Essay: Lord of the Flies – how people cope with crises and chaotic situations

Being stranded on an island and living without a society, would those stranded keep morals and order? Or would they rebel and fall into the craving for power and loss the order that would be attempted to be established? Lord of the Flies is a book about schoolboys, from England, on a field trip that get into a plane crash and get stranded on an island with no adults. The boys must find a way to be rescued from the island and try and survive the calamity. In everyday life, people must cope with an issue no matter what the degree or severity of the situation. In Lord of the Flies, William Golding displays the different types of people or societies that cope with crises and chaotic situations by illustrating Ralph, Jack, Simon, and the Bigguns/littluns survival characteristics.
1st Body Paragraph:
Golding shows maintaining order and composure through the characterization of Ralph, who has been appointed the chief at the beginning of the story. Ralph wants to establish rules and keep hope, whether it be false or real. He believes that rules and regulations are needed to acquire a less chaotic situation, and when they are without them things begin to turn disorderly: “‘The rules!’ shouted Ralph. ‘You’re breaking the rules!’” (Golding 91). As well as holding onto British and human morals is important to Ralph as others may fall into savagery,
“‘Then we must go as we are,’ said Ralph, ‘and they won’t be any better.’ Eric made a detaining gesture.
‘But they’ll be painted! You know how it is.’
The others nodded. They understood only too well the liberation into savagery that the concealing paint brought,”(Golding 172). Ralph is talking to Samneric about going to retrieve Piggy’s glasses, and he states how it is better to remain themselves than to give in and change themselves to fit the chaotic outcome.
2nd Body Paragraph:
Jack, in Lord of the Flies, is characterized as someone who craves disarray and absolute power, representing those who take chaos as a cue to turn to brute survival methods. Being the opposite of Ralph and believing in the standard, survival of the fittest. Acting on his savage impulses and creating more chaos adding onto what has already happened. “‘I’m scared of him,’ said Piggy, ‘and that’s why I know him. If you’re scared of someone you hate him but you can’t stop thinking about him. You kid yourself he’s all right really, an’ then when you see him again; it’s like asthma an’ you can’t breathe…’” (Golding 93). Jack intimidates those that are weak and believes in the survival of the fittest. A dangerous power lies within him that most people suppress, but it may come out at a time of mayhem. “Power lay in the brown swell of his forearms: authority sat on his shoulder and chattered in his ear like an ape,” (Golding 150).
3rd Body Paragraph:
Representing those in a society that hold onto unrealistic expectations, Simon is coping with the plane crash and being stranded with a serene attitude towards the situation.
“‘You’ll get back all right. I think so anyway,’ Some of the strain had gone from Ralph’s body…. When Simon was still silent Ralph said curtly, ‘You’re batty,’ Simon shook his head violently till the coarse black hair flew backward and forwards across his face. ‘No I’m not. I just think you’ll get back all right,’”(Golding 111). Simon attempts to see the good in everything, and though he probably knows there is a slim chance of being saved, he still is somewhat optimistic about it.
4th Body Paragraph:
Those in the background of a chaotic situation take a couple different ways to deal with it. These people do not add nor really take away from society as a whole, but more so follow who they feel is more of an appropriate person to follow. In Lord of the Flies, the Bigguns and Littluns are the rest of society. The Bigguns beside Samneric, Simon, and Piggy, follow Jack. They see him as one of the best fit and see the savage survival method as a better way to cope. It is more so a distraction for them from what is going on around them. The Littluns do not always understand what is going on around them and do what the Bigguns do. Jack provides them food and promises to protect them from the beast they fear. The Bigguns and Littluns cope with how most people cope with crisis and chaos, by choosing what or who to follow based on the things provided to them.