Democracy and Dictatorship in Lord of the Flies :: essays research papers

William Golding said â€Å"I learned during World War II just how brutal people can be to each other. Not just the Japanese but everyone†. In the book â€Å"the Lord of the Flies†, Golding tells us about World War II and the Holocaust by making Ralph represent democracy and Jack represent dictatorship. In the beginning of the story the airplane that is going to take the boys to a safe place gets shot down and landed in an island. Ralph represents democracy, when he and Piggy find the conch, Piggy suggested â€Å"We can use this to call the others. We have a meeting. They’ll come if they hear us† (16). Ralph is being democratic because he is giving them a choice if they want to go or not. He is also fair because he is going to have a meeting to decide what they are going to do. When they get together they decide that they need to have a chief. Roger says â€Å"Let’s have a vote† â€Å"Him with the conch† â€Å"Ralph, Ralph, Ralph† (22). They started to notice that Ralph would be a good leader. They see in him what a chief needs to have, and the conch in his hands means power and authority. They all start talking at the same time and discussing about who has to be chief, the choir boys think that Jack should be the chief but the rest want Ra lph to be the chief. â€Å"I got the conch† said piggy indignantly â€Å"you let me speak† (42). Piggy gets the conch because represents power so the rest of the boys had to let him talk and show respect, Piggy was really intelligent so that helped Ralph be a better leader because he would listen to Piggy and choose what was right. William Golding says that Jack represents dictatorship. He wanted to be the chief but the rest chose Ralph â€Å"I cut the pig’s throat† (69) he said. He was the one that hunt the pigs but he needed to paint his face so the pig couldn’t see him but he was also trying to hide from himself. He wanted to be better than the other and made them think he was tough. Jack was selfish and arrogant. He says â€Å"who cares what you think fatty†. He didn’t care about the other’s needs and concerns. He thought that all he did and believed was right and nobody could beat him.