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

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Recommended: Relationship between society and nature

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 …show more content…

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

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