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Society Vs Savagery In Lord Of The Flies By William Golding

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Lord of the Flies Process Paper
What’s the thing holding society back from anarchy and chaos? The novel Lord of The Flies written by William Golding introduces the topic of society versus savagery and how humans naturally drive towards the latter. Social constructs are the foundation of which savagery is contained. The theme of Lord of the Flies is that all forms of civilization have a constant never ending drive towards savagery. Golding conveys this with his use of characters, setting, and symbolism throughout the novel.
The author uses his character’s relationships and internal struggles to convey the theme. Ralph’s agenda of keeping the group together and lighting a signal fire shows that he is a civilized leader who is also challenged by Jack, a savage unleashed. The boys play a game after a hunt where Robert is hunted down as the pig “Ralph too was fighting to get near, to get a handful of that brown vulnerable flesh” gnawing at Robert and poking him with their spears (Golding 114). The imagery of Ralph attempting to reach for Robert is peculiar to his behavior as he’s always been civilized throughout the novel. The word “vulnerable” implies that Ralph is a predator and Robert is prey waiting to be struck down. This behavior is the innate savagery trying to free itself, caged within Ralph’s civilized brain. Robert struggles to break free from the hunter’s grasps when Ralph mumbles haltingly, “Just a game… I got jolly hurt at rugger once”(Golding 115). He catches his

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