Society In Lord Of The Flies Persuasive Essay
The riveting question that Ralph asks in the Lord of the Flies on page 139 is “What makes things break up the way they do?” Ralph asks a compelling question, one which could be answered in many ways. Ralph ponders what is it that makes societies fall apart and regress. Civilizations and societies are based on order, rules, and authority; which are necessary to keep it together and avoid falling apart into savagery. In The Lord of the Flies, we can see how these aspects of a functioning society can cause a breakdown in humanity as they seem to be no longer in effect. The novel, and an apocalyptic tv show The Walking Dead can answer Ralph’s question, and it can explain the importance of order and authority in a society. Societies rely heavily on order and
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organization; looking at the big picture, we use order and and organization as a means of surviving. The absence of those can be the key to the unraveling of humanity. In a society, people expect to succeed and prosper, and there is a need and importance of order, rules, and organization. The absence of those key pillars in a functioning society can easily be the downfall of one. In the novel by William Golding, the boys are very disorganized and disorderly when it came to making a fire. The consequences of this disorganization is not only the raging fire that erupts on the island and destroys most of the area, but it also results in the death/disappearance of a young boy. Piggy scolds the boys saying, “How can you expect to be rescued if you don’t put first things first and act proper?” (45). Having order and as Piggy says, putting first things first, is a key part of making sure the society isn’t hindered by unnecessary deaths. A specific example of how organization and order was shown to be important was in Season 5 of The Walking Dead. Part of season centers on a society that embodies order and an organized way of life; all while in the middle of an apocalypse. The small civilization had all of the following: rationing, organized armory, libraries, border walls, and the observance of rules set in place. All of this just to keep everything together and keep it from turning into what is outside the walls. Not only were this things that kept their society standing, it represented humanity in the middle of savagery and, well, zombies. Also, in the beginning of the novel, Ralph, as leader, attempts to create order by using the conch as a talking piece. Ralph knows that disagreements and conflicts will erupt if there is no order in the way they discuss. The conch represents the order in the beginning of the story. However, eventually just like the order in the group of boys, the conch and its meaning eventually fade. Maintaining order also involves values, making sure that what is important stays important in order to ensure a healthy and prosperous society.
In the novel, Ralph and Piggy seem to have their priorities in place, making sure they benefit the whole of the group or the society in which they now occupy. Ralph makes it ever so obvious throughout the book that the fire, the shelters are the most important as they will increase their chances of survival. These values, unlike Jack’s obsession with hunting, will support a functioning society. Ralph, continuing to make sure there is order, calls meetings in order to maintain humanity and so that the group can discuss events and subjects. These meetings symbolize the humanity and the coming together of people in order to work together and live in a society that works. Eventually, Ralph’s efforts fade and the meetings no longer occur, due to the lack of teamwork and an abundance or carelessness from the boys. Of course there is another role that works to makes sure order and rules are obeyed and followed. The role of authority is the most important in a society. There are many examples from history, modern times, and even fiction, where authority has the biggest influence on the society. The biggest problem with the boys on the island is the absence of adults, who would be an absolute authority
figure to the young boys. In the beginning of the story the author reveals that there are no adults on the island when Ralph remarks, “This is an island. At least I think it’s an island. That’s a reef out in the sea. Perhaps there aren’t any grownups anywhere.” (7-8). Of course as boys, the idea of no adults, no authority is exciting, however, little does Ralph know how much of an impact the absence of adults can make to their society. Having no adults also sparks the conflict of Jack and Ralph where they argue who is more fit to be chief, a problem that wouldn’t have arose if an adult were present. Another character, fairly early in the book, realizes he still grasps the authority of his past life. Roger, who wants to hurt a young boy, throws rocks, however, he does not throw at him but throws to miss. This reveals the restraint and authority of his past life. The author includes the sentence, “There was a space round Henry, perhaps six yards in diameter, into which [Roger] dare not throw. Here, invisible yet strong, was the taboo of the old life.”(62) This behavior shows that authority even though it’s not present, has a huge effect in behavior. Roger restrains himself from throwing at the boy because he knows that it is wrong from the way authority disallowed it in his past life. This is something similar to what can be seen in the show as well. Referring back to the small society that season 5 introduces, there is something that stood out to anything seen ever before on the show. The society reveals yet another way that symbolizes their strong hold on their humanity and their past lives: the restoration of an officer/constable figure(s). This is something that seems almost foreign to the viewers of the show because of how different it is to everything that has happened so far. It is almost as if hope for their survival has been slightly improved when you finally see a peace officers walking around as they represent a piece of a functioning society. Forwarding to the end of the book, Ralph is chased by a group of boys that want to kill him. Ralph stops in the sand and sees a man, a naval officer who caught sight of the fire Jack started. The naval officer symbolizes the first authority figure since landing on the island. The boys, who viciously wanted to kill Ralph, also stopped dead in their tracks as they notice an adult. The presence of the adult authority figure almost instantly ceases the regression of the group and they all weep as they see the man who symbolizes the return to normal society. The novel shows just how much authority is important and its role in a society. Looking also at The Walking Dead, authority the leading factor in many situations. The idea of a leader, person who can exert authority, in important factor when you consider how the idea of leadership and authority can be interpreted by different people. Similar as in the novel, there are two contrasting men who think they would be the better leader based on their way of surviving. One leader can be seen as someone who would save himself before anyone else; the other is one that would more likely save someone else before he would do the same for himself. This contrast shows that not only is leadership and authority something that people in a society look for, it is something that can be the difference between life and death. In other words, even with a leader and authority, there is still that question of what are the morals and values of the leader exerting that authority. It can make wonder whether the leader is just power-hungry or truly believes he can lead the group. Comparing the show to the novel, Jack is most like the power hungry Shane, and Ralph is more like the character Rick, where even the situations they are in are similar. The boys are eventually no longer in a society deemed durably when most of them lose their humanity, their good as well. They lose many of the important keys in a functioning, working society and regress tremendously into an inhumane way of life. It goes to show how important order, and authority is in societies, how they can be the difference between a society that prospers and one that eventually falls to its knees like Ralph in the sand after being chased by vicious boys. That goes to answer Ralph’s question, “Why do things break apart the way they do?” It is simply the absence of order and authority that can hinder a society greatly.
organization; looking at the big picture, we use order and and organization as a means of surviving. The absence of those can be the key to the unraveling of humanity. In a society, people expect to succeed and prosper, and there is a need and importance of order, rules, and organization. The absence of those key pillars in a functioning society can easily be the downfall of one. In the novel by William Golding, the boys are very disorganized and disorderly when it came to making a fire. The consequences of this disorganization is not only the raging fire that erupts on the island and destroys most of the area, but it also results in the death/disappearance of a young boy. Piggy scolds the boys saying, “How can you expect to be rescued if you don’t put first things first and act proper?” (45). Having order and as Piggy says, putting first things first, is a key part of making sure the society isn’t hindered by unnecessary deaths. A specific example of how organization and order was shown to be important was in Season 5 of The Walking Dead. Part of season centers on a society that embodies order and an organized way of life; all while in the middle of an apocalypse. The small civilization had all of the following: rationing, organized armory, libraries, border walls, and the observance of rules set in place. All of this just to keep everything together and keep it from turning into what is outside the walls. Not only were this things that kept their society standing, it represented humanity in the middle of savagery and, well, zombies. Also, in the beginning of the novel, Ralph, as leader, attempts to create order by using the conch as a talking piece. Ralph knows that disagreements and conflicts will erupt if there is no order in the way they discuss. The conch represents the order in the beginning of the story. However, eventually just like the order in the group of boys, the conch and its meaning eventually fade. Maintaining order also involves values, making sure that what is important stays important in order to ensure a healthy and prosperous society.
In the novel, Ralph and Piggy seem to have their priorities in place, making sure they benefit the whole of the group or the society in which they now occupy. Ralph makes it ever so obvious throughout the book that the fire, the shelters are the most important as they will increase their chances of survival. These values, unlike Jack’s obsession with hunting, will support a functioning society. Ralph, continuing to make sure there is order, calls meetings in order to maintain humanity and so that the group can discuss events and subjects. These meetings symbolize the humanity and the coming together of people in order to work together and live in a society that works. Eventually, Ralph’s efforts fade and the meetings no longer occur, due to the lack of teamwork and an abundance or carelessness from the boys. Of course there is another role that works to makes sure order and rules are obeyed and followed. The role of authority is the most important in a society. There are many examples from history, modern times, and even fiction, where authority has the biggest influence on the society. The biggest problem with the boys on the island is the absence of adults, who would be an absolute authority
figure to the young boys. In the beginning of the story the author reveals that there are no adults on the island when Ralph remarks, “This is an island. At least I think it’s an island. That’s a reef out in the sea. Perhaps there aren’t any grownups anywhere.” (7-8). Of course as boys, the idea of no adults, no authority is exciting, however, little does Ralph know how much of an impact the absence of adults can make to their society. Having no adults also sparks the conflict of Jack and Ralph where they argue who is more fit to be chief, a problem that wouldn’t have arose if an adult were present. Another character, fairly early in the book, realizes he still grasps the authority of his past life. Roger, who wants to hurt a young boy, throws rocks, however, he does not throw at him but throws to miss. This reveals the restraint and authority of his past life. The author includes the sentence, “There was a space round Henry, perhaps six yards in diameter, into which [Roger] dare not throw. Here, invisible yet strong, was the taboo of the old life.”(62) This behavior shows that authority even though it’s not present, has a huge effect in behavior. Roger restrains himself from throwing at the boy because he knows that it is wrong from the way authority disallowed it in his past life. This is something similar to what can be seen in the show as well. Referring back to the small society that season 5 introduces, there is something that stood out to anything seen ever before on the show. The society reveals yet another way that symbolizes their strong hold on their humanity and their past lives: the restoration of an officer/constable figure(s). This is something that seems almost foreign to the viewers of the show because of how different it is to everything that has happened so far. It is almost as if hope for their survival has been slightly improved when you finally see a peace officers walking around as they represent a piece of a functioning society. Forwarding to the end of the book, Ralph is chased by a group of boys that want to kill him. Ralph stops in the sand and sees a man, a naval officer who caught sight of the fire Jack started. The naval officer symbolizes the first authority figure since landing on the island. The boys, who viciously wanted to kill Ralph, also stopped dead in their tracks as they notice an adult. The presence of the adult authority figure almost instantly ceases the regression of the group and they all weep as they see the man who symbolizes the return to normal society. The novel shows just how much authority is important and its role in a society. Looking also at The Walking Dead, authority the leading factor in many situations. The idea of a leader, person who can exert authority, in important factor when you consider how the idea of leadership and authority can be interpreted by different people. Similar as in the novel, there are two contrasting men who think they would be the better leader based on their way of surviving. One leader can be seen as someone who would save himself before anyone else; the other is one that would more likely save someone else before he would do the same for himself. This contrast shows that not only is leadership and authority something that people in a society look for, it is something that can be the difference between life and death. In other words, even with a leader and authority, there is still that question of what are the morals and values of the leader exerting that authority. It can make wonder whether the leader is just power-hungry or truly believes he can lead the group. Comparing the show to the novel, Jack is most like the power hungry Shane, and Ralph is more like the character Rick, where even the situations they are in are similar. The boys are eventually no longer in a society deemed durably when most of them lose their humanity, their good as well. They lose many of the important keys in a functioning, working society and regress tremendously into an inhumane way of life. It goes to show how important order, and authority is in societies, how they can be the difference between a society that prospers and one that eventually falls to its knees like Ralph in the sand after being chased by vicious boys. That goes to answer Ralph’s question, “Why do things break apart the way they do?” It is simply the absence of order and authority that can hinder a society greatly.