Post 3: That's not fair!

Golding, William. Lord of the flies. New York: Capricorn Books, 1954. Print. 

 
     One situation of injustice that I found in my novel is when some of the boys let the fire go out. The fire is important to everyone because it is the only method they have of being rescued from the deserted, remote island. There are only young boys on the island, and they decided among themselves who would do which jobs. They boys who kept the fire going let it go out. There is conflict between the boys because of this. 

The injustice that I see here is in the fact that everyone was negatively affected because of the bad decision of a few of the boys. 

 
     I, as the reader, can draw from this the lesson that we need to think before we act. I think that this runs deeper than the cliché. It can take on a meaning that isn't used very often. This meaning is: think before you act because you can't ever be fully aware of how it will affect others. In this situation, all of the boys were not rescued when they could have been. In retrospect, their small decision affected the whole group in ways that no one would have expected. I think that you can draw from this that justice is doing what is right for everybody, not necessarily what is equal. I think that the main character, Ralph, can draw from this is that people will never live up to your expectations. They are not perfect. They will not treat you as they would like to be treated. If you lend something to someone, do not expect to ever get it back. This is applicable to this situation because Ralph had just spent his day slaving at building shelters while they others let the fire go out because they were having fun.

     I think that this can be applied to real life as well. In every situation, you need to think about how others will be affected, try to do what is right for everybody and not expect others to think about these things.