18. (opinion on the end of Lord of the Flies)

I have mixed feelings about the conclusion to Lord of the Flies.  Of course I wanted things to work out, especially for Ralph and his boys, but I just didn't find the end to be entirely convincing.  The odds of a ship showing up at precisely that moment after not seeing one over an extended period of time are next to none.  I did think, however,  that the part leading up to the ultimate conclusion, the hunt of Ralph, was very well written and also very intense.   It was the type of thing I would expect to come after the dramatic foreshadowing in the novel, and in my mind was executed very well by the author.  It did leave him in a pretty tough situation, and I was glad to see something come along that could save him.  The one part of the end that I didn't like was that, basically, Jack won.  I would have really liked to see Ralph have some sort of ultimate triumph, instead of literally collapsing at the feet of a naval officer.  Although, this was never intended to be a cheerful story, so I guess the triumph of evil on the island is fitting.  Overall, I would say the end is satisfying in that there is an positive resolution that is achieved without losing track of the ultimate theme of the story.