What Is Ralph's Descent Into Savagery In Lord Of The Flies

The Lord of the Flies by William Golding is a novel about human nature and the functions of society. One of the main characters in this novel is Ralph, who is chosen to be the leader of a group of boys. He assigns tasks to the boys and tries to keep them accountable for it. However, the boys begin to slack because they can no longer see the point of these tasks and rules. As a result of the constant slacking the boys soon turned into savages. Ralph’s struggle to maintain order amongst the boys shows how without rules it is human nature to descend into savagery due to the avoidance of authority.

Ralphs scolding of the boys for not maintaining the fire reveals how while the rules on the island are essential to their survival, the boys still ignore them, showing their early descent into savagery. In the novel Ralph addresses the boys about the fire they were supposed to keep going: “How can we ever be rescued except by luck, if we don’t keep a fire going? Is a fire too much for us to make?”(80). Ralph is

suggesting that being disorganized will create hopelessness. He does not want the boys to develop carelessness. He wants them to be able to maintain their moral values by staying organized because it is the only way they can remember where they came from and where they are trying to get back to. He does not want the simplest of rules to be disregarded because then little by little the boys will forget how to function as a society and they will spiral out of control. This worries Ralph because soon enough they wont listen to him anymore either. Ralphs urgency for the boys to understand the dangerous way their situation is heading in is clear: “Can’t you see we ought to – ought to die before we let the fire out?”(81). He is saying that following the rules is a life or death situation. It is very important for the boys to keep as much of what they have learned and remember from society as possible. It is the only way to keep all of them thinking logically and not impulsively like animals.

As the boys continue to ignore the rules, the descent into savagery becomes more prominent, further revealing how the lack of authority enables failure.

The first time that Ralph lets the boys know that they are failing to keep functioning is also during the time of the meeting where he is addressing the fire: “Things are breaking up. I don’t understand why. We began well; we were happy”(82). The group is deteriorating because they are having a hard time obeying authority seeing as there are no adults. It is hard for them to see Ralph as a true authority figure because he is still young and they can sense he does not have everything figured out either. As they have learned from society, adults are role models that have everything figured out and that is because they have rules. This is why the boys are trying to follow in their footsteps in the first place. This is why Ralph needs them to never forget. If they do then everyone will be lost and

disorganized.