The Flies: Ideal of Authority In literature, a single theme that recurs throughout a novel or play can lend to the overall flow and meaning of the written work. An image that seems to be prevalent in “The Flies,” by Jean-Paul Sartre is the idea of authority. The idea of authority is manipulated by Sartre in various ways so that it reappears throughout the play and acts as a symbolic image. The very idea of kings and royalty seen from the beginning of the play to the end suggests that at least some degree of authority will be involved in story. As the play progresses, the reader finds out that King gisthus has an excessiv