Lord Of the Flies Essay
Discuss the fragility of civilization against the destructive force of fear.
If people become isolated from civilization, then the beast inside of us can break the bonds from society and unleash the evil within using the power of fear. In the book, “The Lord of the Flies”, by William Golding, a group of boys becomes stuck on an island and it portrays the breakdown of society and structure and the transformation of them into savages. On the island, the boys first follow a conch which was the order and the link to society on the island but after a while, it loses most of it’s influence due to the disintegration of social order and rules. A character that used the tool of fear to gain control of the boys was Jack, who represents a dictator on the island. The boys’ main fear was of the “beast” which also assisted the boys’ descent into savagery. Without any adults or concrete set of laws on the island, fear manipulated the boys into malevolent, vicious beings.
Ralph, the main character of the book, used the conch to help lead the group of boys which would later decline into Jack’s dictatorship of fear and despair. In the beginning, Ralph’s power and influence over the boys was secure since most were still following the conch. As time went on, as the fear of the beast grew larger and larger, so did Jack’s power while Ralph’s shrunk smaller and smaller. In the quote, “See? See? That’s what you’ll get! I meant that! There isn’t a tribe for you anymore! The conch is gone…” (.200). In this scene, the conch shell breaking meant the beast and fear taking over the island completely whilst civilization and order was eradicated. Also, Piggy’s death symbolized the boy’s full transformation into savages, mindless and bloodthirsty with no thought of guilt after they murdered one of their own. There is an antagonist in every book, and in the “Lord of the Flies”, the character’s name is Jack, who represents an evil, cruel overlord who uses fear to assert dominance. After
If people become isolated from civilization, then the beast inside of us can break the bonds from society and unleash the evil within using the power of fear. In the book, “The Lord of the Flies”, by William Golding, a group of boys becomes stuck on an island and it portrays the breakdown of society and structure and the transformation of them into savages. On the island, the boys first follow a conch which was the order and the link to society on the island but after a while, it loses most of it’s influence due to the disintegration of social order and rules. A character that used the tool of fear to gain control of the boys was Jack, who represents a dictator on the island. The boys’ main fear was of the “beast” which also assisted the boys’ descent into savagery. Without any adults or concrete set of laws on the island, fear manipulated the boys into malevolent, vicious beings.
Ralph, the main character of the book, used the conch to help lead the group of boys which would later decline into Jack’s dictatorship of fear and despair. In the beginning, Ralph’s power and influence over the boys was secure since most were still following the conch. As time went on, as the fear of the beast grew larger and larger, so did Jack’s power while Ralph’s shrunk smaller and smaller. In the quote, “See? See? That’s what you’ll get! I meant that! There isn’t a tribe for you anymore! The conch is gone…” (.200). In this scene, the conch shell breaking meant the beast and fear taking over the island completely whilst civilization and order was eradicated. Also, Piggy’s death symbolized the boy’s full transformation into savages, mindless and bloodthirsty with no thought of guilt after they murdered one of their own. There is an antagonist in every book, and in the “Lord of the Flies”, the character’s name is Jack, who represents an evil, cruel overlord who uses fear to assert dominance. After