Two Sides, One Goal
Shaheed Williams
Ms Pahomov
English 2
9 April 2018
Two Sides, One Goal
Why can’t opposing sides of forces come to an agreement on a solution that will prevent further problems between them? Still, this happens which leads to the separate sides fighting over for the same thing. The objective is something so sought after, that the there’s not only one person fighting, but a whole group of people. In “Lord of The Flies,” written by William Golding, characters Ralph and Jack were once allies focusing on simply on survival. However, Jack wanted to leave Ralph’s group so he could make his own. This situation also occurs in the real world, most clearly in the Palestine and Israel conflict. Two factions once united, but then ended up warring against each other to pursue the same purpose. The purpose of war is for self-gain and survival because winning is what’s most important.
At the beginning of the novel, the boys make an impromptu democracy appointing a leader and have different people working specific jobs. Ralph and Jack had important roles in the group, with Ralph being the overall leader and Jack being the leader of the hunters, while also tending the signal fire. However, things turned bitter when Jack and Ralph had different intentions about surviving. “‘I’m chief,’ said Ralph, ‘because you chose me. And we were going to keep the fire going. Now you run after food-’ ‘You ran yourself!’ shouted Jack ‘ You said you were hunters. That was your job.’ Jack ignored him again. ‘Who’ll join my tribe and have fun?’” (150). The group that was once whole became divided. Jack no longer wanted to be involved with Ralph because he thinks that he should be the rightful leader. He believes the power that the leader holds is something that makes him better than everyone else. Jack sees Ralph as a rival since the boys elected him as their chief. Not only does this make Jack insecure, but it’s the root of this anger. His anger only makes Ralph want to remain above him as well. Even if both of their intentions are to stay alive on the unpredictable island, there is tension growing between them. This is because they let their selfish ways take control of them instead of compromising.
A failure to compromise has lead to many wars in the real world. The Palestine-Israel conflict is one such war fought over who gets what land and how it’s sanctioned. Both sides believe they have the right to the land of Israel, but none wants to share the land. According to Vox “Jews fleeing persecution in Europe wanted to establish a national homeland in what was then an Arab- and Muslim-majority territory in the Ottoman and later British Empire. The Arabs resisted, seeing the land as rightfully theirs.”. There have been solutions brought forward to fix the problem but none have worked because the Palestinians and Israelis refuse to coexist with each other in Israel. There’s a disconnection that causes problems for all. Relating to Lord of the Flies, this resembles when Jack didn’t want to follow Ralph’s orders anymore. Jack decided he was done listening to Ralph which is why there’s a dispute between the two. They argued over leadership. While the Palestinians and Israelis used their religion and nationality to claim Israel.
Palestinians are Muslim and Israelis are Jewish. In their holy books, they have rights to Israel dating far back in the past. The problem is that they believe that the land is specifically for one group, so they can’t share it. They all have a religious connection with Israel, which is why both sides are fighting each other so fiercely with so much hate. One activist in the Palestinian community wanted to make his pays available to his people and the Israelis. He had trouble doing that so he started out small, by putting subtitles for his Arabic plays. “The play was performed dozens of times in Arabic, but it was when Hebrew subtitles were added that opposition arose. At first, pressure came from right-wing activists… who protested outside the theatre and called on the city to shut down the play, claiming that it supported terrorism.” - From journalists Marisa Mazria. In a war, anything resembling the enemy side will cause hate. Strong ties to the country led to strong feelings of obtaining the right to control it which is why the smallest things can trigger hate.
In the novel, the boys strive to survive but some have their own ways of doing things. This leads to the separation of the group and had the boys harming each other. After Jack split from the group with his hunters, he attacked Ralph nearly killing him. “Viciously, with full intention, he hurled his spear at Ralph. The point tore the skin and flesh over Ralph’s ribs.” (pg. 181) In this scene, Ralph is nearly killed by Jack because Jack believed he was a threat to his authority, which is his idea of survival. Being the leader is what Jack thought would increase his chances of survival. As a result, he didn’t want to take any chances so he did anything that was possible, even if it meant he had to murder Ralph. Others harming each other, with the intent to kill is, nothing new in the real world. It’s relevant in the Palestinians-Israeli war where there are many casualties. “Noting that the latest figures available from the United Nations indicated that 1,523 Palestinian civilians, including 519 children, were killed during the hostilities last summer.” - United Nation Media Coverage. Even civilians and innocent children are affected by the actions of opposing sides going against one another. It goes to show the repercussions of those who use any means necessary to accomplish their goals.
War accomplishes two things, winning and casualties. It is a practice that is common throughout the real world. Without it, there would be peace, but it’s natural for humans to desire valuables. There are those who value the same thing, and when there’s not enough of it then there will be problems. The more worth it has the more it’s sought after. That’s why humans will always feel the need to fight. The reasons for war is to come out on top, to become the alpha because only the alphas win and survive. Something so massive as it can happen to the smallest amounts of people and can change the way they act.
Works Cited:
Golding, William. Lord of the Flies. New York: Penguin, 2006
Beauchamp, Zack. "What Are Israel and Palestine? Why Are They Fighting?" Vox. March 31, 2014. Accessed April 04, 2018. https://www.vox.com/cards/israel-palestine/intro.
Zonszein, Mairav, and Marisa Mazria-Katz. "Israel's War on Culture." The New York Review of Books. March 22, 2018. Accessed April 04, 2018. http://www.nybooks.com/daily/2018/03/22/israels-war-on-culture/.
“Excessive Number of Palestinian Fatalities during Gaza Crisis Cannot Be Dismissed as 'Collateral Damage', Fourth Committee Hears in Review of Israeli Practices | Meetings Coverage and Press Releases.” United Nations, United Nations, 6 Nov. 2014, www.un.org/press/en/2014/gaspd574.doc.htm.
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