Lord Of The Flies Civilization Analysis
“Civilization begins with order, grows with liberty, and dies with chaos” words spoken by Will Durant. This quote is almost always applicable to the real world but, is it relevant to the novel Lord of the Files? To put it bluntly the answer to that question is yes, however, the quote’s relevance to the story is based off each character’s personal perspective of the world around them. In this essay we will focus on two major characters, Ralph and Jack, and if the quote by Will Durant is relevant to their own perception of the island civilization. From Ralph’s perspective the quote is highly applicable to the novel, but from Jack’s perspective it is quite the opposite.
To start off, from Ralph’s perspective of civilization in the novel, the
quote is applicable to the novel without shadow of a doubt. Ralph starts island civilization by blowing the conch which makes a trumpet like noise which brings all the boys onto the shore. The boys all had a meeting to put rules in place and elect a chief, Ralph was chosen to be chief. This sets the island civilization off to a good and orderly start. As the civilization grows, so does the boys’ curiosity and courage. Jack and his choir were assigned as watchmen to insure that the signal fire would stay lit, however the boys take the liberty of leaving the fire unattended which causes it to burn out. The boys took advantage of their freedom and in doing so helped the civilization to grow. Abandoning their post to hunt taught the boys a new skill, but it also led to all of the boys troubles. Jack and his hunters started a rebellion, they formed their own tribe, and they caused chaos. “The Tribe” raided the other boys of Piggy’s glasses so they could control the fire, but, that wasn’t the worst of it. Jack’s group of boys killed Simon and Piggy. “The Tribe” then set out on a hunt for their last remaining adversary, Ralph. Whilst doing so, they set half of the island on fire. Ralph survived and the boys were rescued and this was the end of the island civilization. It is simple to say that from Ralph’s perspective the island civilization ended in chaos.
Moving on to contrast Ralph’s perspective, we will take a look at how Jack views the world around him. From how jack sees it the quote hardly applies. Jack sees the start of the boys’ civilization as too restricting or constraining, he also deems Ralph unfit to rule. Moreover jack feels like an outcast among the boys. The feeling pushes him away from the original island civilization and helps him to come to the decision of forming his own greater tribe. Jack feels more at home with the tribe he feels welcome he feels he can do as he pleases. Later in the novel once Piggy and Simon die he doesn’t feel hurt he feels that anyone outside his tribe is a treat to it and that they need to be eliminated which is why jack sets out on a hunt for ralph. Jack controls his tribe and has them doing his bidding until the bitter end of the civilization, so from Jack’s perspective civilization ends in order not chaos therefore the quote cannot be applied to the novel.
To conclude, the quote is relevant to the novel but it can be interpreted differently based on the perspective of each individual in the novel. From Ralph’s perspective the quote correlates with the novel but from Jack Merridew’s it doesn’t. If a group of real boys became stranded on an island, the characters Jack and Ralph could portray two very real boys. The novel Lord of the Flies is an accurate, slightly overdramatic representation of what might happen if a group of boys became stranded on an island. It is a classic but is still a must read.
To start off, from Ralph’s perspective of civilization in the novel, the
quote is applicable to the novel without shadow of a doubt. Ralph starts island civilization by blowing the conch which makes a trumpet like noise which brings all the boys onto the shore. The boys all had a meeting to put rules in place and elect a chief, Ralph was chosen to be chief. This sets the island civilization off to a good and orderly start. As the civilization grows, so does the boys’ curiosity and courage. Jack and his choir were assigned as watchmen to insure that the signal fire would stay lit, however the boys take the liberty of leaving the fire unattended which causes it to burn out. The boys took advantage of their freedom and in doing so helped the civilization to grow. Abandoning their post to hunt taught the boys a new skill, but it also led to all of the boys troubles. Jack and his hunters started a rebellion, they formed their own tribe, and they caused chaos. “The Tribe” raided the other boys of Piggy’s glasses so they could control the fire, but, that wasn’t the worst of it. Jack’s group of boys killed Simon and Piggy. “The Tribe” then set out on a hunt for their last remaining adversary, Ralph. Whilst doing so, they set half of the island on fire. Ralph survived and the boys were rescued and this was the end of the island civilization. It is simple to say that from Ralph’s perspective the island civilization ended in chaos.
Moving on to contrast Ralph’s perspective, we will take a look at how Jack views the world around him. From how jack sees it the quote hardly applies. Jack sees the start of the boys’ civilization as too restricting or constraining, he also deems Ralph unfit to rule. Moreover jack feels like an outcast among the boys. The feeling pushes him away from the original island civilization and helps him to come to the decision of forming his own greater tribe. Jack feels more at home with the tribe he feels welcome he feels he can do as he pleases. Later in the novel once Piggy and Simon die he doesn’t feel hurt he feels that anyone outside his tribe is a treat to it and that they need to be eliminated which is why jack sets out on a hunt for ralph. Jack controls his tribe and has them doing his bidding until the bitter end of the civilization, so from Jack’s perspective civilization ends in order not chaos therefore the quote cannot be applied to the novel.
To conclude, the quote is relevant to the novel but it can be interpreted differently based on the perspective of each individual in the novel. From Ralph’s perspective the quote correlates with the novel but from Jack Merridew’s it doesn’t. If a group of real boys became stranded on an island, the characters Jack and Ralph could portray two very real boys. The novel Lord of the Flies is an accurate, slightly overdramatic representation of what might happen if a group of boys became stranded on an island. It is a classic but is still a must read.