Golding's Lord Of The Flies: Literary Analysis

In Lord of the Flies by William Golding, the boy's small conflicts with nature and each other constantly test one another on their ability to survive. Fear of the unknown, surviving the natural elements and rivals between groups constantly show throughout the story. The boys that died were missing something that the boys who survived had, the natural instinct to survive, a mental or physical advantage over everyone else. One of the little boys on the island confused fantasy with reality and claimed: “It came and went away again an’ came back and wanted to eat him” (Golding35). In this case, the boys were letting their imagination get in the way of what was really going on. When Ralph and Simon are building the shelters, Ralph speaks “I bet if I blew the conch they’d all come running…when the meeting was over they would all work for five minutes and then wander off”(51).

Piggy even shows this insignificance when he says, “That little ‘un-‘ gasped Piggy-him with the mark on his face, I don't see him. Where is he now?”(46). The point that the small boy was left in the burning canopy shows that they are not important. This feeling of unimportance is shown again at the end of the book when Ralph responds to the Naval Officer’s question when he asked how many people died: “Only two. And they’ve gone.”(223). When Ralph answers this question about only two people dying, he is referring to Piggy and Simon, not about the small boy. Just like how the littluns are referred to as a whole and never individuals exhibit their unimportance to the book as a whole. The littluns’ lack of ability, strength, and skills made them insignificant and weaker compared to the other boys on this