Civilization And Savagery In William Golding's Lord Of The Flies

It 's easy to say that if stranded on an island with other people, humans would work together to survive and be rescued. However, William Golding has a different opinion.

In Lord of the Flies, a large group of boys are stuck on an island from a plane crash. At first it seems like paradise, and the boys agree to make rules and work together until they are rescued. As time goes on, though, most of the boys revert to their primal instinct and become savages.

To develop this theme of the battle between civilization and savagery, Golding uses symbols, including the conch shell, painted faces, and the Lord of the Flies to represent authority and order, hiding one 's self, and evil and destruction. Each lends to and develops the meaning of the novel.

In the beginning, everything starts out neatly- Piggy and Ralph find the conch shell and call the first assembly, which is proper and orderly. During the first assembly the conch is introduced to all the boys, establishing its power. Like an organized government meeting, only the one holding the conch can speak. The group agrees to make other rules too and vote for Ralph to be chief. Golding makes it clear that the conch symbolizes good, orderly civilization and proper authority. Later, as things spiral downhill with the boys, Jacks’ tribe of savages rises to power. The conch, though seemingly out of place now in the world of anarchy, signals this too. When Piggy, Ralph, and Sam and Eric go to retrieve Piggy’s glasses, Roger releases