William Golding served in Great Britain's Royal Navy during World War II and published Lord of the Flies in 1954, nine years after the end of the war. It can be seen as an allegory of the war through its representation of senseless jealousies, brainwashing, and senseless murders. In the words of Golding, "Lord of the Flies ... was simply what it seemed to be sensible for me to write after the war, when everyone was thanking God they weren't Nazis. And I'd seen enough to realize that every single one of us could be Nazis" (Wagner, "William Golding's 'Lord of the Flies' Adapted for the Stage," Ohio University).
In Lord of the Flies, Ralph, the good looking, intelligent boy who strives to rule democratically, represents democratic Western civilization, especially such powers as Great Britain, France, and America who had just finished fighting the first world war started by Germany and Austria-Hungry. As a result of the 1919 Treaty of Versailles ending World War I, Germany lost many of its territories. Previously German-owned Alsace-Lorraine went to France; parts of West Prussia and Silesia went to Poland; parts of East Prussia went to Lithuania; Germany's Hultschin district went to Czechoslovakia; Germany's city of Danzig became protected by the League of Nations; and, Germany lost all of its colonies ("Map: German Territorial Losses, Treaty of Versailles, 1919," United States Holocaust Memorial Museum). The desire to regain lost territory and power was one of the greatest driving motives for Hitler's decision to invade countries, leading to the start of the Second World War. Hence, it can also be said that Germany was jealous of the power seized by other countries, and this jealousy was a major driving force behind the start of World War II.
In Lord of the Flies, Golding captures that same jealousy in his character Jack. Jack first becomes jealous of Ralph in the opening chapter when Ralph is chosen as chief. Jack had nominated himself as leader, saying, arrogantly, "I ought to be chief ... because I'm chapter chorister and head boy. I can sing a C sharp." But when the other boys vote for Ralph, except for the choir boys, who "with dreary obedience ... raised their hands" for Jack, Jack feels furious and humiliated. Golding describes Jack's feelings of furor, humiliation, and jealousy in his narration:
Even the choir boys applauded; and the freckles on Jack's face disappeared under a blush of mortification. (Ch. 1)
This power battle between Ralph and Jack, with Ralph emerging triumphant, represents the power struggle between Western democracies and Germany that led to World War I and soon to World War II.
As the story continues, Jack's character flaws continue to show and develop, resulting in the murders of two boys. The senseless murders of Simon and Piggy are representative of Hitler's Holocaust. Moreover, Jack influences most of the boys on the island to follow his insane lead, showing us just how easy it is for human beings to be persuaded to give into their more evil natures, to be brainwashed into giving into their evil natures, just as Hitler's regime brainwashed millions into following his lead, before and during the war, through propaganda. Golding uses Jack's influence over the boys to show his readers just how easily human beings can become influenced, how easily human beings can, as Golding phrased it, "be Nazis."
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