Australian Survivor And Lord Of The Flies Comparative Essay

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Compare and contrast how William Golding in Lord of The Flies and Ian Dickinson in Australian Survivor present the ideas of civilisation and society.
In Lord of The Flies, by William Golding, and Australian Survivor, by Ian Dickinson, the ideas of civilisation and society are explored through the characters and competitors actions and locations. In both texts, the characters ignore societal rules and become slightly or majorly uncivilised in order to survive. Certain aspects of the characters previous civilised lives are maintained as civilisation is still quite important to the individual’ survival. In order to survive, individuals in both texts form groups and alliances for strength and protection on the respective islands so they can survive …show more content…

Both text producers use fire as a symbol of safety throughout their texts, in Survivor the fire represents survival because “once it’s gone” so is the competitor (Dickinson, Ep.1). Similarly, Golding’s characterisation of Ralph allows him correctly understands the importance of fire and what it meant: rescue. Ralph immediately urges that the boys “must make a fire” to enhance the chances of rescue. (Golding, 51). Dickinson utilises the actions of his competitors to portray how a key aspect of society, a hierarchy, is maintained in Australian Survivor. The hierarchy is built based on position in “the alliance” rather than on class or job or wealth like in standard society so it altogether quite different (Dickinson, ep.21). In contrast, Golding uses symbolism to convey the importance of civilisation for his characters through The Conch and Piggy’s Glasses. In Lord of The Flies, The Conch significantly represents civilisation and order, and delays the onset of savagery amongst the characters whereas Piggy’s Glasses embodied the boys hopes of rescue as they allowed the creation of fire. In both cases, that the importance of civilisation is clearly demonstrated through the ways in which the competitors and characters strive to maintain civilised