Society And Authority In Lord Of The Flies By William Golding

Society and Authority
Humans have grown to live in a structure of societal order that almost all have known their entire life, but in the right situations, a side of humans little have ever seen can be frightfully brought to life. In William Golding’s Lord of The Flies, a group of boys is stranded on a remote island with no adult authority in sight. What starts as fun and games quickly turns into a fight for survival, as the boys quickly turn savage and break any remnant of order they may have once followed, and ends with the blood of two boys on their hands. The boy's savagery on the island is brought forth by the environment they find themselves in. In the second world war, many soldiers and civilians lost their lives in the bloody battles

However, one thing not mentioned is a clear example of a boy who refused this savagery and violence to the very end. This boy was named Ralph. He was the leader of the group of boys and used his power to make an attempt to make peace and order out of the situation. But after a while, the fear of a supposed beast and the heat of the island made some turn to hunting as a means of living and created their own, more savage tribe. In the end, Ralph is left running for his life from the tribe after they kill the last person left on his side and he is next in line to meet that same fate, “The seconds lengthened. Ralph was looking straight into the savage's eyes. Don't scream. You'll get back. Now he's seen you. He's making sure. A stick sharpened. Ralph screamed, a scream of fright and anger and desperation. His legs straightened, the screams became continuous and foaming” (Golding Lord 200). While the others had given into the island and become savage, Ralph was left, and he still wanted order, unlike the others. This proves that not everyone on that island was so easily able to give in, and Ralph stood his ground. He listened to his heart and his mind, which told him that order was the only way to keep everyone on the island sane. He was right, but without adults to keep everything in order, the children were led to follow a boy who had fully given in and become savage. Lack of authority in a troubling situation leads vulnerable people, especially children, to do horrible actions. In order for the number of these savage children to diminish, we must help children in need be taught what is right from wrong and how to handle tough situations. Then, and only then, can we restore savagized children to who they once