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Order And Stability In Lord Of The Flies

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Order and stability allow individuals to live in a civilized environment. When individuals are isolated from society's constraints, they let their violent nature take control. Individuals who give in to their savage impulses engage in destructive and abusive behavior. When order is neglected, humans are disposed to violent urges and animalistic behaviors. The boys in William Golding’s Lord of the Flies present man’s violent tendencies when there are no societal boundaries.
The boys' disdain for order reveals humankind's descent into chaos when they are taken from a stable environment. After working all day on the island building huts with only Simon and Piggy, Ralph says, “‘They’re hopeless, the older ones aren’t much better… They're off bathing, …show more content…

They are living in a fantasy where the island is a vacation away from their parents and from order. They are ignoring the responsibility that comes with building a society showing their lack of order rather than fixing their current situation; they prioritize entertainment over work. When Jack and Ralph are disagreeing about the distribution of power on the island Ralph says, "'The rules!'... 'You're breaking the rules!' (91). Jack retaliates saying, ‘'Who cares?' Ralph summoned his wits. 'Because the rules are the only thing we've got!' But Jack was shouting against him. 'Bollocks to the rules! (91). Ralph believes that rules are the key to maintaining order and building a society. In contrast, Jack disregards the rules and believes that an island is a place for indulgences and an escape from society’s boundaries. Ralph consistently pushes for order yet the impulses of the boys take over and push them toward chaos. After the boys roll over the rock intending to kill Piggy they end up “explod[ing] [the conch] into a thousand white fragments and cease to exist”(181). The conch is a symbol of order and structure, but now its broken state displays the …show more content…

As Jack and his tribe are preparing to go out and hunt they put paint on their faces creating “The mask …[which] liberated them from shame and self-consciousness…the mask compelled them”(64). The boys wearing the mask marks the start of savagery because the mask offers them an opportunity to act on their savage impulses. The idea that they are compelled by the mask displays the influence that the mask carries as they are driven by a force to do this all as one. The mask liberates the boys from the restraints of societal boundaries transitioning the boys toward savagery. When the predatory boys first hit the pig, “The sow staggered her way ahead of them, bleeding and mad, and the hunters followed, wedded to her in lust, excited by the long chase and the dropped blood” (135). The boys killing the sow reflects their longing for the sensation of murder. They have become numb to the results of their actions and are seemingly acting on self-gratifying impulses. Due to the temptation of the hunt, the boys allow their malignant impulses to take over killing the mother pig, portraying the loss of compassion. After the boys kill the pig they do their chant,“‘Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood! Do him in!’(152). But then they see Simon but confuse him for the beast and kill him. The boys act in an animal-like fashion when they act on their

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“The conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist” (Golding 181). It symbolized how savagery prevailed. The start of absolute chaos and destruction in the boy’s society was when the boulder crushed piggy and the conch shell. Piggy's death was the breaking point where all civility was lost. Towards the closing of the novel, Ralph is alone and on the run, hiding from Jack's tribe of savages who intend to kill him.

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This shows the human nature of children and men when they are away from society and order for a long time. If they do not get what they want, then they will drive themselves crazy trying to fight and in turn, become savages, who are focused on killing and hunting. They are blinded by their anger and illusions that they forget about the real point, which is trying to escape from the island and their new goal is to kill each other off so they alone can be the chief of the island, but eventually all the boys will have to end up dying from natural causes or battles if they are not saved by a ship. Their morals are ruined and this leads to further chaos on the island. Once the chaos starts to happen on the island, Ralph also starts to rethink his idea of being chief.

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When we kill we’ll leave some kill for it. Then it won’t bother us,”(133). Jack tells the group the the beast will not bother them. When he says “When we kill,” it gives the boys a sense of safety knowing that Jack will actually do what he says, and the fact the he has killed a pig before reassures that. They understand that Jack will follow through with what he says, which builds trust and credibility with Jack being the leader.

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Where the group again, oversexualizes the attrocious act of murdering the pig. “At once the crowd surged after it, poured down the rock, lept onto the beast, screamed, struck, bit, tore. There were no words, and no movements but the tearing of teeth and claws. (153). Simon’s screams and attempts to convince the boys that the beast does not exist are for naught.

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The shift from the boy’s civilized society to chaos run by savages is symbolized through the fading health status of the conch. While touring the island, Ralph and Piggy stumble upon the conch: “In color the shell was deep cream, touched here and there with fading pink” (Golding 16). The fresh, new, and healthy appearance of the shell is similar to the beginning stages of their society. The conch not only maintained the necessary order but also induced power and a sense of community into the society. As the days creep by the order is quickly replaced by savagery: “The rock struck Piggy a glancing blow from chin to knee; the conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist” (Golding 181).

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The quote shows that the older boys are taking the initiative to help "run" the island. The boys show that they are civilized when Ralph uses the conch to gather all the boys for the assembly. He takes the role of chief and makes a set of rules that everyone should

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882 Words | 4 Pages

The destruction of the conch occurred when the boys had fully lost their innocence and had turned “Savage.” The destruction of the conch took place after Jack decided to leave Ralph and start his own tribe on the other side of the island and coerced many of Ralph’s followers to join him, and this is when the demise of civilized thoughts and order really occurred. “... The rock struck Piggy a glancing blow from chin to knee; the conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist” (Golding 181). The destruction of the conch ment the boys had returned to their primitive stages, in which civilization and order didn’t exist, only savagery existed. The conch was proof of the boys being civilized, and on the opposite side of the spectrum, the conch breaking was showing how they had lost all sense of civilization and have become completely savage.

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Much like the rest of the human race Ralph can be a savage, controlled by his id. All the remaining boys, except for Simon are gathered around a fire chanting about the beast and acting like savages. Simon, meanwhile is investigating the parachutist that has fallen from the skies and is perceived by the boys as “the beast,” a monster that they believe inhabits the island. While a physical beast my not occupy the island, a more potent and omnipresent threat is lurking the island. This threat is the beast inside the kids that all of them possess, some are just more expressive than than the others.

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Ralph and Piggy try to maintain law and order, but the innocence with them is lost. Additionally, Jack’s desire for hunting and blood kills Simon. Jack’s actions also reflect on Roger’s actions, which kills Piggy. Losing civilization amongst the group leads the boys to disrespect the society as a whole, and they will never be able to return to civilized boys there

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848 Words | 4 Pages

They land on a deserted island and are forced to survive on their own. The boys quickly split into two groups, one is led by Ralph and the other by Jack. Ralph along with his friends, Piggy, and Samneric try to spend their time on the island wisely with the core value of being rescued. Ralph leads with his head and prioritizes order and fairness. Jack, on the other hand, is the opposite, he thrives on manipulation, violence and savagery.

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401 Words | 2 Pages

The boys even stick the pigs head on spear and call it their gift to the beast, “The head is for the beast. It's a gift” (Golding, 137). The impurity of this scene gives readers a look into what's to come. This foreshadows Simon's death because it shows that if they treat a pig this bad, they are going to do worse stuff to a human. The purpose of this scene is to show the finish of guiltlessness and human progress and start of viciousness.

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843 Words | 4 Pages

Throughout the novel, Jack consistently demonstrates a disregard for rules and a desire for dominance and power. When he leads the boys in hunting and violence, he taps into their savage and primal instincts - including Ralph’s. As Jack proclaims, "The conch doesn't count at this end of the island" (Golding, 150) it becomes evident that he prioritizes dominance and power over order, authority, and the established rules on the island. In the midst of their destructive rivalry, Jack’s failures teach Ralph important lessons. Witnessing Jack’s inability to maintain the signal fire makes Ralph recognize the value of collaboration, communication, and planning for survival.

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902 Words | 4 Pages

Even though Simon warns them about the evil inside them, their actions still reflect their inherently bad human nature. As the time on the island goes by, the boys kill Simon and Piggy, along with a mother pig, and a well-timed rescue is all that prevents Ralph’s death. Even if people can act good, there is still greed, selfishness, and evil within everyone. It is only through the influence of civil society that the worst of human nature is kept in

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835 Words | 4 Pages

On the island, the boys are continually arguing, especially when a rift occurs between the group of boys. One example of Piggy’s effort to resolve the problems boys have is when Ralph goes to Castle Rock to confront Jack. Piggy helps Ralph by repeating, “‘Ralph remember what we came for. The fire. My specs.’

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When Jack finally voices his abhor for the rules, he starts a downward slope for the rest of the boys to follow. “'Bollocks to the rules! … and beat and beat—!'” (Golding 91). Jack's disregard for the rules here foreshadows him abandoning Ralph's rules altogether and forming his own tribe. When Jack's new tribe finally establishes itself, he abandons many of the morals Ralph had.

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