FREE ESSAY ON LORD OF THE FLIES

LORD OF THE FLIES

Lord of the Flies
Director Peter Brook based Lord of the Flies on the novel by William Golding. The film,
released in 1963, is the tale of a group of upscale British schoolchildren who are being
flown out of London to the supposed safety of the South Pacific before war erupts. Their
airplane crashes and the lads are left to fend for themselves on a remote island. The
storyline takes the boys from innocence to savagery. The film did not receive rave
reviews from critics. "The film version takes away some of the creative imagination that
comes from reading the story, but its images are as shocking as one might imagine -
little boys turned into violent savages"(Webster, Apollo Guide). The reviews could be in
part from the inexperience of the actors. "The little boys were almost all non-actors
whose parents volunteered them for the job out of respect for the book" (Webster, Apollo
Guide). However, Peter Brook did an excellent job of depicting the possible outcome of
the situation with which the children are faced. This film shows human nature in its
truest form. Society is faced with people who are vulnerable to others, those who are
capable of making the right decisions, and some who feel the need to violate the rules.
Piggy, portrayed by Hugh Edwards, is the most vulnerable character. At the beginning, he
makes the mistake of divulging his nickname. Piggy seems to be intelligent and sensible,
but lacking the confidence in himself to put it to use. Jack belittles Piggy throughout
the film. He continuously calls him "Fatty" and at one point slaps him in the face, which
causes his glasses to break. Piggy's only hope is the friendship of Ralph, who betrayed
him at the beginning, only to eventually become his best friend. Piggy never succumbed to
the savagery of the others. In his last words, "What is it better to be, a bunch of
savages like you are, or sensible like Ralph is", he proves that it is possible for
someone to remain themselves and not succumb to the pressures of others. Piggy is the
symbol of rationality and adult society.
Ralph is the character who always tried the orderly approach. Throughout the film, he
tried to care for the others and be the leader that the younger children needed. However,
Ralph's leadership is doomed from the start. Jack's resentment of losing the election is
evidence of the upcoming trouble that Ralph will face. He seems to notice signs of
rebellion after the first pig roast. When the plane flew over and the fire was out, his
encounter with Jack signaled the breakup of the group. Ralph's last appeal at civility
came after Jack took the conch away from Piggy and Ralph said, "You are breaking the
rules. The rules are the only thing we got!" Ralph continued throughout the film to stand
by Piggy and the younger children. Even after most of the children left his group, Ralph
still had respect for their well being.
Jack is the antagonist of the film. From the beginning, he is upset about losing the
election and resents anyone who did not vote for him. He continues to act as if he is in
charge. He continually belittles the other children and leads the older boys towards
savagery. Jack eventually splits the group and forms his own "tribe". They paint
themselves like savages and begin to chant and have warlike dances. Jack seems to become
more violent as his power increases After Simon was killed, he defended the slaying by
telling the others that it was the beast disguised as Simon. Jack seemed to have turned
into a dictator toward the end of the film. He is shown having the smaller children
whipped; his cruelty eventually led to the murderous search for Ralph.
This film shows the viewer several different personalities, all of which are in our
society. It shows the variety of people who are forced to live in the same world.
"Golding's novel is the sort of fable that could shock only those who believe in the
onwardness of civilization, as some still did in those days. At the time of its
publication (1954), attempts were made to find political messages in it, but today it
seems more like a sad prophecy of what is happening in neighborhoods ruled by drugs. What
week goes by without another story of a Ralph gunned down by a Jack?" (Ebert, Chicago Sun
Times). It opens the eyes of the viewer for the necessity of laws and the need for their
enforcement. It would be a sad time when the Jacks of the world could overpower the
Ralphs. 
Works Cited
Webster, Brian. Apollo Guide Review
Available: (WWW) http://apolloguide.com/mov_print.asp?CID=1984
Ebert, Roger. Chicago Sun-Times
Available: (WWW) http://www.suntimes.com/ebert/ebert_reviews/1990/03/536630.html
Lord of the Flies. Director Peter Brook. Continental Distributing, 1963