In this classic novel, Lord of the Flies there are many factors that contribute to the downfall and for multiple characters. There are three factors that are the main reason for the collapse of these characters. To begin, Jack and Roger crave anarchy and for unprecedented reasons want to murder some of the boys on this island. Secondly, the idea of a frightening beast, which lives on the island, makes the children think unreasonably causing them to resort to being savages. Lastly, the overwhelming need for more freedom and less control contributes to the anti-society in which they have no rules. Jack and Roger, the beast, and the need for freedom are all factors that contribute to the destruction of their society. Overall, these elements are …show more content…
the main reasons why their society crumbles. Jack and Roger are the leaders of the “savages” and are the creators of the anarchist theme in this novel. To begin, Roger was the most barbaric out of all the boys on the island. “Roger and Maurice came out of the forest. They were relieved from duty at the fire and had come down for a swim. Roger led the way straight through the castles kicking them over, burying the flowers, scattering the chosen stones.” (Chapter 4 p. 62) Roger is bad at heart; he purposefully upsets the littluns by destroying something they spent hours on just for the satisfaction of upsetting the children. This is the beginning of Roger’s crude behavior, which eventually leads to him leading the savagery. Furthermore, Jack’s hatred of Piggy and Ralph is the main reason why Jack creates a separate group to go against their main society. “He hates me. I dunno why.” – Ralph (chapter 5 p.100) Ralph realizes that Jack has a pure hatred for him because Ralph’s is chief. This hatred and jealousy fuels Jacks ambition to be a leader causing him to break off and form a barbaric group. Jack and Roger loose their sense of right and wrong by the end of this novel and commit horrid acts that negatively impact everyone’s lives. “The rock struck Piggy a glancing blow from chin to knee; the conch exploded into thousand of white fragments and ceased to exist. Piggy, saying nothing, with no time for even a grunt, travelled through the air sideways from the rock, turning over as he went.” Jack and Roger’s savagery lead to the fatal end of two people; they solely lead the destruction of their society and created a barbaric lifestyle. To conclude, Jack and Roger are a major factor in why their small society was completed destroyed. The idea of a horrifying beast living in the inland of the island frightens the children to resort to savagery. The beast is a symbol in this novel; the beast represents fear because the boys do not want to seem afraid they use a mythological creature to stand behind. “’Life is scientific… I know there isn’t no beast… but I know there isn’t no fear, either… unless we get scared of people.’” – Piggy (chapter 5 p. 90). The beast is just a metaphor or belief used to mask the fear they have. The children do not want to talk about their fear, which leads to the eventual belief in a beast. This beast drives the people on the island apart, which eventually make them all savages. The boys want there to be a beast otherwise there fear is derived from one another or ones self. “’Maybe there is a beast… maybe it’s only us.’” –Simon (Chapter 5 p. 92) Simon believes that they are the beasts. He knows that they should be afraid of what they are capable of and what ends people go to for survival. By saying this quote Simon knows how people can turn against each others and turn against one’s self; later on in the novel this quote becomes true and they should have been fearing what they are capable of doing and that could have prevented the murder of two of the boys. The fear in the beast sparks a fire in most of the children, they gain a thirst for blood and want to kill. “The beast struggled forward, broke the ring and fell over the steep edge of the rock to the sand by the water. At once the crowd surged after it, poured down the rock, leapt on to the beast, screamed, struck, bit, tore.” (Chapter 9 p, 169) this beast later turns out to be Simon. The children turn barbaric and kill a child with their bare hands, proving that the beast has destroyed their society, The idea of a beast tears their group and society apart but they children having irrational fear. The psychological need for more freedom creates an anti-society in which they have no rules.
The idea of a simple society in which everyone follows the rules and they work together in unison happens at the beginning of the book. “We’ve got to have rules and obey them. After all, we’re not savages. We’re English, and the English are the best at everything.” –Ralph (Chapter 2 p.48). Ralph believes a functional society will be easy to run because they are English. This quote proves that it is not about who the boys were it is about human nature and we are all savages at heart according to the author, which is dramatic irony in a way. The children want a society to follow rules but this society they want to follow and be a part of eventually becomes a barbaric one. "'Which is better -- to be a pack of have laws and agree, or to hunt and kill?'" –Piggy (Chapter 11 p. 164). The barbaric society Jack and Roger run is based solely off of freedom and not having to do anything. This society makes them savages by not having rules or guidelines to follow by not being able to keep everyone inline. This freedom they achieve installs fear into everyone besides Jack and Roger. “They’re not as bad as that. It was an accident.” –Sam (chapter 12 p.186) Sam is a good character in this novel but he has a deeply rooted fear of Jack and Roger that he forces himself to believe they accidently killed Simon and Piggy. This fear of speaking out against people in fear of being killed is truly anarchy. Overall, the need for more freedom and no rules creates a barbaric society where murder is
okay. To conclude, this novel was just the author’s interpretation of society and our human nature. Golding believes we are all savages on the inside. He believes that even little 6-year-old boys are truly savages who can and will kill if presented the opportunity/motive. The Jack and Roger lead the savages in killing humans and pigs. The beast installs a sense of fear in all of the children, which forces them to resort to savagery. Finally the need for freedom causes deep-rooted fear and murderer to be forgiven like it was nothing. These three elements are all main factors in why their original society was destroyed. This novel is all one author’s interpretation and many people believe that children would act differently than becoming murderers. Overall, Lord of the Flies is a classic novel, which depicts human nature, and how we are all barbaric at heart.
The crumbling of man without consequences is a scary but realistic threat. In Lord of the Flies by William Golding, the theme of the Downfall of Society Without Consequences is demonstrated through the conch, the fire, and the beast. For example, the conch had a power and authority within it that was lost. Another way the theme is conveyed in when the fire that blazes out of control. In addition to that, it is seen when the beast escapes Jack and his hunters from within. First, let’s look at the conch’s story.
the top of the mountain so build a signal fire as it would be easiest
In Lord of the Flies, a group of well brought up English boys are pushed into the task of surviving on an island by themselves. In the beginning, order, leadership, and fire are the only things that help the boys realize that there is hope for being rescued. As the boys’ time on the island continues to increase, they become more tempted to let their inner beast within them take over. As order is lost, the boys try to cope with the fact that they may be on the island for awhile. So, they revert to savage ways in order to cope with it. Their schoolboy behaviors become non-existent and chaos breaks loose. The conch shell, the Beast, leadership, murder, and fire are all five main elements that help lead the boys into their plug to savagery because without rules and discipline their will be chaos.
“I cannot believe there is caste system in society; I cannot believe people are judged on the basis of their prosperity.” No matter how much you’ve got to bring to the table, society will always find a way to put you down and aim for something else whether that something is worst or better than what you have to offer. In the novel Lord of the Flies, William Golding has shown this external conflict several times throughout the story with characters such as Ralph and piggy. The conflict of character vs. society is present in these characters: Ralph, the elected chief of the group of British schoolboys is constantly having to remind the group of the bigger picture; Piggy, ultimately the brain of the
The need for social order is a very common theme throughout The Lord of the Flies. Over the course of the novel the reader witnesses the slow collapse of all forms of order, government, and civilization on the island. The results of this collapse are astounding. Golding writes, “As they watched, a flash of fire appeared at the root of one wisp, and then the smoke thickened. Small flames stirred at the trunk of a tree and crawled away through leaves and brushwood, dividing and increasing… Beneath the capering boys a quarter of a mile square of forest was savage with smoke and flame” (Golding 44). This quote marks the first point when the boy’s Civilization begins to collapse. If the boys had person overlook the building
At the beginning of Lord of the Flies, the boys create a democratic government. As the story progresses, the initial democracy on the island is ignored, and a dictatorship rises in its place. This dictatorship fails to keep the boys in order. The author, William Golding, shows that without the institution of a strong government and set of rules people will become impulsive and seek instant gratification. In the absence of order, people tend not to become disciplined of their own accord, but rather dissolve into destructive chaos.
"An attempt to trace the defects of human society back to the defects of human nature. The moral is that the shape of a society must depend on the ethical nature of the individual and not on any political system however apparently logical or respectable."
The author, William Golding uses the main characters of Ralph, Jack, and Simon in The Lord of the Flies to portray how their desire for leadership, combined with lack of compromise leads to the fall of their society. This desire for leadership and compromise led to the fall of their society just like multiple countries during times of wars.
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.
One of the main themes in William Golding's 1954 novel Lord of the Flies is that without civilization, there is no law and order. The expression of Golding's unorthodox and complex views are embodied in the many varied characters in the novel. One of Golding's unorthodox views is that only one aspect of the modern world keeps people from reverting back to savagery and that is society. Golding shows the extreme situations of what could possibly happen in a society composed of people taken from a structured society then put into a structureless society in the blink of an eye. First there is a need for order until the people on the island realize that there are no rules to dictate their lives and take Daveers into their own hands. Golding is also a master of contrasting characterization. This can be seen in the conflicts between the characters of Jack, the savage; Simon, the savior; and Piggy, the one with all the ideas.
After thousands of years of evolution and change, humans are one of the most complex creatures to ever roam this world. They are one of the most advanced creatures, who made advanced technology, found cures for diseases, and created intricate pieces of art. However, humans started off as any other creature: no rules, no technology, and no guarantee of their safety. The lack of these things can cause some humans to resort back to their old, primitive ways. In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, the lack of society influenced Jack to be power hungry, develop dark and disturbing thoughts, and enjoy hurting others who are innocent.
the story of a group of boys stranded on a deserted island to examine a multitude of
During World War II, the United States killed 90,000 to 166,000 people in Hiroshima with an atomic bomb. The bombing of Hiroshima demonstrated the uncivilized behaviors of humankind: hunger for power, misuse of technology, and subconscious reactions to conflicts. Lord of the Flies, an allegorical novel by William Golding, illustrates a horrific tale of boys who are stranded on an island and lose their ability to make civil decisions. Throughout the book, Ralph and Jack fight for power, Piggy’s spectacles are constantly taken to create fire, and several of the boys become “savage” and act upon their subconscious minds. From a sociological perspective, Golding’s novel portrays man’s voracity for power, abuse of technology to the point of destruction, and his venture to inner darkness.
Lord of the flies is not just a story about boys trapped on an island; it is a story about power struggle over democracy and dictatorship in societies. They are many objects used in the novel to show dictatorship and democracy. Also, they are many situations between characters in the novel to show the power struggles between the two ideologies. Between the power struggle, characters also use these objects to control emotions and people’s decisions in the novel. People and societies give away too much power to objects and let them control their lives.
In the Lord of the Flies, William Golding uses a variety of symbols to represent ideas, or abstract notions or conceptions about people, places, and things. A symbol, according to the Webster's Dictionary, is an object that stands for something in addition to its literal meaning. In the book, there is a continual breakdown of society and civilization on the island. During this breakdown, Golding uses symbolism to further explain the process. Some of the things he symbolizes in the novel are the island itself, the conch, the boys clothing, and the violence.