Compare How Lord of the Flies and the Chocolate War Develop the Theme of Power

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28th December 2012 Wider reading course essay Compare and contrast how Golding and Cormier develop the theme of power in ‘Lord of the Flies’ and ‘The Chocolate War’ There are many ways in which I can compare and contrast Robert Cormier’s book, The Chocolate War, and William Golding’s book, the lord of the flies. One way is the similarity of the characters desire and will for power. For example in the lord of the flies, Jack, from the very start, wanted to be in charge He is strong-will and is the novel’s primary representative of the instinct of savagery, violence, and the desire for power. From the beginning of the novel, Jack desires power above all other things. He is furious when he loses the election to Ralph and continually pushes the boundaries of his subordinate role in the group. Early on, Jack retains the sense of moral propriety and behaviour that society instilled in him—in fact, in school, he was the leader of the choirboys. The first time he encounters a pig, he is unable to kill it. But Jack soon becomes obsessed with hunting and devotes himself to the task, painting his face like a barbarian and giving himself over to bloodlust, and also putting himself in charge of the specific party which deals in the hunting. In the chocolate war the same desire is shown. Archie's cruelty reaches levels that are quite unbelievable. He demonstrates that cruelty without abandon, using it to manipulate anyone who stands in his way, or anyone he simply decides it would be fun to manipulate. He manipulates everyone in The Vigils to supporting his plans, and he manipulates every student who gets an assignment. He already is in charge but will try to stay there. He listens to what other people say, even if he knows morally it is wrong, but to keep his position and respect he does it. "Maybe I ought to assign someone to the store, make life interesting for your

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