Civility In William Goulding's Lord Of The Flies

While voting for a leader, Ralph is singled out and chosen due to the presence of the conch. The conch is a symbol of power—as well as a representation of law and democracy. When Ralph is found blowing the conch by the other boys, he is seen as the most capable and right leader. Although blowing the conch was Piggy’s idea, Piggy is not credited due to the boys not seeing him hold the conch and Ralph not stating that it was Piggy’s idea. The boys naturally gravitate towards power, and this is shown throughout

Ralph never acknowledges that Piggy was the first to point out the conch shell and explained to Ralph what it was. Ralph, instead of giving credit to Piggy for the idea of the conch shell, blows through the conch and then takes charge. Ralph begins giving orders and proceeds to take on the role of chief. Ralph’s authority was made possible because “there was a stillness about Ralph as he sat that marked him out: there was his size, and attractive appearance; and most obscurely, yet most powerfully, there was the conch.” (22). The conch shell plays a big part in Ralph’s authority and order. His leadership skills, along with the conch by his side, is what made the other kids on the island listen and idolize him. Golding glorifies the power of Ralph and his conch shell in order to represent control, which is important to the ongoing order and regulation of the boys throughout their time on the island. Without the shell, there would be no order among the lives of the boys on the uninhabited island. In addition to Ralph promoting the power of the conch, Jack also agrees and emphasizes that in order to run a society, there must be a strong and rational set of rules that needs to be followed. When the boys made a fire with Piggy’s specs,

The other boys initially accept Ralph as a leader. He is the first to summon all the boys with the conch, which serves as a symbol and token of authority. Although Jack expresses strong desire to become chief, the boys elect Ralph as a leader, suggesting an air of charisma that made him worthy of his position. He believes a leader has to “think, be wise… grab at a decision”, someone who can look after others and keep the group in

When the boys get stranded on this island they must take care of themselves and try to get rescued. As the boys climb this mountain to get home they face new challenges which resulted them to descend into savagery. With these new challenges of killing the pig for the first time, them breaking the conch, and deaths of Simon and Piggy they to descend into savagery causing them to lose their innocence. After the boys crash landed on the island it was only a matter of time before the boys descend into savagery because lack of leadership, need for survival and loss of innocence. Their first goal on the island was to have fun and get rescued but throughout their stay, they get further away from that.

The conch was described as magical, shining and beautiful in the story, now the way it is being described emphasizes how it's lost its power.

Throughout William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, he proves that human nature is savage. In this novel, a group of young boys survive a plane crash and land on a deserted island where they attempt to create a society from scratch, but ultimately fall into chaos and barbarity. In Lord of the Flies, Golding portrays the theme that one’s primitive nature is revealed when civilization is destroyed through symbolism, diction, and characterization.

Have you ever noticed the tension between Tom and Jerry that was unspoken on but acted on ? Lord of the Flies , written by William Golding was written during The Cold War when revival bobbing started children where moved to rural areas to protect future generations of citizens . Ralph was a character from Lord of the Flies , he was approximately 12 years old and was the chief of the group . Britain tried to avoid a war with Germany ; Hitler broke the treaty agreement and war was set in motion around 3.5 million people were relocated . Ralph believes in order , uses his aggression to manipulate piggy , and controls things around him with common sense without the input of anyone else .

In society, there are many standards that people must uphold to. In western society, it is uncommon for men to have long hair or for women to have short hair. Naturally, people will be conscientious of their differences between other people and try to change them or cover them up, and often times people who do not follow the standard are looked down upon. This leads to people trying to fit into the groups around them almost thoughtlessly. However, when people conform without thinking, it can lead to dangerous consequences. Often times, mindless conformity leads to senseless violence that could have been avoided with just a little more thought.

In the novel Lord of the Flies, William Golding uses several symbols to represent the transition of the characters from morally acceptable members of a society, into a more savage state of mind. The story reveals that only two boys remain connected to the moral codes of civilization and how the rest quickly turn and follow a leader, even though he was absent of goodness, which should be inherent to all people. So what are we human, animal, or savages? The conch shell is a symbol that shows the boys still have some form of authority, without it there would be anarchy. Piggy’s glasses are what is used to start the signal fire in the novel and a sense of civilization. Jack is

No phone. No pool. No pets. No cigarettes. Ultimate freedom… No longer to be poisoned by civilization, he flees and walks alone upon the land to become lost in the woods. (Christopher McCandless). It’s clear that disagreements and fights, all lead to violence in diverse parts of the world. As we all know violence and wars about disagreements and fights, happens on a day to day basis in some countries, and we might not think that those wars could actually happen in our own country. Through Golding’s book, Lord of The Flies, he shows us, the readers, that little disagreements and fights can cause a massive breakdown. Golding suggests that there was not an actual democracy on the island. They were just kids who ended up on an uninhabited island,

William Golding uses the theme that humans are naturally bad at heart, in the book Lord of the Flies to highlight that without the order and respect we choose to live our daily lives with our human nature will ultimately take us into chaos and savagery. Morals are what we choose to live by, this is what keeps us accountable. Morals do not appear overnight. Overtime they are ingrained throughout our childhood. Giving us a sense of right and wrong. Humans are not born with the idea of looking out for the welfare of others, we naturally want to satisfy ourselves. Respect and rules are important, in running an orderly society. Many leaders will demand respect, earning respect far succeeds that of demanding, in ruling a society.

Human behaviors are easy to be changed by the experiences and environment. As the time passes by, the changed behaviors can be worse or better than before. However, most people become worse because of the specific experiences in their life time. In Lord of the Flies, the changes of behavior are occurred obviously in the characters of Jack, Roger, and Ralph. They become different because of the extreme environment and new experiences around them. The characters of Jack, Roger, and Ralph change in terms of their behavior by becoming savagely brutal, which shows the significant influence of their experience on the island.

1. Shortly after arriving on the island, Ralph and Piggy discover a conch in the water. Ralph blows the conch to announce his location so the boys can gather. From the first use of the conch, it signifies the unity of the boys because it is what brought them together. The conch is also used to maintain organization. Ralph notices the discord but resolves it by enforcing, “I 'll give the conch to the next person to speak. He can hold it when he 's speaking” (Golding 33). The conch represents the discipline of the boys and their civilization. Since Ralph thought to use the conch as a speaking system, the conch represents his leadership and authority over the boys. It also represents his authority because he is the only boy that does not need the conch to speak. The conch is a part of his authority that is being shared with the boys when it is their chance to voice an opinion or idea. In addition, Ralph does not specify that the conch can only be used by a specific group of boys, rather the conch is available for any boy, therefore representing equality and respect for all boys. Furthermore, the conch represents civilization back in England with its rules and structure. When planning a rescue, the boys race off the build a fire. Upon the mention of fire, “half the boys were on their feet. Jack clamored among them, the conch forgotten” (Golding 38). Building the fire represents the adventure on the island and the conch represents the old ways of English Civilization.

Throughout the novel of Lord of the Flies, William Golding provides a profound insight into human nature. Golding builds on a message that all human beings have natural evil inside them. To emphasize, the innate evil is revealed when there’s lack of civilization. The boys are constantly faced with numerous fears and eventually break up into two different groups. Although the boys believe the beast lives in the jungle, Golding makes it clear that it lurks in their hearts. The message of inner evil is portrayed throughout the book by the destruction of the conch, terrifying beast, and character developments to establish the hidden message throughout the novel.

Everyone has this underlying darkness within them that is hidden away deep inside the nooks and crannies of their hearts. Golding demonstrates this through the use of his major characters, Ralph and Jack. In the novel, Lord of the Flies, the author William Golding utilizes character development to suggest the idea that when individuals are separated from civilization, dark forces will arise and threaten unity and harmony.