The Fittest In William Golding's Lord Of The Flies

I believe the theory of “survival of the fittest” not only exists in nature but also in human societies. In the beginning of the book, the boys just arrive the island. They are civilized and innocent. However, the sudden change in environment and their fear to the beast trigger their brutality. The kids lose their identities to survive. All people would go extreme when they feel their lives are being threatened. The kids all know that if they don’t take action before the beast come, then the beast will kill them. This results in Simon’s death. Later, Jack becomes the new ruler and feels his position is threatened by Piggy and Ralph. Then Piggy dies and Ralph hardly escapes to life. The common between Simon and Piggy is that they are both innocent

Whether inside or outside the book, the weak ones always being crushed by the strong ones. At the end of the book, it is only the strong ones on the island surviving. Jack obviously is the strong one, he has the physical power and cleverly turns the majority into his people by taking advantage of people’s fear and make them to rely on him by promising “I give you food…(Golding 150)” Jack is probably the fittest on the island. Even though Ralph is almost killed but he knows the way to adapt. He knows to hide from Jack and use the spear to protect himself, so he is not weak. In real world, the strong ones would be the rich and weak ones would be the poor. The rich have plenty of resources so they don’t need to work hard to live. On the contrary, the poor are scarce in resources so they need to work hard to get them and fit in the environment. The world is always brutal, you fit, you

In the early chapters when the conch, the symbol of order, is not broken, the kids are civilized and organized. They have different jobs, building shelters, hunting, collecting food and water, or keeping the signal fire. They all recognize Ralph as the leader and listen to his rule. When the rumor of the beast spreads, people are in a chaos and being lazy and selfish. Under the condition of anarchy, the signal fire goes out and Simon is killed. The contrast proves that laws and order are very important to a society. I think the real motivation for people to follow the rules is authority and consequences, instead of the group awareness about making the world better. For example, “All day I’ve been working with Simon. No one else. They’re off bathing, or eating, or playing” (Golding 50). The littluns are just representing the majority or the lower class in society. They don’t know politics, but only know playing. They don’t see the future, but only care about the present. If Ralph punishes the twins for spreading rumors and Roger and Jack for rebelling while he is still the ruler, I believe the punished people and the littluns would feel fear and obey him. The punishments can be making them work more hours or hitting them with the spear, Of course, rewards are also needed for the people who make big contribution. Making the punishments and rewards clear is a way to maintain authority and