Lord of the Flies8
The Shattering of Reason within a Society William Golding in his novel Lord of the Flies symbolically describes the degeneration of a civilized society in three stages. Embedded within this story of a group of young boys struggling to survive alone on a deserted island are insights to the capacity of evil within the human soul and how it can completely destroy society. After a plane crash that results in their inhabitation of the island, the boys establish a democratic society that thrives on order, necessity, and unity. Slowly, however, the peaceful society that they create shatters through a path of hatred, disrespect, murder, and the release of the true human soul. Upon a desolate tropical island, the lost boys begin to organize themselves to gain a sense of stability, order, and brotherhood. They elect Ralph, the oldest boy at twelve years of age, as leader and use a conch found in the lagoon as a symbol of democracy and respect. Two other children, Jack, the head of a choir group, and Simon, a small but intellectual boy, accompany Ralph on an expedition to determine whether the land is truly an island. They find that it is indeed true, and compose a
If not for the navy officer who stood there ahead of him, waiting to find who had created the smoke, the boys would have been left to disintegrate in the evil within themselves. '" (172) Jack comes to Ralph's shelters in the middle of the night and steals Piggy's glasses so that he can start a cooking fire at any time. Being human, they have a capacity for evil inside of their soul that is immeasurable and can destroy the life of everyone around them, including their own. They never realize this and continue to break their "morals," which were simply superficial rules of society that were fed to them unwillingly. With the exception of Ralph and Piggy, the boys completely abandon reason, civilization, and the thought of rescue. The boy, alone and fearful, hides in a thick bush. All the warm salt water of the bathing pool and the shouting and splashing and laughing were only just sufficient enough to bring them together again" (50). He is furious, yet Jack and his choir group ignore Ralph's complaints and begin hunting for a wild pig, setting out with dreams of chase, glory, and slayings. Jack, Ralph, and Roger decide to climb the mountain and search for the creature. He calls an election for a new leader, yet Ralph wins again, and because of this, Jack storms off down the beach yelling that he can live on his own. "They looked at each other baffled, in love and hate. Once they return to the shelters, Jack calls a meeting to discuss the beast. 'We've got to have rules and obey them. The latter is the definition of civilization. He finds that it is a dead man wrapped partially in a parachute and runs down to the beach where Jack's group, along with Ralph's, is feasting.
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Acceptance Essays
