NON AFRICAN PROSE WILLIAM GOLDING: Lord Of The Flies Consider the view that the struggle for power is a major issue in the novel.

Answer Details

The struggle for power is indeed a major issue in William Golding's Lord of the Flies. Almost every important development in the novel grows out of the contest for leadership between Ralph and Jack, and this struggle carries the book's larger meaning about civilisation and savagery.

The origins of the struggle. When the boys are first stranded, they hold an election and choose Ralph as chief, largely because he possesses the conch shell and looks the part. Jack, leader of the choir, wants the position for himself and resents Ralph's authority from the beginning. This rivalry sets up the central power struggle of the novel.

The conch and legitimate authority. Ralph's power rests on the conch, which summons meetings and grants the right to speak. The conch symbolises order, democracy and rational government. As long as it is respected, Ralph's leadership represents civilisation, rules and the common good, chiefly the keeping of the signal fire and the building of shelters.

Jack's rival power. Jack builds a competing base of power through hunting, meat and fear. He offers the boys the excitement of the hunt, the feasts of pig meat, and protection from the imagined beast, appealing to their appetites and their fears rather than their reason. Gradually he wins their allegiance away from Ralph.

The breakaway and tyranny. Jack finally breaks away to form his own tribe, painting his face and ruling by terror and ritual. His power is that of the dictator, enforced by violence and superstition. The shift of followers from Ralph to Jack charts the triumph of savagery over civilisation.

Deadly consequences. The power struggle turns lethal. Piggy is killed and the conch shattered, destroying the last emblem of ordered authority, and Jack's tribe hunts Ralph across the island, meaning to kill him. Only the arrival of the naval officer halts the bloodshed.

Conclusion. The struggle for power between Ralph and Jack is therefore a central issue that drives the plot and embodies Golding's theme: the fragile rule of reason and order is overthrown by the darker human craving for dominance, fear and violence.