The Theme of Conflict in the First Six Chapters in Lord of the Flies Essay Example for Free

The Theme of Conflict in the First Six Chapters in Lord of the Flies Essay The novel, Lord of the Flies by William Golding, is the book I have read recently. At the beginning Ralph and Jack like each other, but Jack’s aggressive and domineering nature makes him unable to accept Ralph’s leadership. Ralph is unable to understand Jack’s obsession with hunting and is furious with him when he lets the fire go out. Ralph is horrified by Jacks increasing savagery and is baffled and frustrated by the way he doesn’t care about the fire and rescue. He ends up screaming at Jack that he is â€Å"a beast and a swine†. When everybody meets each other for the first time they have a vote on who will be the leader. Ralph was chosen and I think when Jack realised he hadn’t been picked he changed into a different person, wanting to rule everyone on the island. I think that there only can be one leader as with any more it will be impossible for them to get along and agree with each other. Especially if the two are not very similar like Jack and Ralph. It’s almost like my mum and dad, as I think my mum has more control over me when really they should be the same. At the beginning Jack says that they should have rules and if anyone breaks them they will be punished. Later on in the book he is contradictory because he doesn’t obey the rules, â€Å"bollocks to the rules†. This civilisation verses savage causes many problems between Jack and Ralph. They both want fire but for different reasons. Ralph wants it for rescue and the one thing that Jack cares about is for cooking the meat. On the other hand it was ironic that the officer came to the island because of Jack, as he set the island on fire. Ralphs view of Piggy changes. At first, Ralph doesn’t take him seriously and makes fun of him like the others, but he gradually comes to realise Piggys’ good qualities. When Jack realises Ralph is friends with Piggy the conflict between them increases and it drives Jack mad. Ralph learns to respect Piggy’s intelligence which Jack couldn’t handle. This again emphasises the fact that they both can’t be leader as they don’t think the same and are not very similar. Ralph represents order and composure in society. Eventually Jack grew tired of Ralph being in charge. He let the barbarism inside of him transform him into a savage-like creature and he went on a rampage, destroying the makeshift civilization the boys worked so hard to create. This made it hard for everyone to stay civilized and it caused a lot of arguments between Jack and Ralph. So they are both completely different characters and I think they will never get along.