Civilization And Chaos In Lord Of The Flies Essay

The quote, “Chaos is merely order waiting to be deciphered,” by Jose Saramago, explains the importance of keeping order in civilization. When order does not exist or is not enforced, civilization begins to collapse or breaks down which, in turn, proceeds to ensue chaos. When Piggy discovers the conch in the story, Lord of The Flies, by William Golding, he uses it to establish order on the island, but when he dies order ceases to exist.

The Lord of the Flies is a novel written by William Golding where the theme of civilization versus savagery is strongly exemplified. Throughout the novel, the theme starts to develop from the ongoing conflict between Ralph and Jack, who represent civilization and savagery. While Ralph uses his authority to establish rules and give commands that will help the boys survive and get rescued, Jack is more interested in appeasing his primal human impulses. The conflict between these two will further the theme of civilization versus savagery and affect the other boys on the island. In addition, Golding also uses symbolism and additional themes to support the overall main theme of civilization versus savagery.

Civilization has been a pinnacle of human achievement since it appeared. To be called uncouth is a grave insult. However, is civilization truly a part of who humans are or is what they have come to associate with savagery more true to the human heart? Through Peter Brook and William Golding’s presentation of Lord of the Flies share the idea that “savagery” will overcome rational thought and when structure falls, the primitive mind will rule, Brook shows this primitiveness as more a part of the human psyche than an evil to be eliminated.

The human mind is made of up two instincts that constantly have conflict: the instinct to live by society’s rules and the instinct to live by your own rules. Our civilized will has been to live morally by law and order, and our savage will has been to act out for our own selfish needs. We each choose to live by one or the other depending on how we feel is the correct way to live. In this allegorical novel, William Golding represents the transformation from civilization to savagery in the conflict between two of the main characters: Ralph who represents law and order and Jack who represents savagery and violence. Lord of the Flies has remained a very controversial novel to this day with its startling, brutal, and truthful picture of the

This shows that overtime hope was lost,though not all had lost hope with the passing of time but once hope was lost either from the beginning or towards the end it lead each and every one of them into a state of mind which made them think and act as their desires will, they thought their savage behaviour was fine because in the end, no one was going to save them. The lost of hope within the boys was one of the reasons the boys were lead to chaos.

Will Durant, an American writer, historian, and philosopher, once said, “Civilization begins with order, grow with liberty, and ends with chaos.” If civilization is lost within a community, all order can vanish. Every community has some sort of civility and order in place. Without out it, the community would crumble and conflict would break out. Although all communities are flawed, most have something to keep peace. In William Golding’s novel, Lord of the Flies, Golding gives several examples of various things that keep civilization in order, when a group of boys get stranded on an island. Golding uses a conch to symbolize the boys’ civilization and order and as the time spent on the island increases, that order slowly disappears.

Anarchy fallen over the once peaceful land and all but one has returned to their savage ways. In William Golding’s, Lord Of The Flies, The character of Piggy is a symbol of civilization. To commence, Piggy symbolises civilization because of his glasses as the fire is started by thm, and fire is the first sign key to civilization . Secondly, by insisting the continuation of the rules to be enforced on all of the island, Piggy demonstrates the ideals of civilization. Finally, Piggy idealises civilization by wanting to advance in technology on the island. In William Golding’s, Lord of The Flies, Piggy symbolises civilization on the island, while others turn to primitive, savage ways.

William Golding’s masterful use of symbolism is exemplified in his book Lord of the Flies, in which he uses masks to represent . These masks come in many forms, and by careful study of events throughout Golding’s novel, one discovers their significance. Physical masks are used by many characters such as Jack and Piggy, and they are perhaps the least ambiguous forms found in the book. The idea of a mask encompasses more than just these literal interpretations, however. Metaphorical masks are used in abundance throughout the book, and much can be revealed about the characters based on how or if they chose to wear their masks. The significance of these masks is also tied closely to the theme stating Man’s heart is evil.

“In absence of orders, go find something and kill it” Erwin Rommel world war II 7th panzer division general. It doesn’t seem to have much to do with lord of the flies but it does. When these boys are in left alone they start fighting and pick sides. In the Second World War people picked sides. These boys go into a small war of their own and it is brutal and has one evil over powering faction in this book the history’s most notorious generals, leaders, and even dictators are represented by these boys.

However, Ralph argues, “ You haven’t got the conch,” “Sit down” (102). Following his displeasure at Jack’s point he tells the boys, “Hasn’t anyone got any sense?... don’t any of you want to be rescued”(102)? The reader sees the start of abandoning civilization among the boys, although Ralph still believes in the conch. Therefore Ralph believing in the conch shows that he is still civilized. It is not until the very end of the novel where Ralph goes down hill with the rest of the boys when the conch is broken. Mass chaos erupts on the island as Jack and his crew chase Ralph with the island burning in flames. When the boys are rescued Ralph acknowledges the fall through of civilization. The officer mentions that they should have put up a better fight. In response, Ralph argues, “It was like that at first… before things-”(202). The conch breaking represented the end of civilization on the island.

In the book “Lord of the Flies” by William Golding, theme is an important element in which Golding uses to perfection. He uses many different themes, but the three themes he uses often is the evil which lies within man, mob rule-crowd mentality, and the fear of the unknown. Those three themes are important to the makeup of this book.

This is challenging because some of the boys are interested in wasting time having fun. The boys find a conch and blow it to discover that it makes an audible, distinct sound. This conch represents order and stability. Since the protagonist, Ralph, has the conch, he is selected as leader. Ralph is serious about being rescued off of the island. While the others are more concerned about hunting and having fun, Ralph Simon are concerned about cultivating a fire so they can get rescued off of the island. Ralph is a little agitated because the rest of the boys are not helping him construct the fire or build the huts. They are hunting. When Ralph confronts them about not helping, they argue that hunting and obtaining meat is more important than the fire. They use this valid excuse so they can continue to hunt without Ralph complaining or getting upset. While

“‘Good people’ are capable of bad behavior; additionally, ‘bad people’ are capable of good behavior” (Elaina Marie). Lord of the Flies by William Goulding illustrates how no adults equals chaos among kids, just like how it is at Cherry Creek High School. On the island the boys go crazy playing a game, and they cause Roger to squeal “in real pain”(114). They don’t think before they act because “there aren’t any grownups”(8). With no adult around at school, students also act irrationally and do impulsive things without thought. Knowing “there was no parent to let fall a heavy hand”, Maurice throws sand into a littlun’s eye (60). This is like high school because kids will be more mean when they know there is no one to scold them. Lord

Vladimir Kavagoe-Glavatsky Mr. Freyger ENG2D June 1st, 2018 The need for order: Even amid the chaos of children lost from a plane crash a pseudo society forms and fails. Order and Rules vs. Anarchy and Chaos In William Golding’s novel “Lord of the Flies” a group of young English boys are put on a plane and sent to a boarding school due to their country being at war. On their way to the school, their plane is shot down and the group of boys land on a deserted island with no supervision.

“Civilization begins with order, grows with liberty, and dies with chaos,” Will Durant said. In The Lord of the Flies, written by William Golding, the main theme that was prevalent throughout the whole book was the struggle between sticking to order and the morals they had been taught, and the struggle with chaos and giving into their savage instincts. This struggle can lead to the unity and order of the civilization being broken. During a time of war, a plane that carried several British school boys was shot down and crashed on an island. The pilot of the plane was killed, but many of the boys survived the crash and were stranded alone on an island in the middle of nowhere without any adult supervision.