Theme Of Self-Fulfillment In Lord Of The Flies

All human kind have certain needs which must be fulfilled. Lack of these needs will compel one to take actions to fulfill these needs. Maslow’s hierarchy lists five of these basic needs that all human requires. He said that we have needs that need to be fulfilled in specific order. His hierarchy is rather a motivation than a checklist. Five needs on the pyramid respectively from the bottom are: basic needs, safety, social (e.g. group work), esteem and growth needs (self-actualization). The motivation forces one to take actions to fulfill these needs. This is called the pursuit of self-fulfillment. The way self-fulfillment is achieved can vary from person to person. In the novel lord of the flies, the author William Golding promotes civilization as a way to achieve self-fulfillment. Innocent boys strangled on the island think rationally and work together to get on top of the hierarchy. They

When all the boys gather for the first time, they start making plans about surviving on this island instead of them all panicking

The conch played a major role in keeping uniformity as everybody obeyed the conch. Whenever the conch was blown, all the boys left what they were doing and gathered where the conch was. This improved their communication which is very necessary for survival. Later on, Ralph, the leader, realizes a new problem with communication. He did not appreciate when all the boys spoke at once. It was hard to comprehend people’s ideas and so Ralph suggested “to have ‘Hands up’ like [he did] at school”. This depicts how he is bringing civilized manners from a rational world and integrating into this irrational world. He is trying to turn this irrational place into rational place and increasing their chances of survival. Applying this suggestion improved their communication which brought them closer and eventually helping them to move up on the hierarchy of