Lord of the Flies by William Golding is a novel about a group of boys who get lost on a desert island and must do everything they can to survive. At the beginning of the novel, two boys, Ralph and Jack, become leaders. These differences will constitute the main conflict of the story. Their differences will lead them to hate each other, and the resulting anger is a recurring part of the plot throughout the novel. These two boys can be compared in the way they change, the reason for their actions, and the way they use or abuse power. Both boys change a lot during their time on the island. Ralph begins the novel as a leader and role model for the other boys. But eventually, the group gives in to wild instincts, and Ralph's leadership position rapidly declines while Jack's rises. At the end of the novel, Ralph becomes the prey of Jack's bloodthirsty group, and at the very end of the novel "Ralph cried for the end of innocence, for the darkness of man's heart, and for the fall in the air of a true, wise friend called Piggy” (Golding 225) to prove that he will never change, he discovered the evil that hides within all human beings. Jack, on the other hand, became more and more of a wild person as the book went on. For example, the first time he meets a pig, he can't bring himself to kill it. But Jack soon becomes obsessed with hunting and dedicates himself to the activity, painting his face like a barbarian and indulging in bloodlust. After killing a pig for the first time, "His mind was crowded with memories; memories of the realization that had come when they approached the distressed pig, the realization that he had deceived a living being, imposed his will on it, taken away the his life as one long satis...... middle of paper ......eats a battle of wills between Ralph and Jack which culminates in Jack and his tribe hunting down Ralph and smoking him out of the forest, which ultimately leads to their rescue At this point, democracy in the form of Ralph seemed to prevail over totalitarianism in the form of Jack, who faded into the shadows. Overall, Ralph and Jack were very different characters. Ralph begins the book as a hopeful leader with high ideals and by the end he felt persecuted and crushed by dictatorship and anarchy. motivated by the hope of being saved and was more of a democratic leader. Jack began the book as an altar boy and ended up taking Ralph's place as leader killing and leading a dictatorship. These differences were the main cause of the ensuing conflict. Bibliography Golding, William, Lord of the Flies, 1954, Faber & Faber, London