The Lord of the Flies vs. the Lord of Israel

By Stone Washington

"The hunters' thoughts were crowded with memories of the knowledge that they had outwitted a living thing, imposed their will upon it, taken away its life like a long satisfying drink."

~Narrator (Lord of the Flies)

Prologue to a utopian dystopia

My article is on the significance of the classic novel Lord of the Flies by Nobel Prize winning English author William Golding. This savage-like dystopian novel is ironically connected to the current historical and political peril the nation of Israel faces with its existential threat, Iran and other Middle Eastern nations surrounding Israel. This book is a timeless representation and cautionary tale of how the horrors of human nature can be so easily masked by societal conformity and innocent appeal.

Chapters 1-2

A plane carrying a group of boys evacuated from England during an atomic war has crashed landed on a tropical island. One of the passengers: Ralph, a tall young man, along with Piggy, a fat asthmatic boy, emerge from the wreak in search of the airplane pilot, but instead finds only a conch shell. Ralph blows through the shell causing the group of boys from the crash to assemble, and they elect Ralph as their leader. Jack, the head of the choirboys, had desired to be the leader, so Ralph elects him as the special leader of the hunters, leading his choir mates to hunt in the jungle for food. Ralph, Jack, and Simon, a skinny intelligent boy, explore the island. After climbing a mountain they are thrilled to find that the island is habitable and free of other humans. Nevertheless, that elation would soon lead to dread and despair.

Ralph spreads the word of this predicament and announces that the boys will have some fun on the island. As in democratic governance they decide to uphold rules amongst the people, claiming that no one may speak unless raising a hand and using the conch. Later a little boy with a noticeable birthmark reports to Jack on a scary "snake beast" spotted in the jungle. Ralph calms the boys and tells them they will soon be saved and to make a signal fire on the mountain for possible rescuers. Before Ralph can collect his thoughts, Jack runs off with others and uses Piggy's glasses to reflect the sun's rays for a signal fire, which backfires and assumedly kills the little boy with the birthmark, as he is nowhere to be found when Jack and the other boys return from their misadventure. Piggy scolds the boys for being irresponsible as the boys mock him in unison.

Chapters 3-4

As several weeks pass, Jack and Ralph grow frustrated – Jack, because of the failure of his pig hunting, and Ralph because everyone has forgotten to build shelters. Jack wastes a great deal of time pig hunting, as he craves meat, yet he is unsuccessful due to being unrefined. Ralph reminds Jack not to forget his pledge he made with crafting a signal fire, and criticizes his obsession with hunting. Tension builds among the boys as this criticism upsets Jack, and he insists that the group needs meat. Elsewhere amongst the group Simon distances himself from helping the 'littluns' (i.e., youngest boys) and talks, "connects mystically" with nature (others believe him crazy for going off alone). During this time Roger, soon to be Jack's right-hand-man and Maurice trample the littluns' sandcastles as an overt act of mockery and aggression. When Roger spots Henry, a boy pretending to be a dictator over the sea creatures, he throws stones at him. Jack, feeling released from inhibitions, then puts war-paint on his face and goes pig hunting with Roger and others.

Soon Ralph spots a ship on the horizon, but sees that the signal fire has died out. When Jack returns from hunting Ralph and Piggy criticize his foolishness for disregarding their liberation from the island, as a result Jack strikes Piggy, breaking one of the lenses of his glasses. Despite the conflict they later have a big feast.

Chapters 5-6

Ralph calls for an assembly of the boys and reprimands their gross neglect of their responsibilities. He tries to calm the littluns' growing fear over sightings of the mysterious beast in the trees and the sea beast. Although most 'biguns' (the older boys) seem to accept Piggy's theory that science explains everything, the boys still remain skeptical. Demonstrating a philosophical critique of their dystopian conditions, Simon is ridiculed when he mentions that they themselves may actually be the beast. When Jack challenges Ralph's authority, the whole meeting spirals into chaos, ending with Jack and many of the boys running off to hold a ritual dance. Piggy and Ralph long for a sign from the adult world. They receive a sign in the night when a parachutist soldier fighting in the war ("Beast Air") has been shot dead in combat and lands on the mountain. The twins Sam and Eric spots the corpse and alerts everyone that the beast is chasing them. Jack begins a hunt and leads a group through the unexplored peninsula of Castle Rock. Despite finding nothing, the boys have so much fun that the grumble mutinously when Ralph orders them to continue the search.

Chapters 7-8

On the way to the mountain, the boys stop to hunt a boar, which Ralph now enjoys very much. After the boar escapes, Robert plays a pig, and the boy's reenact the hunt chanting "kill the pig" and dancing savagely; even Ralph feels the urge to kill. When darkness falls Ralph suggest returning back to camp, but Jack taunts him with continuing the hunt. Soon the gang spots an apelike form lifting its hideous head (it is the dead parachutist). Terrified, they flee from the sight. In a safe distance away Ralph questions Jack's ability to fight the beast, which angers him and causes Jack to abandon Ralph's group, inviting the others to join him. Jack's absence relieves Piggy, who fears Jack and believes him to be the cause of the group's troubles. Piggy suggests the boys build a signal fire on the beach. Simon distances himself from the group again for his "connection" nature. While in refuge he spies Jack's followers sadistically killing a sow. The boys put the fly covered pig's head on a sharpened stick and offer it to the "beast." Simon gazes upon the fly-covered pig's head – The Lord of the Flies, which seems to imply that there is no escape, since the beast is everyone and everyone the beast. Finally Simon faints from the grotesque spectacle.

Chapters 9-10

A great storm approaches. Simon awakes in the evening and emerges from his spot to find the parachutist's corpse dangling in the wind. He sets out to inform everyone that there is no beast. Meanwhile Ralph and Piggy decide to partake in Jack's feast and find that many have joined his crew (tribe). When the storm begins the frightened boys begin their savage dance and in a tribal rhythm repeatedly shouted, "Kill the beast!" When Simon suddenly crawls out of the jungle, everyone – even Piggy and Ralph – viciously attack him under the belief that he is the beast. The storm blows the parachutist corpse out to sea and eventually after the storm passes Simon's body is carried by the tide as well. Simon's death fills Piggy and Ralph with great guilt. When Piggy tries to dismiss the death as an accident, Ralph insists that it was in fact murder. Ralph and his group struggle to maintain a signal fire as most of the biguns, for the exception of Piggy, Sam, and Eric have joined Jack's tribe at Castle Rock. After Jack arbitrarily beats up a boy named Wilfred, he warns his gang to beware of intruders and the beast, which uses multiple disguises and has supernatural power in that the beast can never truly be killed. That night Jack, Maurice, and Roger fiercely attack Ralph's group and escape with Piggy's glasses.

Chapters 11-12

Awakening the next morning the boys discover that their signal fire has been extinguished; Ralph hosts an assembly with Piggy and the twins. Piggy, nearly blind without his glasses, insists they confront Jack. Arriving at Castle Rock, Ralph criticizes Jack, who then attempts to stab Ralph and orders his painted savage guards to seize the twins. Ralph and Jack fight each other until Piggy, who clutches the conch shell, begs to speak. Jack's tribe listens, ready to mock his actions. Up above however is Roger who releases a large boulder that shatters the conch and kills Piggy, flinging his body into the sea. Soon spears begin to fly at Ralph, causing him to retreat into the forest. The twins are then tortured into joining Jack's tribe. In the forest Ralph runs into the mounted Pig head and lashes out at it in anger. Jack's savage minions pursue Ralph in the forest with sharpened spears. Exhausted Ralph seeks refuge in a thicket, but after receiving Intel from the twins Jack lights a boulder on fire and pushes it down toward that area. Eventually the entire island is aflame and the savages drive the horrified Ralph to the beach. Looking up Ralph sees a naval officer, who believes the boys are playing games, as in the novel Coral Island, but this is an inverse of the novel as the boys in Coral Island find evil on the island whereas the evil in Lord of the Flies the evil is found within the boy's human nature. But after examining the predicament involving the deaths and appearances he is alarmed that the British boys could not handle themselves better. Ralph weeps for all the loss of innocence amongst the group of savages, the "darkness of man's heart," and Piggy's death.

Connection with modern day Israel

I have found that the Lord of the Flies has many shocking connections to modern day politics, concerning the current nuclear weapons predicament in the Middle East. The protagonist Ralph who seeks help from the island represents the nation of Israel as it desperately (but ultimately in vain) seeks assistance from America (representing the naval rescuer who fails to recognize the tragedy of the situation until too late) and urges the disbarment of Iranian nuclear weapons, which threatens their safety and physical existence. The main antagonist Jack represents ISIS, which is fueled by their existential hatred of the nation of Israel ("little Satan") and America ("Great Satan") compelling Iran to secret build weapons of mass destruction as Jack is fueled by bloodlust and wanton destruction.

Simon is the embodiment of Reason, who has an understanding of good and evil and attempts to expose the many rumors and dark omens on the island, bringing everyone back to reality, but is killed by everyone in the process because they are controlled by the irrationality of the mob as brilliantly written about in conservative intellectual Ann Coulter's book Demonic. Simon's failure is representative of how peace through consent with Iran is nonexistent and will inevitably lead to more death. Piggy is similar to this as he represents civil negotiations, which although seems like the solution to ending hostilities with Iran, it only prolonged them. Faith in Piggy's scientific reasoning is lost when all the boys on the island begin to become more and more savage. Jack and the rest of the gang begin to worship their new god: chaos (Satan), representative through the "lord of the flies," the mounted fly covered pig head that compels the inner beast within the boy's hearts to destroy everything and everybody (once again the bloodlust leitmotiv). This is what turns them from hunting animals to hunting Ralph in the end, just as Iran has plans to hunt Israel, America, and anyone who stands against their wickedness and worship of Allah (i.e.,, the Christian world).

America and world leaders must wakeup to the reality of the situation with Iran and prevent them from concocting any nuclear weapons, regardless of whether or not Iran agrees to non-violence. Just as in Lord of the Flies the sensation for blood will awaken in the civilized world and true intentions will be revealed. We must heed the many warnings of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu against failed appeasement with Iran, which will only allow them to strike their number 1 enemy: Israel, and pose a huge threat to the world. History is repeating itself for in September 1938 the megalomania Adolph Hitler was appeased by English Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain and even signed a treaty with him (The Munich Pact), which instead of avoiding war in Europe only embolden Hitler and the Nazis more where in March 1938 Hitler invades Austria without firing a shot. Followed by Hitler invading the Sudetenland (Czechoslovakia) March 1939. When Hitler's blitzkrieg (lighting war) was launched against Poland on Sept. 1, 1939 this was the official beginnings of World War 2.

This is why I ask the pivotal question – Will we allow the world to be ruled by the lord of the flies (Beelzebub), or by the Lord of peace, prosperity, and of America (God and Jesus Christ)?

© Stone Washington