Is Life Truly a Beach?

Life is a beach, meaning life is good! When comparing the novels Lord of the Flies by William Golding and The Beach by Alex Garland, it is reasonable to disagree with this common saying. With the many conflicts concerning leadership roles as well as rules and chores these secluded societies are both ultimately destroyed because of humankind’s barbaric behaviour. These many conflicts suggest that life really isn’t a beach and it is a poor comparison. Perhaps if the comment is that the day is bad, may it be related to the fact that life may be a beach. The life on both islands have many similarities concerning this less than perfect state of society.

In Lord of the Flies and The Beach there is a sense of leadership on both the islands. When the boys arrive on the deserted island they immediately elect a leader, Ralph.

…while the most obvious leader was Jack. But there was a stillness about Ralph as he sat that marked him out: there was his size, and attractive appearance; and most obscurely, yet most powerfully, there was the conch. (Golding, pg 19)

This is due to the fact that he calls the boys together with the conch, and he is respected for this act of leadership and initiative. When Richard, Etienne, and Franзoise arrive on “the Beach” the citizens like to think they do not have a leader over them but Sal is clearly already the leader because she was a founding member. “If there was a leader, it was Sal. When she talked, people listened.” (Garland, pg.119) She has a certain power over everyone else much like Ralph. This power involves assigning people to tasks that need to be completed, solving conflicts among inhabitants, as well as keeping spirits high and happy. For example in The Beach after the shark attack which results in Sten’s and Christo’s death, Sal tries to keep morale high before the upcoming Tet ceremonies. Although there is a definite power struggle in Lord of the Flies between Ralph and Jack, this questioning does not happen in The Beach, Sal remains leader because she has many strong forces behind her, like Bugs, so even if her leadership was to be questioned it would be almost impossible for another person to take over forcefully. In Lord of the Flies there are many symbols which represent different things. In the case of leadership it is the conch, whoever is holding the conch has the power to speak and Ralph is the only one allowed to interrupt. The Beach does not have as many symbols, but Sal, as leader is not required to work on a detail and no one questions her. Because of Sal’s state of power, many feel beneath her and the detail leaders. Because of this there is not a state of equality as there is in Lord of the Flies. But equality can also lead to problems because people believe they can take over as leader. Conflict among leaders and conflict among other inhabitants can lead to the eventual demise of a society, and its failing at a state of Utopia.

Along with the responsibility of leadership comes the task of assigning jobs. In Lord of the Flies the boys have some choice as to what their job is, for example hunting or building shelters. But in The Beach people are assigned to a “detail” and in order to switch details the unhappy person must find another person on a different detail to switch with them. In Lord of the Flies when the boys neglect their task of building shelters nothing severe happens to them.

“They’re hopeless. The older ones aren’t much better. D’you see? All day I’ve been working with Simon. No one else. They’re off bathing or eating or playing.”

Simon poked his head out carefully.

“You’re chief. You tell’em off.”

Ralph lay flat and looked up at the palm trees and the sky

“Meetings. Don’t we love meetings? Every day. Twice a day. We talk” He got on one elbow. “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 ought to build a jet, or a submarine, or a TV set. When the meeting was over they’d all work for five minutes then wander off and go hunting.” (Golding, pg. 51)

Jack