation.  Conversely, he knows that the Jack’s of the world can be productive members of society, provided their aggressive tendencies are given a proper outlet.

Although Golding gives us few details of the characters’ lives before they crash-landed on the island, what he does tell us suggests that the boys weren’t problem children.  They all had fulfilling lives before they wound up together.  Even the villainous trio of Jack, Maurice and Roger were in school and members of the choir.  Although the central theme of the story is that men will quickly devolve into primitive brutality without the structure of society to guide them, I don’t believe that outcome is as inevitable as Golding would have us believe.  As he shows us through Ralph, Piggy and Simon, a harsh environment can bring out the best in people as well as the worst.  Ralph’s leadership qualities emerge.  Simon has visions and courage.  Piggy learns how to apply his knowledge and stand up for his principles.  The reason why the island society eventually coalesced around Jack as leader is not strictly because they want to hunt pigs and live as savages.  It’s the culmination of acute leadership failures on behalf of the trio of would-be heroes.

In saying this, I concede that expecting Ralph, Piggy and Simon to be effective leaders when they are children is unfair.  They didn’t have the requisite life experience that would have taught them how to use their abilities.  The situation demanded that they function as adults at least ten years too soon.  If the trio were at least in their twenties, the story probably would have had an entirely different outcome.  They would have gotten everyone on board with constructing shelters, created a schedule for minding the fire, collaborating hunting strategies and so on.  Despite their promise, Ralph, Piggy and Simon ultimately failed as leaders because Jack’s leadership style was easier for the majority to grasp and provided tangible and immediate rewards.

Before I delve into why Jack was able to usurp Ralph’s leadership, I’ll explain why the trio of heroes were unable to keep the others united to their side.  First off is Ralph.

Ralph may have innate leadership abilities, but at his age in the book those abilities are just emerging.  He has presence, is likable and expresses himself effectively.  However, Ralph has a tendency to lose his train of thought, requiring Piggy to keep him on message about keeping the fire lit.  Unfortunately, reminding everyone of the goal of being rescued isn’t enough to keep them motivated.  Ralph needed to inspire the others to keep at this task indefinitely, and he doesn’t have the ability to do that.  He needed to paint a picture in everyone’s minds of the life they once had every day, so that they would be focused on keeping the fire lit every day.  As it stands, the longer they were stranded on the island, the more distant their former lives became.  Ralph expected the others to dutifully follow his instructions like a commander in the military, but the absence of continual motivation resulted in everyone skirting their responsibilities in favor of Jack’s visceral lifestyle.  

Ralph’s lack of appreciation of what leadership means is revealed in the latter portion of the novel.  While Ralph is upset at the others for disregarding his orders, he’s even more so about losing the title of chief.  He fails to grasp that the reason why he’s no longer chief is due to his failure as a leader.  His final confrontation with Jack was driven more by his wounded pride than out of concern for the welfare of those he was responsible for.  Ralph was full of himself and didn’t acknowledge the revolt fomenting right in front of him before it was too late.

Piggy may be the only conceptual thinker on the island, but his off-putting demeanor and feebleness make it impossible for anyone to take him seriously.  He’s the exact opposite of Ralph.  If he were older, he would have had time to develop a sense of humor and sharpened his oratory skills.  (I wonder if Golding used Winston Churchill as the basis for Piggy and Neville Chamberlain for Ralph.)  He could have garnered some sympathy for himself by speaking about his deceased parents, but he avoids getting into details about what happened to them.  When he brings up his Aunt, who raised him, his recollections of her are generalized.  As a result, the only way Piggy knows how to endear himself to others by confiding his awful nickname.  When he tries to alleviate the fear among the littuns by stating that life is scientific and that people will be traveling to Mars a few years after the war, his words fall flat because the others don’t have his capacity for rational, emotionless thought.  Piggy is smart, but he doesn’t yet know how to express himself without drawing attention to how smart he is.  That he’s killed by Roger immediately after making an impassioned and inspired speech about morality and just  is cruelly ironic.

Simon is a mystic who perceives people and events at a deeper level than anyone else on the island.  He is the only one who understands how the fear of the beast will fuel Jack’s rise as leader.  Fear once ruled primitive man, and Simon foresees Jack harnessing that fear to put himself into power.  Furthermore, Simon knows that the bloodlust that Jack has tapped into will soon progress from pigs to each other.  With this insight, Simon finds the courage to examine the beast and discovers that it’s not a monster but a fallen soldier.  While Simon understands that he must explain this to the others to prevent what he sees coming, he does so in the worst way possible.  He runs all the way to where the others have gathered and arrives exhausted.  Then, instead of speaking with Ralph or Piggy first, he confronts the tribe while they’re in the middle of their hunting chant.  Because the others have previously categorized  Simon off as a weirdo, they mindlessly kill him and think nothing of it.  Simon is an example of a person who nobody listens to because of the way they present themselves.  He’s unable to communicate with the others because they perceive him as a threat.  Unlike Ralph and Piggy, Simon doesn’t understand how others see him, and his lack of self-perception leads to his own death.

Chief Jack

Jack’s rise to power is a reaction to those who are in power.  Jack hates Ralph, Piggy and Simon for different reasons, but primarily because they are everything that he is not.  Ralph is handsome, friendly, well-liked and graceful.  Piggy is intelligent.  Simon is sensitive.  Jack instinctually loathes all three of them because they remind him of the qualities he wishes he had.  The one skill Jack does have is the ability to exploit the weaknesses in others.  (Jack shares this trait with Roger, which is why they pair up to lead the tribe.)  Jack notices how the shared leadership system of Ralph, Piggy and Simon is failing and schemes his way into being voted in as the new chief.  

Jack may not be as smart as Piggy, but he is cunning.  He leverages the collective (and irrational) fear of the beast to position himself as the only one who will keep them safe from harm.  Jack sees how Ralph and Piggy have been unable to keep everyone invested in the long-term goals of building shelter and maintaining the fire, so he positions himself as someone who can provide visceral thrills and immediate rewards through hunting.  Whereas the lives of the children had been very loosely structured, Jack’s primitive tribal system gives the children a firm hierarchy and societal structure.  The others vote to make Jack chief because his leadership is predicated on security and tangible, short-term results.  

Unlike the trio, Jack never asks his followers to think beyond today.  He only requires that they obey him, and in return he will protect them from the beast and reward them with meat.  The others gravitate towards Jack’s leadership because what he offers–namely hunting, killing and eating, is easy to grasp.  In return for their allegiance, Jack will handle all of the thinking for them.  Instead of worrying about their future, Jack promises to keep them safe and well-fed.  His plan of bread and circuses might have worked, if only he could let go of his hatred of Ralph.  Instead, Jack’s reckless use of fire leads to his own demise and Ralph’s rescue.  

Aside from bringing the story to an ironic conclusion, Golding also intended the ending to serve as a warning.  Throughout the story, Golding asserts that the appeal of tribalism and barbarism is always present within men, waiting for the right situation to take hold.  When it does, it will result in death and destruction on both sides of the conflict that ensues.  Golding’s story tells the Ralphs, Piggys and Simons of the world to always be on guard against violent dictators like Jack.  In the end, Ralph is rescued as a result of Jack’s irrational thinking.  Before writing this novel, Golding served as a member of the British Royal Navy in WWII.  As someone who witnessed violence and barbarism firsthand, Golding uses the twist ending to emphasize how those on the side of rationalism will need more than luck when confronting evil in the real world.