Lord of the Flies

Imagine being a twelve-year old boy and being asked whether you would rather go have fun with your friends or work. What would a twelve-year old boy do? More than likely, he would choose to run off with his friends and have fun, even if the work will be better in the long run. It is much easier for children to see the benefits of having fun because they are instantaneous.

In Lord of the Flies, all the boys have an option. They can either stay with Ralph and Piggy, and have to work hard in order to be rescued, or they can hunt and have fun with Jack. By choosing to go with Jack, they choose the easy route. They get to have fun and as an added bonus they get to eat meat.

Staying in Ralph’s group means work. It is obvious from the beginning that most of the boys do not want to have to do work. The first sign comes when Ralph is building the huts. Everyone had promised to work hard on the shelters until they were finished, but nobody but Simon helps. Ralph and Simon are forced to build the shelters by themselves, while the rest of the boys swim and play.

Another sign that the boys do not want to work was the meetings. The meetings they have always start off well. In the beginning everyone is calm and very serious. They all agree