Microcosm in Lord of the Flies

A group of citizens crowd into a full hall, discussing and debating the issues facing their community today. Together, they vote on the concerns that affect their lives and control the future of their community. This is a town meeting, a small version analogous to the United States Government, where the representatives debate and discuss issues facing the entire country. There is the same relationship between the island where the boys crash and the adult world from which they came. The boys feel the need for leadership and order, their situations and customs mirror the adult world, and the individual characters represent the factors and opinions in the adult society. In The Lord of the Flies by William Golding, the boys’ island is a microcosm, a smaller arrangement directly comparable to a larger system, to the world as a whole.
The boys feel a need for order and follow any charismatic leader in their search of direction, similar to the adult mentality. When Ralph first...