Lord of the Flies

How Does Government Emerge out of the Politics among the Boys on the Island?

In the novel “Lord of the Flies” a group of school children find themselves stranded on a remote island with no adults around. In order to survive they attempt to mimic the social organization of the adult world, which ultimately fails epically. The children identify a leader, select symbols that give their society significance (conch), establish rules and norms, and make attempts to fulfill their basic human needs while maintaining workable relationships with one another. The children attempted to impose order among themselves in a setting which clearly lacked some. This was how government was formed, from a basic need to survive. The boys believe that if each can be assigned and fulfill a particular role, they will survive on the island until someone finds them or until their parents come to look for them.
When the boys first stepped foot on that island and found no adults, they knew that they’d found a place with no order, they also knew that the only way to survive was to impose order in the area. So the boys enthusiastically develop a government which they believe will help them establish and maintain social norms and expectations. The government is democratic in nature but is also a utopian government as well, with each of the boys being assigned a role in its construction. Jack was assigned the role of hunting and gathering while the rest of the children were expected to play citizen roles and work in labour. Each of them are expected to promote the activities which will promote their survival. However the leader Ralph fails to recognize the extent of their abilities and their shortcomings, also for getting that they are indeed children. This shortcoming of the political system is exposed when the fire watchers on duty were distracted and left their post. The fire got out of control, and when it was put out the boys had lost a practical resource and an important symbol of...