Lord of the Flies: the Nature of GovernmentsMany governments currently exist in the world, but none of them are absolutely perfect. Natural governments are created to unite a group of people, and to serve them respect, dignity, and safety. No government is perfect, simply because people are not all perfect. The flaws of society are depicted in the book, Lord of the Flies by William Golding. The natural government was assembled first by intelligence, then by force. In the beginning, the setting was peaceful, with the only worry being the question of survival. As the time wears on, flaws in the community dramatically change the government, and Jack asserts his power through force. In the e ...view middle of the document...
Piggy can be described as the character with most intelligence and common sense; his downsides are his physical and social condition. Open-minded Ralph is naturally willing to listen to Piggy, and through him, Ralph was able to issue commands. But the community's flaws sometimes overcome this intelligence, and this causes instability in the government.As time passes, people lost the taste for survival. Daily life became routine and they lost their belief that they need intelligent decisions. Thus, the flaws of society saw this condition as an advantage for the rise to total power. Jack saw this as his chance to get what he wanted. Ralph and Piggy were still responsible for the boys' rescue and safety. When Ralph and Simon were building shelters, Jack was enjoying the hunting. The following passage clearly shows Jack's natural tendency towards what he wants to do, instead of serving others. This was Ralph talking back at Jack about the huts: "'And I work all day with nothing but Simon and you come back and don't even notice the huts!' 'I was working too-' 'But you like it!' shouted Ralph. 'You want to hunt! While I-'" (Page 54) Hunting is Jack's obligation, but he abuses it; he uses this obligation as a privilege, as an excuse to abuse his resource. This was evident during his first kill: "'Eat! Damn you!' He glared at Simon. 'Take it!' He spun on his heel, center of a bewildered circle of boys. 'I got you meat!'" (Page 74) All the boys want meat, probably more than rescue, so he uses his obligation to get them to listen to him, and not Ralph. Despite his efforts to take total control, he still could not force the society to elect him as chief. Deep inside the humanity of the community, the boys knew what they needed from what was not so necessary. This was expressed when Jack tried to take total power: "'Hands up,' said Jack strongly, 'whoever wants Ralph not to be chief?' The silence continued..." (Jack, page 127) The flaws of society already begun to break down the boy's government. Many factors contribute to this, including the fear of the beast; but the most prominent of them is rooted in Jack's actions.Ralph was unable to stop Jack, and Jack uses force physically to carry out his intentions. Ralph could not hunt, and this is what Jack realized. Ralph depends on Piggy's intelligence to finish his obligations. Jack persistently urges people not to listen to Ralph or Piggy. On few occasions, Jack uses physical force enforces his "own way." An example would be the time when Jack permitted a ship to pass without a signal fire. "He [Jack] took a step, and able at last to hit someone, stuck his fist into Piggy's stomach. Piggy sat down wit...
