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Civilization Vs Savagery

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“Which is better – to have rules and agree, or to hunt and kill?” (Golding, 180). In the novel, Lord of the Flies by William Golding, the main concern is the conflict between two instincts that thrive within all human beings: Civilization vs. Savagery. Throughout the novel, Golding established a civilization that is bound to collapse by the fault of savagery; however, some of the boys in the novel are not as cruel. Ralph, the main character, attempts to create a society that is livable and organized until the group gets rescued. On the other hand, Jack, represents evil and arrives on the island expecting to have the power to control anything and anyone, and will punish those who do not obey. Throughout this page-turning novel, Golding prevails …show more content…

To emphasize, at the beginning of the novel, the island is seen as a tropical paradise full of peacefulness and bliss. While Ralph was exploring the island, searching for other survivors, the setting convinces him that everything is serene, “Within the irregular arc of coral the lagoon was still as a mountain lake –blue of all shades and shadowy green and purple” (Golding, 10). Correspondingly, when there is little or no conflict on the island, the beach is calm and appears to prohibit danger. Nonetheless, the concealed parts of the island like the mountains and jungle are seen as gloomy and eerie to the boys. On the night of Simon’s tragic death, there is commotion, and the weather is atrocious, “Between the flashes of lightning the air was dark and terrible” (151). The setting is described as violent and the storm’s fury represents the boy’s bitterness and enmity. Similarly, mistaking Simon as the beast, Jack’s group of savages kill him, which is ironic because Simon discovered that the beast is within everyone and was on his way to tell the rest of the group. The setting of the novel prevails the theme Civilization vs. Savagery because the weather changes according to the boy’s animosity and the island isolates them from any other human contact, leaving them to make important survival decisions without input from adults, which causes them to ignore the civilized values that used to

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