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Lord Of The Flies Civilization Vs Civilization Analysis

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Lord of the flies is a book that shows the changes in a band of boys who survive on a deserted island. The main theme of this novel is civilization and savagery. Civilization exemplifies the societies the boys lived in and leadership. On the other hand savagery shows the craving for authority. Golding very accurately showed the natural instinct of humans after the loss of civilization is savagery throughout the group of boys. Ralph obviously represents civilization in Lord of the Flies. He strives to have an organized system full of laws and he wants to escape from the island. Jack however wants to abuse his power to lead the other boys to savagery. Throughout the novel there is an ongoing conflict between the two characters due to their different views and and morals of how their society should be run. This evidently shows …show more content…

Jack, the antagonist, undoubtedly represents savagery in Lord of the Flies. He wants to use power to enforce others to follow him and lead his team. He tries to choose himself as leader or chief of the boys, although he does not succeed as Ralph gains that title. Instead of doing the smart thing by keeping the signal fire going and making shelters, he prefers hunting and killing as a result of his instinct being savage. He uses the excuse that they “want meat!”(Golding 68) to hide this inner savagery. Jack’s tribe camouflage themselves with clay so that they are not liberated to the horrible acts they perform. He also carries a sharp knife with at all times which shows he is ready to kill whenever. From the beginning Jack is determined to kill pigs not primarily for the use of food but to demonstrate his bravery to the other boys. This clearly shows that without societal influence or a parental figure he turns into a savage and needs to kill. For example, he and his tribe

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