It’s Hard to imagine oneself to find them stranded as a kid on an island with no adults. To the average child it sounds like a paradise. William Golding thought otherwise. In his book, Lord of the Flies, that exact scenario is played out. A handful of young boys survive a plane crash and end up stranded on an island. Golding masterfully creates mentally diverse characters in order to portray a larger message about society. A seemingly “innocent” tale about boys in a tight situation is actually a reflection of society. Lord of the flies is a 182-page metaphor about mankind that exposes our strengths, flaws, and our true selves. Golding uses character development of Jack and Ralph in Lord of the Flies to show that anyone would experience a loss …show more content…
“The ‘civilizing instinct’ of a man urging him to behave lawfully, follow rules, act morally and the feral instinct inciting him to act brutally, become violent and a selfish breaker of rules run parallel in this novel”(Muhammad Ramzan). Humans have evolved to attain a brain capacity that can decipher right from wrong. In other words, we have the wondrous ability to rationalize. It sets us apart from being “savages” or “animals”. Over a period of time man has created a society that is dedicated to sorting out what is and is not socially acceptable. It has progressed to a point where being our natural human selves is considered barbaric, or one would be written off as “immature”. At the end of Lord of the Flies the officer shows up in his naval uniform and directly contrasts with the kids’ unkempt appearance (180). The officer is a clear representation of our current society that has to try to live up to the rules that have been put in place in with the intention of maintaining order. The boys show the other side. They came to the realization that there aren’t any rules to follow. The power is in their hands. This newfound awareness