Golding's Perspective on the Theme of Power

English: Golding’s Perspective On The Theme Of Power |

By Courtenay Brock-Kareroa |

Grade: 10.1------- Teacher: Miss Harch------- Due Date: 13/09/2013 |

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Good morning/ Good afternoon 10.1 and Miss Harch. My name is Courtenay and today I will be talking to you about the novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding. Lord of the Flies is known today as a modern classic which displays what human nature can turn into when deserted on its own. The author William Golding influences the read to accept his perspective on the key theme of power in Lord of the Flies. Golding's perspective of power is that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. The theme of power is developed through the aesthetic features from the democratic power of Piggy, Jacks' new tribe and the murdering of Piggy from the character Roger.

In Lord of the Flies, Golding develops the theme of power through Piggy's democratic power with the help of Ralph. Piggy displays democratic power by encouraging the boys to speak orderly, yet freely. "Rock–" "Blue flowers–" Piggy, partly recovered, pointed to the conch in Ralph's hands, and Jack and Simon fell silent."(Pg. 38) Piggy does this because Golding uses the aesthetic feature of characterisation to show that Piggy is the closest person to an adult; the closest to civilisation, developing the theme of democratic power. In the beginning of the novel, no one listens to Piggy because he is odd but with Ralph beside him, his power is restored. But when Ralph does something that Piggy does not want to do, his power is lost. "Piggy watched in disgust.”Like a crowd of kids—" (Pg. 42) This influences the reader because it is foreshadowing what happens in later chapters. Golding's perspective of power is that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. This loss of power is noticed when Piggy's democratic power is corrupted by the rest of the boys. "Here– Let me go!" His voice rose to a shriek of terror as Jack snatched his...