Lord of the Flies and Escape from Saddam: the Many Roads to Freedom

At times, people are forced to make difficult decisions that can impact their lives and the lives of people that surround them.

After making the decision, they must live with the consequences forever wondering if things could have been different had they made another choice. Nevertheless, when put in similar situations, most individuals will react the same way. For instance, if put in a life or death situation, one will do all it takes to survive. In Escape from Saddam and Lord of the Flies, the characters are put into a dangerous context, face the same conflicts due to their choices and, through their actions, evoke the themes of isolation and freedom in their respective novels.

Firstly, the characters from both novels find themselves in a similar setting. To begin with, in Lord of the Flies, the story takes place on a deserted island. The boys have very little knowledge of their whereabouts and spend a lot of time exploring the island. After Ralph was named leader, his first course of action was to become more familiar with the area.

This was shown clearly when he told the boys, "If this isn't an island we might be rescued straight away. So we've got to decide if this is an island" (Golding, 23). Through Ralph's words, it is evident that the boys are completely unaware of the location of the island, or what dangers it can possibly hold. On the other hand, in Escape from Saddam, Lewis Alsamari travels through Iraq and other countries such as England, Jordan, and Malaysia, and also through the desert.

When comparing the island on which the boys were stranded to the desert and all the countries Lewis was forced to cross in order to get to England, it is evident that those places are unknown for the characters. The boys in Lord of the Flies were forced to explore the island to be able to survive. In Escape from Saddam, Lewis was forced to follow specific directions to be able to travel in the unknown desert. Although Jordan and Malaysia are very different than the island or the desert, it was still unknown to the young man travelling and he was forced to go out looking for shelter and food just as the boys did.

This is shown as soon as Lewis arrives in Amman and says, "I was a stranger in a strange country. I had no friends, little money, and no idea where to go to get the help and the information I needed" (Alsamari, 139). Through Lewis's thoughts, it is made clear that he is completely lost in Amman, a new and unknown city to him. Furthermore, the circumstance in which the two stories take place is also very similar. In Lord of the Flies, the boys were not familiar with the island and what dangers it could hold. They had many dangerous times on the island, with the beastie that petrified many of boys.

This was proven through the reaction of the boys after Sam and Eric and reported seeing the beastie,"They lay there listening, at first with doubt but then with terror to the description the twins breathed at them between bouts of extreme silence. An interminable dawn faded the stars out and at last light sad and grey, filtered into the shelter. Soon the darkness was full of claws, full of awful unknown and menace. They began to stir though still the world outside the shelter was impossibly dangerous" (Golding, 99).

Through the boys fear, we see that they were completely unaware of all the dangers the island could hold. Additionally, Ralph was also put into very dangerous situations towards the ending of the novel because of his clashes with Jack. Similarly, throughout Lewis' hunt for freedom, every moment was filled with danger. He constantly had to live with the fear of getting caught and deported to Iraq.

Not only did he have to live with the dangers of getting caught and being sent to prison, he also faced dangerous moments while in the desert as he was chased by wolves. In addition, his escape from the military base, his many imprisonments, his many boarder or checkpoint crossings, and his frequent use of a counterfeit passport were risks that Lewis had to take. In short, the familiar place and circumstance of the two books prove the similarity in the setting.Secondly, the conflicts that appear in both books are similar.

Both novels have man vs. society conflicts. In Lord of the Flies, Ralph goes against Jack's barbaric society and attempts to take control of power in order to lead the boys in the way he sees as most effective. It is clear that Ralph rebelled against Jack's tribe when he confronted them and said, "Don't you understand, you painted fools? Sam, Eric, Piggy and me - we aren't enough.

We tried to keep the fire going but we couldn't. And then you, playing at hunting." (Golding, 178) In this speech, Ralph manifests his anger and his rebelliousness towards Jack's tribe thus creating the conflict. In Escape from Saddam, Lewis also goes against the society and the laws in Iraq as he tries to escape.It was clear that Lewis was always unhappy in Iraq, when he expressed his feelings and said: "During my teenage years, I made no secret to my family of the fact that I wanted to leave all this. As I grew up, I witnessed more and more of my friends in Baghdad - many whom were older than I - somehow managing to make it across the border.

" (Alsamari, 35) Lewis was very obvious with his intentions of disobeying the laws of the countries and wanting to illegally cross the border as soon as he could. Both characters took great risks when rebelling against the society; they showed great bravery as they knew they were putting their lives on the line. The difference between the two lies in the reason behind their actions. In Ralph's case, it was his need to be the leader and his determination to get rescued that made him rebel against Jack's society. On the other hand, it was Lewis's need for freedom and a better life that made him flee Iraq knowing the consequences of getting caught would be very severe.Moreover, another conflict appears in both books, man vs.

himself. In Lord of the Flies, all the boys are enduring an internal struggle as they are being torn apart with the decisions they must make. The struggle that lies within the boys is due to their moral convictions. The majority of the boys forget about their morals and simply follow Jack in his reign of chaos. Oppositely, Ralph attempts to stick with his ethics and not give in to the temptation of joining Jack's tribe. It is clear that Ralph is torn between two decisions; that is, would he stick to his ethics or if he would join Jack's tribe like the rest of the boys.

In the same way, in Escape from Saddam, Lewis is faced with very difficult decisions that tear him apart. He had to choose between staying in his home in Iraq with his family under the tyranny of Saddam, or taking a risk in fleeing the country and leaving his family behind to pursue a better life in England. Although he did decide to leave his family, he was constantly questioning his choice and was torn apart by it.His unease with his decision was made evident when his family was tortured on his behalf. After being informed of this, he was at a loss for words; this is shown when he says: "It is hard to find the words to describe how I felt when I heard the news. My mind was a maelstrom of powerlessness and indecision.

" (Alsamari, 232) Through Lewis' words, it is made clear that he is facing an internal struggle and is indecisive about how to solve it. Also, Lewis had a similar struggle as the boys did in terms of his morals. To be free, he was forced to lie, steal, and break various laws. In that sense, both Lewis and all the people that helped him get to freedom were like the boys on the island; that is, stuck in a moral dilemma that caused their respective internal struggles. In short, both novels present man vs. society conflicts as well as man vs.

himself conflicts albeit in different ways.Thirdly, the same themes appear in both books, but in different ways. In Lord of the Flies, one of the main themes is freedom. Freedom was given to the boys after the plane crash because of the absence of adults on the island. Without adult supervision, each child on the island adapted differently. For the most part, the uncontrolled freedom and the lack of structure ultimately lead to chaos for the boys.

For instance, Jack's savagery is proof of the said chaos. On the other hand, Ralph was less affected by the amount of liberty he had; this is evident as he wanted to implement rules and a system in order to get rescued throughout the entire novel. After Ralph had failed to keep control of the boys, they began to act foolish. This was caused by the newly gained freedom they had under Jack's control. While Ralph was in control, the boys each had a role to follow in order to get rescued; in contrast, when Jack had formed his own tribe, they stole Piggy's glasses and had no regard for morals. In brief, the boys were given too much freedom which ultimately was the cause for their chaotic actions.

On the other hand, in Escape from Saddam, the theme of freedom is present but is displayed in a different manner. The entire journey that Lewis fulfils is fuelled by his pursuit for freedom and for a better life in England. Before his departure for England, Lewis said: "For now, though, I could pretend: pretend that I lived a life that at least bore some small resemblance to the life I had enjoyed in England...

pretend that I was not living in a country where, at every turn, I was told by a domineering regime what to do, what to say, and what to think." (Alsamari, 27) In this speech, Lewis is expressing his need to escape from the dictatorship in Iraq and go to England where he would be free to express himself. In fact, Lewis's desire to live in a free country was so severe that he risked his life to obtain it. To sum up, freedom is present in both books; in Lord of the Flies, where freedom corrupts the boys, and in Escape from Saddam, where it was the cause of Lewis's journey. In addition, the theme of isolation is also present in both novels.In Lord of the Flies, the island isolates the boys from society and civilization.

They are stranded on the island without any rules, without a support system and without camaraderie. Without any of those key elements, the boys were forced to fend for themselves and assure their own survival. Although it was a large group of boys, most of them had an individualistic mindset and therefore never became friends with others. The extended period of time alone is also very present in Escape from Saddam as Lewis is forced to take upon the entire journey by himself. He travelled the desert unaccompanied, and was completely isolated from society. Even during his stay in various countries, Lewis was like the boys, isolated from his family and his home.

Lewis expresses how isolated he feels during his stay in Jordan when he says:"But of course it remained just as it had always been: a fake passport for an illegal alien. I felt a crushing sense of loneliness. I may have started to make a few friends here in Amman, but in that moment I realized that any sense of belonging I might have felt in the past few months was entirely misplaced. Nothing could change the fact that I was an outsider, on the run from the place that I considered home and not tolerated by the authorities in this halfway house.

" (Alsamari, 177)In this monologue, it is evident that even in a big city like Amman, Lewis still feels completely isolated and unwanted. In addition, another form of isolation is present in Escape from Saddam. Throughout the novel, Lewis is obligated to isolate others from the truth. On his long journey, Lewis was forced to lie and hide his true intentions with every person he met along the way in fear of getting caught by the authorities.

Even after making good friends, Lewis did not allow himself to trust anyone, not even after his arrival in England. In short, the same themes appear in both books but are demonstrated differently in each novel.In conclusion, it is evident that most people, whether it be a group of boys or an isolated man, will react in a similar manner when put in similar situations. Both the characters from Escape from Saddam and Lord of the Flies dealt with a similar context, had similar conflicts and thus the same themes returned in both books. It remains to be seen whether Lewis would have approached his journey differently had he been accompanied by others.