Lord of The Flies By William Golding

When people have contrasting priorities, it is not as easy to work together and get things done because of different opinions. In Lord of the Flies, by William Golding the two main characters Ralph and Jack have contrasting goals on how to survive on the island. Ralph wants to aid the other boys whereas Jack only thinks about himself by attempting to kill a pig to prove himself. Their differences on how to go about surviving on an island with no adults only lead to tension between the two of them.

One of Ralph’s priorities is to be a leader and friend to the boys, while Jack’s priority is to fulfill his own wants. Ralph wanted to help the other kids feel safe by building shelters so “everyone [had to work hard] until the shelters were finished” to get their minds off of the beast. Ralph is trying to make the best of what happened to him and the other kids by assessing what they have to stay alive.

He brought up the shelters as a way to reassure all the others to make them feel protected from anything they think might harm them.

On the other hand, Jack doesn’t care about the others; he only cares about himself and his ego. When fighting with Ralph about whether building shelter for safety or hunting was better for everyone, “[Jack] tried to convey the compulsion to track down and kill that was swallowing him up,” since he was hinking about how how it felt to get so close to capturing a pig.

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The reason for Jack’s obsessiveness with killing is to prove himself to the others to let them know he is capable of what he promised. He is also fascinated with the idea of how he would be in control of a living animals life deciding to let the animal live or not. Ralph believes it is better to help everyone, but Jack thinks it’s everyone for themselves. Ralph and Jack’s differences on how to endure their situation result in their relationship having many complications.

After fighting about whose priorities were better than the other, Ralph and Jack walked on the beach “two continents of experience and feeling” thinking about how one is better than the other where they couldn’t even have a conversation. Ralph and Jack have many differences which keeps them apart as friends. Their own thoughts and ideas keep them from joining together and to help the other boys. Furthermore, Ralph has faced the reality that there might be no rescue, but Jack is stuck in a reality where he is number one. All Jack wants to do is not worry about getting in trouble finding it in “[. . .] the brilliant world of hunting, tactics, fierce exhilaration skill; and here was the world of longing and baffled common sense.” where all Ralph wants to do is go home. Jack wants to bring violence to the other boys because of the rush he feels when he hunts.

He wants them to feel what he feels, because it is so new to them. Ralph is more reasonable and wants to have order. He doesn’t want anyone to get killed and is trying to find a way to get rescued. Not working together through their differences leads to a problematic relationship between the two of them.The cause of tension between people can be their ambition depending whether it is strong or weak. Human beings are naturally competitive so they are going to fight for what they think is right even if it’s wrong. There are two sides to ambition the good side and the bad. Good ambition of a person they want to help everyone not themselves. When someone is overly competitive, they start to blame all their frustrations on others. If they seek power, they will try to become the new leader. Jack and Ralph’s different ambitions and priorities caused them to work against not with each other.