Lord Of The Flies Literary Analysis Essay

Lord of the Flies Literary Analysis William Golding's book Lord of the Flies centers on a group of young boys who become trapped on a desolate island and examines the barbaric side of human nature. Being without adults, the boys begin to descend into savagery and violence. And since there were no laws, some of the boys just did whatever they pleased. The story is meant to represent that without laws and social stability, society would fall into chaos, and it is shown through symbolism, plot structure, and setting. One way that the main theme is represented is through symbolism. When Jack failed to kill the pig for the second time, he came up with another idea, and he “made one cheek and one eye-socket white, then he rubbed red over the other

Jack made his third attempt to kill the pig, and was finally successful. The boys celebrated by marching and chanting, “Kill the pig. Cut her throat. Spill her blood.” (69). The blood was still on Jack’s hands as he danced. This shows the continuation of Jack’s descension into brutality. ““There was lashings of blood,” said Jack, laughing…“you should have seen it!”” (69). Jack tries to get his point across to Ralph, but it only succeeds in coming across as violent, especially since he was still covered in paint and blood. Later on in the story, the boys were all in a circle, once again doing their chant, which has become somewhat normal for them now. All the boys had been afraid of a so-called beast that was on the island, but Simon knew the truth. “Simon was crying out something about a dead man on a hill,” (152), however the boys didn't listen. “The sticks fell and the mouth of the new circle crunched and screamed. The beast was on its knees in the center, its arms folded over its face. It was crying out…something about a body on the hill.” (153). The boys in the circle had made themselves believe that Simon was the beast, and they beat him to death with their sticks. This conveys the path that the boys were taking towards insanity, as they had fooled themselves so deeply that they had murdered one of their