The Decline Of Civility In William Golding's Lord Of The Flies

Throughout the ages society has struggled to maintain a harmonious existence. Humanity, at times, has spiralled out of control, transcended the realms of depravity and descended into the depths of savagery without boundary. The segregation of African Americans by their white counter parts and the persecution of Jews in Nazi Germany with Adolf Hitler at the helm are prime examples of just how ruthless civilisation can be. Mankind, priding itself on intelligence and morality, is constantly battling the inner struggle of good vs evil, and regrettably sails down the dark, depressing tunnel of the abhorrent, the inhumane and the unjustifiable. Power struggles, hostilities over territory and avarice have contributed to the fall of many civilisations, dating back to ancient times.
So, when a group of seemingly innocent schoolboys crash land on to a desert island, the sole survivors of the collision in William Golding’s, ‘Lord of the Flies’, the breakdown of any sort of acceptable social order is inevitable. Golding effectively uses a series of symbols to demonstrate the decline of civility among the group of boys, and also to document the chaos that ensues between the survivors, which serves as a lesson to us all; even the kindest of souls can hold a sinister spark.
Golding uses the conch shell as an icon of social stability, brotherhood and mutual respect. Ralph, the enthusiastic, captivating leader, and Piggy, a rather pathetic figure, knowledgeable yet disregarded by the rest