Moral Standards In Lord Of The Flies Analysis Essay

How far would you follow someone and how far would you allow them to shift your moral standards? In The Lord of the Flies written by William Golding, we see two young boys fight for the opportunity of being the leader over the rest of the group. Both Jack and Ralph have different philosophies, values, and moral standards when it comes to leadership. Throughout the novel, we see them slightly changing amongst each other and influencing the other boys with their decisions. Jack and Ralph’s relationship does develop into more of a rivalry than a friendship. 

Jack and Ralph both have different personalities that show their different priorities throughout the story. At the beginning, they do have a genuine respect for each other, “smiled at each other with shy liking" (ch.1). But soon after, their priorities instantly changed and were different from each other's decisions. Initially, both leaders wanted to be rescued, but then Jack pursued barbarism like a barbarian, and Ralph remained civilized throughout the entire experience. Constantly, they bickered and argued over where to lead the boys, what to do so that we get rescued and how to choose a leader that everyone agrees on were just some of the arguments that they had. Ralph is mainly concerned with signaling the “outside world” for rescue, building safe shelters for the group, and surviving for however long they can manage. Jack really only cares about hunting and killing. Both of the boys are strong leaders in their own way, but being able to organize your priorities maturely allows others to recognize it. Jack and Ralph’s decisions do affect those around them, and we see that they are affected both in good and bad ways. The young boys both make choices that they feel are right, but we can soon tell that these decisions that were made can cause much friction between the boys. Soon enough, the boys split up and encounter a power struggle within their leadership. The loss of teamwork and togetherness is shown when Golding says, “Things are breaking up. I don’t understand why. We began well; we were happy. And then—” (ch.5).  Jack and Ralph can not seem to work together without arguing every step of the way. It ended up just being easier for both of them, if they parted ways and allowed the boys to choose who they wanted to follow. Significantly, through the splitting of Jack and Ralph we are able to recognize that the majority of the boys choose to follow Jack, which may or may not be the best decision. They were able to instantly confront their leadership issues and make changes accordingly. 

Jack and Ralph were both motivated by several factors that affected their leadership styles and choices. Their moral standards are depicted quite clearly throughout the novel, but also we can see that their morals shift so quickly at times. “‘You're breaking the rules!’ ‘Who cares?’ Ralph summoned his wits. ‘Because the rules are the only thing we've got!’ But Jack was shouting against him. ‘Bollocks to the rules! We're strong - we hunt! If there's a beast, we'll hunt it down! We'll close in and beat and beat and beat-’” (ch.5). This shows another argument between both leaders and Jack believes that the rules just aren’t important anymore. We can really see the boys' true personalities come out, once a difficult experience takes place. Fear, jealousy, pride and peer pressure are all motivators for the leaders’ decisions. Golding also implies that the boys and their leaders choose savagery, brutality and corruption when changing their moral standards. Jack definitely forced his voice upon the rest of the boys, he always seemed to get what he wanted by raising his voice and frightening those “under him.” By his volume and proximity, he was a leader in the eyes of the group. On the other hand, Ralph is consistently contemplating and thinking. He doesn’t instantly shout at the boys as they were his servants, but as a friend or a coworker. Equally, Jack and Ralph are motivated by different principles and values that affect their leadership. 

Both Ralph and Jack have different goals and values which we are constantly shown throughout Golding’s depiction of human nature. The overall importance of  Jack and Ralph’s relationship shows the many aspects of humans and how we develop overtime internally. We are constantly affected by peer pressure, fear, and jealousy in our real lives today. The Lord of the Flies clearly portrays an average persons’ life that allows the person to make their own decisions based on what they feel is important. Our true personalities are always shown through the hardest times in our life and we certainly can see that several times in this novel.