Civilization Vs Savagery

“Two shelters were in position, but shaky. This one was a ruin. ‘And they keep running off. You remember the meeting? How everyone was going to work hard until the shelters were finished?’” This quote from the book Lord of the Flies is the starting point in the separation of the two main lifestyles exhibited on the island. The two options were to maintain civilization and follow the conch, or to get reckless and take the form of savagery. The choice was very difficult to some, but to others it was a very simple decision. Each lifestyle contained many differences and also a few similarities. The way each lifestyle represented the boys who followed it, the many dangers each had to encounter, and the end result of survival are the three

key points highlighted in this book.
Life on the island was tough. The boys either stayed with the conch or resorted to the lifestyle of savagery. No lifestyle was the correct way, and neither style was safer in any way, shape, or form. In the beginning, every boy started out following the conch and it’s rules. “Ralph smiled and held up to conch for silence.” This quote is a good representation of the lifestyle of the conch. It was a very orderly and civilized way of handling things on the island. Towards the end of the book, Jack decided to go off on his own, and everyone but Ralph, Piggy, Samneric, and the littluns resorted to savagery along with Jack. Savagery represents a hectic and violent way of carrying out life on the island. Savagery represents a type of paranoia and way of getting things done the “easy way”. Instead of looking at long-term consequences, the boys that practiced savagery wanted to get things done in that instant, and never even thought of the long-term consequences of their malicious actions. On the contrary, the boys who followed the rules of the conch took time to think about short and long-term consequences of their actions. The only problem is what does one do when isolated and forced to make a snap decision?
No matter which lifestyle the boys elected to follow, they encountered many dangers.

Some dangers were the same, and others completely opposite from one another. For the followers of the conch, they faced having to fear when the savagery group raided and fought them. On the other hand, savagery is represented by addiction, and addiction is something everyone fears. Once one picks up on the violent acts of savagery, it is a tough force to try and stop. Too much savagery could cause major psychological disorders later on in life, and could be a gateway to live a murderous, or abusive life. This was demonstrated in the book by the evolution of the behaviors of Jack and Roger. The one danger both styles had was the possibility of severe injury, or even death. At any point in time, anyone could’ve became very ill or infected, suffered from malnutrition or lack of water, and in extreme cases,

died.
“The officer looked at Ralph doubtfully for a moment, then took his hand away from the butt of the revolver.

‘Hullo.’” Through fighting with each other and overcoming dangers, both lifestyles ended up surviving, even if it was by the narrowest of margins, and this quote accurately describes that. If a winner had to be chosen, the obvious choice would be savagery. The facts showed that more of those people survived, but the way they survived, and how malignant they were to the boys who chose to follow the rules, took away the fact they did survive. A horrible feeling lied in the stomachs of all the boys who did something they regretted. A comparison one could draw with the survival of the savagery lifestyle is copying someone’s whole paper, and receiving a 100%. It’s unethical, and the thought of cheating lingers in the brain for quite a long time. In the real world savagery represents the evil that is present in every single person. Oppositely, the conch represents the good that is in all people. When times get tough, people tend to take the easy way out of things, and in Lord of the Flies this concept was definitely demonstrated. The followers of the conch had to stand up for themselves when they decided to go against the group that followed Jack. The rest of the boys were just scared of Jack, and ended up following him. The boys who decided to remain good, and not take the easy way out, ended up suffering for

it.
Each lifestyle included many similarities and differences to the other. Throughout the representation of the islanders, and the encounter of many grave dangers, both achieved the ultimate goal of survival. The ending paragraph from the novel, “The officer, surrounded by these noises, was moved and a little embarrassed. He turned away to give them time to pull themselves together; and waited, allowing his eyes to rest on the trim cruiser in the distance.” leaves one with many questions, but the main question one asks oneself is this; in a time of difficulty and acting on first instincts, which lifestyle would have been the better choice?