Dystopian texts aim to raise concern about current issues in the world, by creating a futuristic result of the influx of this issue. William Golding’s allegorical novel ‘Lord of the Flies’, written in the years following WW2, uses the dystopic genre to express concerns about the human condition. Golding suggests that without law and order, humans are savages capable of unimaginable things. Golding exhibits the importance of civilisation by creating an anarchic world on an island controlled by children who with the lack of rules and order fall into savagery. In doing this, Golding presents concern about his own society and a warning about how easy it is for a civilisation to crumble. Ultimately “Lord of the Flies” is an exploration of the reasons for human evil.
A civilisation without law and order is seen to crumble and man’s true capabilities are exposed. William Golding creates this civilisation in “Lord of the Flies”. Golding’s experiences in World War II having commanded a rocket launcher killing many citizens made him realise the capabilities of man-kind and the savagery within each person. The novel reflects this experience through its wartime setting, and the sudden change in the boys from civilized to savagery. The boys live on this island alone and without the presence of God or adults the boys feel as if they are beholden to no one and have no responsibility to abide by any moral code. The novel opens on a positive note with a civilised election between the boys, which sets up Golding’s sense of irony as we don’t expect the boys to become a bunch of brutes. Early in the novel Jack states that the boys are not ‘savages’ because they are ‘Englishmen’. This irony was a warning to society that any civilisation is capable of being reduced to barbarism. As the boys slowly fall into savagery, all knowledge and intelligence from Piggy is disregarded. These two human aspects relate with the idea of order. The visual metaphor of the face painting of the boys and the stripping away of their clothes suggests the boys are stripping away their order and slowly leading to this savagery. Jack’s sadist personality becomes evident when he gathers a group of hunters that chant, “Kill the pig, spill her blood”, which is repeated throughout the novel, presenting a chilling motif which symbolises man's primal instincts for violence. “He began to dance and his laughter became a bloodthirsty snarling,” as Jack becomes consumed with blood lust, animal imagery shows his fading humanity. The island is a biblical illusion going back to Christian times, similar to Adam and Eve’s Garden of Eden. The children’s fall into savagery goes almost without notice for many of the boys,
The boys from “Lord Of the Flies” were stuck on an island and had to help themselves and each other, as there was no adult with them to lay down rules. By being by themselves someone had to set rules but these rules helped at the start when they were co-operating as it progresses the boys become wild and do whatever they want. At the start Piggy found the conch and this helped them to keep their assembly’s, also whoever had hold of the conch had the power to talk. These boys had lots of discipline…
Lord of the Flies Major: Ralph- Ralph is the protagonist of the novel. He is the leader of the group. Responsible- Ralph is responsible for the failures of the group since he is chosen to be the leader. He tries his best on everything that could be done in order to get rescued from the island. Brave- Ralph is brave because he is willing to go on to the mountaintop even though he is scared. He also helps Piggy to get back his glasses and fight gainst the hunters by himself. Jack- Jack is Ralph's…
A running theme in Lord of the Flies is that man is savage at heart, always ultimately reverting back to an evil and primitive nature. The cycle of man's rise to power, or righteousness, and his inevitable fall from grace is an important point that book proves again and again, often comparing man with characters from the Bible to give a more vivid picture of his descent. Lord Of The Flies symbolizes this fall in different manners, ranging from the illustration of the mentality of actual primitive…
Ruba Osman Mr. Jackson ENG3U November 6th 2014 Knowing one’s evil: William Golding’s “Lord of the Flies” Since human conscience began, civilization has been built on law and figures of power. Structured society relies on rules with humans naturally conditioned by their own restrictions, contrasting an unsuccessful barbaric, savage or primitive way of life. With the loss of restraint, there would be no stopping humans descent into madness—with a lack of punishment and order, there is a lack of justice…
How does Golding portray his ideas in the Lord of the flies? Golding portrays the disagreement between the two boys from the start of the book, during the time when they dispute between who should become the leader, which creates a small anecdote of the smaller world that we have today in society. The beginning of chapter 3 starts with Golding hinting to us that the boys are starting to become less civilised, and becoming more savage, as for Jack, “eyes in this frustration seemed bolting and nearly…
There are those who believe that people are essentially evil. In William Golding's novel Lord Of The Flies, he explores the idea that, even if given a beautiful, untouched island paradise, a group of innocent children would destroy both themselves and their environment. By examining how a group of young, innocent boys are placed on an island paradise but are gradually reduced to savagery, the reader can witness Golding’s view of man. Golding’s novel teaches that, if given the opportunity , people…
Lord of the Flies In Lord of the Flies the boys are stripped of the boundaries that civilization and society bring and savagery takes over while the evil inside each boy is unleashed. Through the deaths of Piggy and Simon, it becomes obvious that there is no more intellect and morality on the island, and savagery has become more prominent and stronger than civilization. In Simon’s death we see that the boys were so focused on hunting, and killing is second nature to them as they murder Simon thinking…
In the novel The Lord of the Flies by William Golding, the boys turn from well behaved British schoolboys into savages. There are many things that cause this, like the boy's fear, their young ages, and their hunger, but the biggest cause of the boys turning into savages is Jack Merridew. Jack doesn't care about other people, thinks that he is better than everyone else, and thinks that he is always right and loves violence and bloodshed. After Jack leaves and starts his own tribe, Ralph and Piggy…
Hadrian Burton Mr. Martinez English 2 5/8/15 Lord of The Flies Essay Crash! Suddenly the peaceful field trip you were having with your school has become a scramble for survival when the plane you were in has to make an emergency crash landing in a remote area. The Pilot and chaperones at the front of the plane are dead leaving only you and a large hand full of other students that you don't know alive. The boys in the book Lord of The Flies face a similar situation when the plane they were on to…
books for thousands of years. Many topics and ideas have already been written about, so some authors write a new story that restates a book or idea. William Golding’s Lord of the Flies is an allegory to the story of the Garden of Eden from the Bible and restates many of the topics and ideas from that story. In Lord of the Flies, the basic setting and characters parallel the Garden of Eden. In the story, a group of boys crash land in a beautiful and peaceful island paradise that directly resembles…