Lord Of The Flies, By William Golding

Since the beginning of time, civilization has conflicted with humans' natural instinct to be savage. In the book, “Lord of the Flies,” William Golding illustrates this conflict within a group of school boys who are stranded on an island. Due to war, a plane containing a group of young boys is struck down onto an uninhabited island. While at first this seems like a tropical getaway, the need for civilization and order starts to influence the boys. The elected leader, Ralph, sets expectations for them and creates a talking system with the conch. Certain boys such as Piggy abide by the rules, but they are mostly dismissed by the group, and chaos begins to break out without the organization Ralph had enforced. Ralph tries to create a signal fire

Golding shows us civilization through characters like Piggy, but then counters with Jack's savage and rebellious mindset. Even though the boys do not respect Piggy, he always follows Ralph's rules. Piggy shows a leader mentality by assuring the boys that there is no beast, as well as acknowledging the importance of the signal fire. He is persistent with the rules even when things start to fall apart, and expresses how important civilization is when there are conflicts. When the feud between Ralph and Jack is reaching its peak, Piggy shows his commitment to the conch. “Piggy sought in his mind for words to convey his passionate willingness to carry the conch against all odds.” (Golding 172) Piggy's willingness to carry the conch shows how he wants to maintain the civilization in a serious situation. After everything that has happened, Piggy still values the conch and looks up to it. It also highlights Piggy's role as a moral compass and voice of reason on the island, as he is inclined to stand up for what he believes

“Then I’ll give him the conch. . . . I’ll give the conch to the next person to speak to. He can hold it when he’s speaking.” (Golding 33) The boys make a connection between civilization by creating a system with the conch. It gives them a sense of security, because they can all speak their mind and all have opinions. The conch shows democracy, seeing that it gives all a chance to be heard. It shows Ralph's first move as a leader, and his problem solving skills and ability to make use of their limited resources on the island. Yet, the conch is destroyed by the boy's savage nature. The rocks represent savagery when they shatter the conch and kill Piggy, and ultimately get rid of the only sense of civilization that the boys had. “The rock struck Piggy a glancing blow from chin to knee; the conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist. Piggy, saying nothing, with no time for even a grunt, traveled through the air sideways from the rock, turning over as he went. Piggy fell forty feet and landed on his back across the square red rock in the sea.” (Golding 181) When the rocks shatter the conch and kill Piggy, it represents all civilization being gone. The rocks shatter all sense of