Hobbesian view of The Lord of Flies Essays - John Locke, Atomists

Abstract Lord of the Flies is the representative work by British author William Golding. This short story gives a depiction of a group of British boys who strand on a deserted island and try to work out civilization on it, ending up a tragedy. Meanwhile, the way in which the boys work out civilization out of a primitive state share something in common with the classic political theories, namely, the State of Nature and Social contract first proposed by British philosopher Thomas Hobbes. One of the main characters in the book, Jack grabs all the power and transforms himself into the Hobbesian sea monster the Leviathan. Thus its appropriate to have an analysis on Lord of the Flies from political philosophy perspective. My paper would lay emphasis on how Hobbes two main theories are reflected in Goldings text, which can seen as a preview of what the Hobbesian Absolute Power, when running amok, could bring. Key words: Deserted Island, Thomas Hobbes, the State of Nature , the Social Contract , Absolute Power