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The lord of flies extended essay
Critical analysis of Lord of the flies
Critical analysis of Lord of the flies
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Every human is born with a savage side. Depending on the conditions of the person's life, the savage may or may not be released. In William Golding's novel, Lord of the Flies, he shows us that when the idea of civilization is lost, humans are faced with the challenge to remain civilized but they often turn to savagery. The plot of Lord of the Flies, Ralph's character development, and the conch symbol in the book prove this point. William Golding's plot of Lord of the Flies helps develop the idea without civilization, humans will revert to savagery. For example, in Lord of the Flies, a plane with a group of young boys on board crashes on an island with no parents or adults. During the initial days on the island, the boys are still innocent …show more content…
As we know, the boys in Lord of the Flies used the conch to call meetings and maintain order on the island. "'And another thing. We can't have everybody talking at once. We'll have to have 'Hands up' like at school."' He held the conch before his face and glanced round the mouth. "'Then I'll give him the conch."' "''Conch?'" '"That's what this shell's called. I'll give the conch to the next person to speak. He can hold it when he's speaking"' (33). This quote shows the boys planning on using the conch for order. This evidence shows us that civilization can exist on the island. This is true because the boys all still have a civilized base from their time in society before the crash telling them what is right and wrong. With this base, it is possible they could have maintained law and order on the island. The conch managed to maintain order on the island for a small amount of time until it broke, representing the total end of civilization on the island. "The rock struck Piggy a glancing blow from chin to knee; the conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist" (181). This is a quotation of the symbolistic conch shell breaking, ending civilization on the island for good. The conch shell in Lord of the Flies shows us that when the idea of civilization is lost, humans are faced with the challenge to remain civilized but they often turn to savagery. This is true because the conch shell represented civilization and it worked as tool to obtain law and order on the island, but when it broke, it symbolized the total turn to savagery. The conch shell breaking ended the chances of law and order ever resurfacing on the island. Overall, the conch shell symbolizes civilization in Lord of the Flies. Therefore, the destruction of the shell symbolized the end of
In the book Lord of the Flies by William Golding, the theme of the Downfall of Society Without Consequences is shown by the authority of the conch being lost when the boys get into an argument and
the top of the mountain so build a signal fire as it would be easiest
From Lord of the Flies, there were many things like Conch and Fire that symbolized something. One of the most important symbols was the Conch. The Conch, which is a big shell that can be seen at the beach symbolizes many things in the Lord of the Flies. The Conch represents power because it once was able to control the boys with it, and it also symbolizes democracy because of anyone who has their ideas and can speak their thoughts. The Conch represents unity because it was used to call an assembly and was used to put the boys and keep the peace between the boys so nobody would fight with each other. So, the conch is an important symbol in the novel, because it represents power, democracy, and unity.
Savagery is brought out in a person when they lose everything else. Lord of the Flies by William Golding shows us that when there is a lack of societal boundaries, animalistic behavior is what will follow. Humanity is destroyed with lack of guidelines or rules.
“There are too many people, and too few human beings.” (Robert Zend) Even though there are many people on this planet, there are very few civilized people. Most of them are naturally savaged. In the book, Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, boys are stranded on an island far away, with no connections to the adult world. These children, having no rules, or civilization, have their true nature exposed. Not surprisingly, these children’s nature happens to be savagery. Savagery can clearly be identified in humans when there are no rules, when the right situation arouses, and finally when there is no civilization around us.
"Corruption vs. Civilization in Lord of the Flies" is a novel that delves into the inner being of a group of young British boys who find themselves stranded on a deserted island. William Golding uses the motifs of the pig dance, the conch, and the masks to convey the theme that man becomes a corrupt and savage being without a strict system of order and civilization. The boys' belief that the lord of the flies, or the symbol of the "beast," is something they can hunt and kill is challenged when they realize it is a spirit that dwells inside a soul and slowly seduces one into complete and utter savagery. Ralph finds himself in a much more complex and compromising battle, one that takes place inside the mind. By dancing and singing to celebrate the brutal murdering of a pig, the boys enter into a society surrounded by sadistic and brutal thoughts.
Jack’s representation of malignant and viciousness validates that there is a dark side of human nature. As choirmaster, Jack succeeds pushing control over others, such as the choir, through his manipulative approach. He concentrates on hunting and yearns for meat. In result, his repulsive acts create a savage within. Evil is present in every single one of us and it is natural for one to do whatever it takes to stay alive. In Golding’s novel, Lord of The Flies, Golding depicts society through the group of stranded boys who are compelled to create their own representation of civilization. Though the civilized boys were born into the liberated civilization not all approach the situation with an enlightened belief. Everyone has the proposition to do great however when undermined, man can turn vicious, such as Jack. His fundamental conflicts are that people are savage by nature, and are moved by urges to dominate over others. The natural darkness in humankind brings about the breakdown of civilization, as demonstrated by Jack.
In the novel The Lord of the flies, William Golding illustrates the decline from innocence to savagery through a group of young boys. In the early chapters of The Lord of the Flies, the boys strive to maintain order. Throughout the book however, the organized civilization Ralph, Piggy, and Simon work diligently towards rapidly crumbles into pure, unadulterated, savagery. The book emphasized the idea that all humans have the potential for savagery, even the seemingly pure children of the book. The decline of all civilized behavior in these boys represents how easily all order can dissolve into chaos. The book’s antagonist, Jack, is the epitome of the evil present in us all. Conversely, the book’s protagonist, Ralph, and his only true ally, Piggy, both struggle to stifle their inner
Throughout the novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding, many different conflicting societies develop. These groups of young English schoolboys have conflicts between them for many different reasons. Some of them are so spread apart in age that their beliefs and actions are very different. Other groups are conflicting because they have different opinions about who the leader of the entire group should be. The groups also argue about what their priorities should be while trapped on the island. These conflicts continue to grow until the very end, when one group finally gains supremacy.
But as the story goes on, the conch loses its power and so does the island’s civilized manner is lost because the boys descend into savagery. The book says “The rock struck Piggy a glancing blow from chin to knee; the conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist.” With the conch being destroyed we know that the civilization that was left has been destroyed right along with it .This is one of the most memorable parts of the whole book. As the boys rampage through the island, I believe that the author is implying that humans have the natural tendency to descend into/revert to savagery and cruelty once all civilization is lost!
The conch also brought order to the boys on the island. “We’ll have rules” “I’ll give the conch to the person next to me. He can hold it when he’s speaking.”(33). Without adults they were forced to create rules for themselves because order would have to be kept on the island until they were saved. At their school order was everything and they wanted to keep that order and thought of safety. The conch gave them a feeling of home and hope of getting off the island.
“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
Humans are diverse and strange, mysteries to even themselves. We have a functioning civilization, but yet savagery still remains hidden beneath the glamor of society. William Golding, renowned author of the intuitive novel Lord of the Flies, recognized it and put it into a book for the world to understand and interpret. He ventured into his views and opinions of human nature, good and evil, and human civilization and made a book that served almost as a mirror to society, yet most still refuse to see people the way they truly are.
Society changes in many different ways, especially through the opinions of others. Have you ever had a different point of view than someone else? In the novel Lord of the Flies, many of the boys have different views on how to live, especially Ralph and Jack. There are also other survivors such as the littluns, who have to decide on whether to live a safe, or fun life. The division between these boys causes them to forget about their responsibilities, leading them to become savages.
Over the course of human history, conflicts and clashes continuously end lives with no end goal or overarching purpose. The primary reason for these conflicts has consistently been clashes in society. It makes one wonder what aspect of society is so important that it is worth taking millions of lives to obtain. The perfect society has not yet been achieved and the fact that people are always fighting over what it should look like forces communities as a whole to analyze what makes a perfect society and how one can be attained. William Golding addresses the main conflicts of society in his famous novel, Lord of the Flies. In this novel, countless boys are stranded with no adults or authority when their plane crash lands onto an island in