How Does Lord of the Flies reflect the Second World War essays

How Does Lord of the Flies reflect the Second World War essays William Golding wrote " Lord of the Flies " after the Second World War was over. Many of the things that Golding wrote about can be related to aspects of war. One of the major themes in the book is the power struggle between Jack and Ralph. In war this represents the two sides, the Allies and the Axis. Many objects that are found in the book can also be related to war. For example the conch represented law and order so that when it was broken, it was symbolic of law and order breaking down because the conch was so visual. This emphasised its broken state. One of the major points that Golding wrote about was the power struggle between the two main characters Jack and Ralph. Throughout the book they represented the breakdown of relations between England and Germany. When the boys crashed onto the island, Ralph was immediately voted as the leader because he was very handsome and, at first had somewhat of a rapport with the boys. This strongly represented England just before the Second World War had started. England was a very civilised country, with great industrial strength and a big empire with strong forces. She looked impressive compared to less modernised countries. Germany was still strong but they had a much smaller empire with much less power. The Germans were also still paying reparations for their actions in world war one and were coming out of a period of hyperinflation. Germany was envious of England and in "Lord of the Flies" the jealousy that Jack feels towards Ralph is enormous and represents the situation between Engla nd and Germany before World War two. Golding represents Hitler as Jack in the group of schoolboys. He conveys to the reader how cruel Jack is by showing us how a schoolboy can change into a murderer. A good example of this is in an early chapter we see that Jack is unable to kill the pig. When he finally does kill a pig, there is a significant change in Jack, which ultimately lead to the boys' downfall...