Blog #349: How the Novel and Film Versions of “Lord of the Flies” (1963) Serves as an Ex

When anyone is trying to come up with a way to reach out to neurodivergent individuals that want to be rigid or set in their ways, we tend to struggle to find examples of why we all need to be flexible in life whether it’s getting a job or doing something that is outside of our comfort zone.

Perhaps no one should look more further than William Golding’s classic novel, “Lord of the Flies” about a group of 30 English Schoolboys who survive a plane crash while evacuating from England during World War II and end up on a deserted island. At the start of the novel, each and every single one of the boys are civilized and do whatever they can do to both survive and adapt to the environment around them.

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For one thing, the boys are alone and all the adults that were with them were killed in the plane crash. So, they adapt by having the main protagonist, Ralph, be chief and have Jack, the antagonist, be the headhunter along with his fellow choir boys.

Thus, right away we see basically flexibility and rigidity personified in the characters of Ralph and Jack. Ralph is a boy who wants what is best for everyone in order to survive because his flexibility is the key to their survival whereas Jack wants to be chief so he can express his rigidity and ensure that all the boys acts just like him. Jack is someone who wants to play by his own rules and doesn’t care who stands in his way.

As you read this blog, take a moment to think about that someone you know (family member, student, vocational client) who is like Jack and wants to beat to the sound of their own drum. But you then try to mold their minds into being like Ralph, who relies on flexibility in order to survive being on the island until they are rescued.

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When you think about it, there are two more characters that are walking examples of flexibility and rigidity: that being the characters of Roger (one of the choir boys who is Jack’s second-in-command) and Piggy (Ralph’s second-in-command)

Let’s take a look at Roger for a moment because Roger is someone who is like Jack, someone who has no respect for anyone and even himself. You try to reason with someone like Roger and he will respond in a pretty violent manner. In a way, Roger can be like someone neurodivergent that will often get physical when upset or angry and when he drops the boulder on Piggy at the climax of the novel, he clearly demonstrates that method.

As for Piggy, he is the most level headed of the boys and like Ralph, has to rely on being flexible in order to survive on the island. In a way, even before the events of the novel, Piggy is somewhat limited due to his asthma or not being able to see without his glasses (specs). This most often the case with neurodivergent and disabled individuals who are limited, but they tend to make the best of a bad situation, which is what he did until he was turned into a pancake by Roger at the climax.

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For the rest of the boys, they represent those who are caught in the middle on whether that are willing to be flexible or stay rigid. Those who follow Ralph include Simon, Percival and the twins, Sam and Eric represent those who also share Ralph’s belief that being flexible is a survival while those who follow Jack including his fellow choir boys Roger, Henry, Maurice, Robert, Rupert, Harold and Bill see that being rigid is the way to go when it’s really not and that rigidity and false beliefs can have deadly consequences as shown when Simon is brutally murdered because he was believed to be the Lord of the Flies.

In case you were wondering who the rest of the boys on the island were, they are as follows:

Piers, Lance, Leslie, Matthew, Peter, Donald, Neville, Howard, Douglas, Francis, George, Charles, Rowland, Digby, Robin, Frederick, Percy, Michael

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When all is said and done, however, “Lord of the Flies” has a sort of mixed reaction final shot of Ralph breaking down in tears for several reasons: one of whom was that he tried to be flexible as best as he could, but he couldn’t make it everyone believe in his way of thinking and that the other was the opposition retorted to his belief of flexibility as a survival skill by killing two of his closest comrades, Simon and Piggy.

Ralph’s emotional breakdown can also be symbolized and sympathized by those who are parents and professionals (such as family navigators, social workers and job coaches) who had to work their tails off to get someone rigid to become flexible and open minded to survive in the real world either during or after their education. This also brings the island itself as a symbol of what happens when flexibility and rigidity clash with one another and Ralph was caught in the middle of it. He’s standing on the beach and the island is burning in the background, a symbol of the devastation caused by the conflict.

Whereas this could also put someone like an educator or job coach in Ralph’s shoes because he or she tried as best they could to get their student or client to be more open minded and aware, either way it’s something that is a strong case of symbolism because this what goes on in real life and both sides aren’t going to get what they want. Flexibility and Rigidity are always going to be fighting one another and “Lord of the Flies” is a perfect example of it.

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Catch you all later!!

#Diversity #Disability #Neurodiversity #JobCoach #Equality #SpecialEducation #Autism #Education #Employment #Inclusion