Lord of the Flies Ralph Term Paper

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Initiation therefore helps the boys establish their identities and also creates social hierarchy.

The conflict between Jack and Ralph serves also as a type of initiation: a battle between two individuals. Initiations represent a transition from one state of mind or being to another. Simon's vision is one of the most powerful initiations in Lord of the Flies. The vision, which lends the novel its name, has a supernatural component that is common among most traditional initiation rites. Simon's vision becomes a collective initiation rite and means as much to the group as a whole than to Simon personally. The vision creates a sense of wisdom too: the knowledge that the beast is internal and not an external reality.

Third, journey is a key element of the theme of alienation. The entire island experience is essentially a journey for the boys, who are from England and suddenly find themselves in a foreign environment. Yet smaller journeys also take place during the course of the novel. For example, the boys organize frequent hunting expeditions. Their journey up the mountain isolates the boys further from one another, increasing their sense of alienation. Each time they embark on a hunting expedition, the boys hone their survival skills. Their survival skills ensure that they will live long enough to be rescued, which would entail an ultimate journey toward home.

The fourth element of alienation is suffering, which is poignant in Lord of the Flies.

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Social conflict and interpersonal strife is a significant source of suffering in Golding's novel. The boys suffer from real and imaginary fears such as the monster. Being alienated causes their suffering and their suffering intensifies their alienation from one another. Working together would have eliminated their struggles but under the circumstances seemed impossible. Physical suffering also fuels the boys' behavior and in many ways determines their relationships with each other. The intensity of the situation drives them to act more like animals than people. Piggy's death is the final symbol of suffering in the novel.

Reconciliation, the fifth and final stage in the process of alienation, is only possible via outside assistance in Lord of the Flies. Had the boys been left to themselves for much longer, they most likely would have killed each other. They never reconciled themselves to their fate, and were unable to find a common ground for social survival. Their reconciliation with society may not have been possible at all if they were not rescued. Reuniting with society did, however, happen through their own efforts at survival: the fire they built caused the soldier to scout for its cause.

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