Why do we need authority figures? They order people around and make rules and punish people who do not obey them. But what would happen if we didn’t have any? In Lord of the Flies, a group of boys are abandoned on an island after a plane crash. Throughout the book, they become more and more violent because there were no authority figures to guide them into making the right choices. The boys eventually descend from civilised people to savages because of the lack of adult authority on the island. At the beginning of the novel, the boys still adhere to the rules of civilisation because of their fear of punishment. When Maurice threw sand at Percival, he “still felt the unease of wrongdoing,” even though “there was no parent to let fall a heavy hand” (60). Even without an authority on the island, Maurice still felt like he could be held accountable for his actions, which is why he tried to make an excuse and “muttered something about a swim” (60). In the same way, when Roger was throwing stones at Henry, he “aimed to miss” because his arm was …show more content…
Right before the naval officer had come, the boys had become complete savages. Jack had set the entire island on fire, and he had sent all of the boys to find and kill Ralph. But when the officer came, they became innocent little boys again. When Ralph said that he was in charge, Jack “started forward, then changed his mind and stood still” (201). Jack first wanted to act savagely, but just the presence of a grown up made him think otherwise. If there wasn’t an adult there, he would have tried to kill Ralph, but instead he decided against it. Also, when Ralph started to cry, “the other little boys began to shake and sob too” (202). The boys finally realised what had become of them, and with the arrival of an adult, a symbol that represents civilisation, they had changed from savages back to civilised, innocent