No man is good enough to govern another man without that other's consent.
Abraham Lincoln
GOVERNMENT IN LORD OF THE FLIES
INTRODUCTION
Government: an organization that governs the
citizens of that nation
 We found flaws in both Fascism and
Democracy
 So we turned to an alternative:
Consociationalism

FASCISM
According to the Oxford Dictionary, the
definition of fascism is "a system of extreme
right-wing dictatorial government
 Power Hungry!
 Not Hitler

TOTALITARIANISM


According to the Oxford Dictionary, it's "a form of
government in which no rival parties or loyalties are
permitted, usually demanding total submission of the
individual to the requirements of the state.“
E.g. Hitler
FASCISM IN LOTF

When Jack takes over in the latter stages of the novel,
he certainly represents a fascism: He rules with an
iron fist and everything is under his command. He
takes orders from no one. His government starts the
transition into totalitarianism by either convincing the
boys to join his side or by killing them
FASCISM IN LOTF CONT’D

Fascism are useful for changing things around in a
hurry. Jack certainly changed the island quickly.
We could tell, from the start, that Jack was a force
to be reckoned with: "[Piggy] was intimidated by
this uniformed superiority and the offhand
authority in Merridew's voice" (Golding, 22). This
foreshadowed what was to come. When he left
Ralph's group, it was to attempt to win back the
boys' respect by offering them fun activities, such
as hunting. The thought of fun vs. escape swayed
the boys (were they really going to escape
anyway?) into joining on with Jack
DEMOCRACY

"Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on
what to have for lunch.“ Benjamin Franklin
Democracy: Political organization which is
made by the people and for the people
 Democracy: Pure or representative

DEMOCRACY IN LOTF
Ralph was the primary symbol of democracy
 Golding displayed a sense of pure democracy
 Numerous assemblies were sense of pure
democracy
 Many flaws and benefits of democracy in this
situation

FLAWS OF DEMOCRACY

Lack of cohesion among the group
“They looked at each other, in love and hate” (Golding,
56)
*Unable to reach out to everyone
“But we want meat!” (Golding, 54)
FLAWS OF DEMOCRACY CONT.D

Lack of enforcement to the rules
“That’s really dirty. If you’re taken short you got to right
along the beach to the rock. See?” (86)
Where as Jack’s rules:
“Jack spoke again, impatiently, ‘Has everyone eaten as
much as they wanted?’” (165)
“Jack spoke again, impatiently, ‘Has everyone eaten as much as they wanted?’” (165)
BENEFITS OF DEMOCRACY

Freedom of speech:
“I’ll give the conch to the next person to speak” (31)
“I was asleep when the twisty things were frightening and when
they went away I was awake, and I saw something big and
horrid moving in the trees” (91)
Safety with different view points:
“We want meat!’ ‘Well, we haven't got any yet. And we
want shelters’” (51)
DEMOCRACY CONCLUSION
Flaws:
- Lack of cohesion amongst group
- Not pertaining to whole group
- No reinforcement on rules
Benefits:
- Freedom of speech
- Safety with different viewpoints
- Overall, Democracy is unsuccessful in this situation.

CONSOCIATIONALISM
Definition: Power Sharing
To elaborate:
A systematic government that has
representatives based on groups of many
similarities.
-Seen in Nigeria
Switzerland, and
Netherlands

FAVOUR TO CONSOCIATIONALISM
Diverse perspectives and priorities.
-In LOTF: Ralph and Jack have dissimilar priorities

“I [Ralph] was talking about smoke. Don’t you want to be
rescued? All you [Jack] can talk about is pig, pig, pig!” (Golding,
55).
Violence amongst the group
In LOTF: Jack is usually violent:
“I thought I might kill him” (51)
FAVOURS TO CONSOCIATIONALISM CONTD
Small and underdeveloped and isolated group:
In LOTF: The boys are isolated and are few.

“We’re on an inhabited island with no other people on it”
(31)
CONCLUSION
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
As Lord of the Flies is an allegorical novel, consider this
metaphor:
Ralph is a government.
Piggy is what the people need.
Jack is what the people want.
Ralph must maintain a constant balance of appealing both.
If Ralph chooses what people want, nothing will ever get done,
and they'll be stuck on the island forever.
If Ralph chooses what people need (which he does in the
novel), the people start to protest, rebel, and eventually, leave.
THANK

YOU
NOW YOU MAY LEAVE