Lost v.s. Lord of the Flies

Lord of the Flies by William Golding and ABC's Lost, created by Jeffery Lieber, have characters and an over all theme that directly correlate with one another. Firstly, Ralph from Lord of the Flies and Jack Shepherd from Lost both have personality traits such as leadership and responsibility that give the people around them hope and trust. Both were appointed chief or leader at the beginning of their journeys on the islands. The similarities between these two go beyond the obvious connection of being the leader. Jack and Ralph both become aggrivated and overwhelmed with their new roles. Ralph starts to give up towards the climax of the book when Jack and his tribe leave him behind, and Jack Shepherd starts to question why people assumed he should be the one to lead them lead them. Another example of similar characters are Kate and Piggy. Kate gets attached to Jack and admires his ability to push out fear and take charge in finding a way to get rescued and keep the group safe. Piggy does this with Ralph in the way that he is always following him around and shapes himself after Ralph's survival instincts and leadership. Both characters find themselves lost without the structure and rules of society but then seem to find themselves under the protection of Jack Shepherd and Ralph.

The theme of both depictions of what happens to humans when they are isolated from society, revolves around the idea that the background and personality of each person combined with mob mentality can effect who and what people become in isolation. The majority of both groups at the beginning of their stories find themselves searching for a way out. But, John Locke and Jack find themselves getting comfortable in the island, they both enjoy who they are on the island. John who used to be in a wheel chair, unable to walk, now has working limbs again. Jack, who before the accident always yearned for the power that adults never gave him, now had the strength and power to rule over all without getting told "no". As one can see people's pasts can change how they react to the change of scenery. One cannot pin point what happens to a human when taken away from civilization, due to the fact that not every person comes from the same kind of life and not everyone has the same morals and personalities.