Thematic Elements in Lord of the Flies by William
Golding
by Barry Wright
Essay: Thematic Elements in Lord of the Flies by William Golding
Pages: 10
Rating: 3 stars
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“All are born with extremely good and evil hungry desires. The question lies, in which of the two, do they take
pleasure in starving the most?” –Enrique Vega. This quote asks a question that we don’t really think about. We
never grow up and say that we want to be evil or good. It all happens from experience and choice. In Lord of the
Flies many extreme events, like kill one another for thrill, happen causing the boys to choose between having an
evil or good identity. Identity is one of the main themes in Lord of the flies by William Golding because it shows us
the struggle of choosing to be a moral, honest good person or a dishonest, violent evil person through external
conflicts, internal conflicts, and symbolism.
In the book Golding shows external conflicts through the fighting between characters and survival on the island.
From the second the boys set foot on the island they show loss of civilization by bullying Piggy because he was
different, fat, and his name is Piggy (Jack hunts pigs). They call him by his nickname and don’t even care how he
felt. When Ralph calls in the very first meeting with the conch they have a chief election. "None of the boys could
have found good reason for this, what intelligence had been shown was traceable to Piggy while the most obvious
leader was Jack. But there was stillness about Ralph as he sat that marked him out: there was his size, and
attractive appearance, and most obscurely, yet most powerfully, there was the conch. The being that had blown
that, had sat waiting for them on the platform with the delicate thing balanced on his knees, was set apart"
(Golding 19). This quote is conveying the difference and individuality of Ralph, Jake, and Piggy. Ralph and Piggy
are intelligent and in...