Question

read the passage from lord of the flies by william golding.
jack stood there, streaming with sweat, streaked with brown earth, stained by all the vicissitudes of a days hunting. swearing, he turned off the trail and pushed his way through until the forest opened a little and instead of bald trunks supporting a dark roof there were light grey trunks
and crowns of feathery palm. beyond these was the glitter of the sea and he could hear voices. ralph was standing by a contraption of palm trunks and leaves, a rude shelter that faced the lagoon and seemed very near to falling down. he did not notice when jack spoke.
\got any water?\
ralph looked up, frowning, from the complication of leaves. he did not notice jack even when he saw him.
what is the universal theme of this passage?
○ the loss of innocence
○ the tension between freedom and responsibility
○ society’s dependence on authority
○ humanity’s search for meaning in the world

Explanation:

In "Lord of the Flies", Jack is focused on hunting (representing a more "free" or instinctual, less rule - bound path) while Ralph is working on building shelters (representing responsibility and order). The interaction and their different pursuits highlight the tension between freedom (Jack's hunting, lack of concern for the shelter - building task) and responsibility (Ralph's focus on creating a stable living situation). The other options don't fit as well: "the loss of innocence" is more about the overall corruption of the boys over time, not this specific passage; "society’s dependence on authority" isn't the main focus here as it's more about the conflict between two approaches rather than dependence on authority; "humanity’s search for meaning in the world" is too broad and not the central theme of this passage.

Answer:

the tension between freedom and responsibility