Of The Boys On The Island example essay topic

The novel Lord of the Flies was full of challenges that the boys overcame in order to survive. Conflicts within themselves, with nature and with each other constantly test the children's ability to endure. Struggles against the natural elements of the island, rival groups or fear of the unknown continually appear throughout the story. Some of the boys on the island did not survive the quarrels that they faced. They perished because they were lacking something that the surviving boys did not.

The survivors had a natural primal instinct or a physical or mental advantage over the boys who did not make it. 'Only the strong survive' is an important element that runs through the novel Lord of the Flies because in order to survive the boys must turn to their primitive instincts of physical strength and savagery. One of the three children who did not survive the island was the mulberry colored birthmark boy. He represents the weaknesses and insignificance of all the that are on the island. The are younger, less developed and less experienced compared to the older children. As a result the are at a disadvantage to the other boys.

The mental weakness of the is evident when they talk about their fear of a monster on the island: "He still says he saw the beast ie. It came and went away again an' came back and wanted to eat him". (35). As most young children do, the little uns confused fantasy with reality and as a result a monster was believed to live on the island. The lack of maturity and concentration is shown when Ralph and Simon are building the shelters and Ralph says, "I bet if I blew the conch this minute, they'd come running. Then we'd be, you know, very solemn, and someone would say we out to build a jet, or a submarine, or a TV set.

When the meeting was over they'd work for five minutes then wonder off". (51). The death of the mulberry colored birthmark boy clearly shows that the are insignificant to the other children on the island. When the children built the fire on the mountain and the flames caught on the canopy below Piggy realizes that the mulberry colored birthmark boy was not with them.

Piggy shows the ' insignificance when he says, "That little 'un-' gasped Piggy-'him with the mark on his face, I don't see him. Where is he now?" (46). The point that the mulberry colored birthmark boy was left uncounted for in the burning canopy shows that they were not important. Their unimportance is again show at the end of the book when Ralph responds to the Naval Officer's question about how many people died: "Only two. And they " ve gone". (223).

When Ralph tells the Officer that only two people died he is referring to Simon and Piggy, not the mulberry colored birthmark boy. Similarly, the fact that the are always referred to as a whole rather then as individuals exhibits their unimportance to the novel itself. The ' lack of ability, strength and skills made them insignificant and weaker compared to the other children. Simon was very significant but he was lacking the ability to be savage and ruthless. He was plagued of an emotional superiority over the other children.

Survival does not require being sensitive or caring but being merciless and primitive. Simon's lack of savagery is evident when he never joins in on the pig hunts or the dances around the fire. His emotional superiority is displayed when Simon goes to his secluded domain where he basks in the tranquility and tries to get in touch with nature. He is shown as a good responsible character with morals when he is the only boy to help Ralph in building the shelters. His emotional superiority was his weakness. Simon's heightened ability of emotion and his lack of ruthlessness directly brought about his downfall.

When he talks to the Lord of the Flies, the conversation is totally manifested. Simon's heightened emotions finally catch up to him when he hallucinates the discussion. He becomes so overwhelmed by his emotions that he faints. When he stumbles back to the beach he is mistaken as the beast ie and is murdered by the other boys. If Simon did was not so emotional he would not have been caught in the situation where he was stumbling back to the shelters and murdered.

Piggy is the final character in the novel that dies. His death is unlike the other two boy's deaths because Piggy's was a result of being physically inferior. Asthma, poor eyesight and a weight problem created physical weaknesses for Piggy in comparison to the other boys. His asthma prevents him from being able to do activities on the island that the other boys could. His physical inferiority is evident when he says, "I can't swim.

I wasn't allowed. My asthma-" (8) and when he does not help build the fire or the shelters because he is resting. Piggy died from the rock that is dropped on his head by Roger because he was trespassing into the hunters area. If Piggy had not needed correction for his vision then he would not have need to go steal his glasses back from Jack, therefore he would not have been in the dangerous situation in the first place. The characters that die in the Lord of the Flies all have weaknesses that led to their downfalls. All the boys that endured were savage and lacking a weakness that would effect their survival on the island.

If the children that died did not have had their weaknesses it would have been much easier for them to survive the struggle and be rescued..