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Civilization Vs. Savagery In William Golding's Lord Of The Flies

Decent Essays

Since the dawn of time, humans have been evolving their behavior and way of life. In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, he puts a group of boys on an island with a choice. Stay civilized while following rules and attempting to be rescued or tap into their primal instincts and lose all sense of humanity and morality. The theme of civilization versus savagery can be seen in the boys struggle to remain civil as demonstrated through Ralph and Jack’s conflict, Their growing fear for their safety, and their attempts to be rescued. The conflict between Ralph and Jack is evident since their first encounter when Ralph calls the first meeting. Ralph suggests that he should be elected chief because he has the conch and called the meeting but …show more content…

The fear of the beast influences the boys because they believe that the beast is real and need a source of protection from the beast. Simon sees the big picture and suggests “What I mean is… maybe it’s just us.” which shows that Simon realizes that the beast is not real, but lives in all of their young and imaginative minds(Golding,96). Jack also creates fear in the boys through his size and leadership tactics. When Jack starts his own tribe, he does multiple things to create fear such as Ralph learning that “He is going to beat Wilfred.”(Golding,176). Jack’s tactics of fear leave the boys vulnerable to manipulation and they are all influenced to become less civil and descend into savagery. Once Ralph sees what Jack is capable of after they witness him torturing a littlun, he becomes aware and afraid. He says “I’m frightened. Of us. I want to go home.” which demonstrates that everyone on the island is under the control of Jack and have lost all sense of civilization and have become animals(Golding,174). As the boys lose their sense of civilization they lose sense of their responsibilities on the island, such as being rescued. The boys, stranded on an island must contrive a plan to be rescued but as they lose their morality and responsibilities they almost forget completely forget about getting off the island. At the beginning of the story, Ralph comes up with a plan. He suggests “So we must make smoke Jacobs 3 on top of the

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