Lord Of The Flies Civility Vs Savagery

Spears versus Society

Savagery is a part of all people; this is how humans survived at the start of humanity. When the situation permits it, people will tap into their more primitive nature. William Golding's novel, Lord of the Flies, portrays this idea by telling the story of what happens to a group of young boys who are stranded on an island. The story is told as an allegory through the characters and objects representing aspects of society and human nature. Throughout the novel, Golding uses symbolism to develop the theme of civility versus savagery to convey the message that humans, once free from the rules and pressures of society, are capable of destruction. There are many aspects of humans represented throughout the novel, such as logic

This is only the start of their constant head-to-head throughout the novel. During the first meeting the boys held, Ralph was elected chief by an almost unanimous vote. “Every hand outside the choir except Piggy’s was raised immediately. Then Piggy too” (23). This shows the boys' desire for the life they had come from; they chose the less violent leader. As the book goes on, the majority of boys begin to teeter-totter between who to follow. In the end, Jack decides he isn't “going to play any longer, not with [Ralph]” (156). This represents the fact that they are still little boys who are just making up their own little society. By the time Jack gets the majority of the boys on his side, they are so disconnected from society that they follow him down a path of savagery; they kill Piggy metaphorically, removing all logic and reason from their lives. They try to get rid of order and civility altogether by killing Ralph, but he hides out long enough that he is saved. Even when the fire is used for savagery, it still serves its purpose of getting them back to being in a society full of order. Throughout the story, the boys attempt to use fire as a smoke

Once they are all at the meeting, they establish that they will “give the conch to the next person to speak” (33) and “he won't be interrupted except by [Ralph]” (33). Throughout the book, the boys have many meetings similar to this one. They use this to discuss problems that they are having within the community. These meetings are parallel to how society currently solves problems through things like court and meetings between world leaders. The further into the book you get, the fewer boys tend to care about the meetings and the more savage they begin acting. Jack begins to think that the meetings are useless to the group, saying things like “Bollocks to the rules!” (99), and “We don't need the conch anymore. We know who ought to say things” (101). Jack's attempts to void the conch of power show his disconnect from civilization and his dwindling belief in being saved. As the book comes to an end, almost all the boys stop attending the meetings. This is about the same time that they started killing people. Soon after the split, Jack brought all the boys together for a feast to try to get them on his side. During this meeting, the boys see the “beast” and attack him while chanting, “Kill the beast! Cut his throat. Spill