The Lord Of The Flies: A Literary Analysis

The basis of human nature is survival. Whether it is a choice or not extreme measures will be taken to sustain life. The base structure of Maslow's hierarchy starts with physiological needs and safety. When an individual is put into a pivotal moment and it comes down to life or death, preposterous measures will be taken to come out alive. In The Lord of the Flies, Golding demonstrates that these types of situations will push one past one's limits, removing all humanity and civilization.

The boys are faced with an immense amount of obstacles that they fail to conquer using civil tactics, losing their instincts of humanity. The majority of their time on the island they do not even realize how much civilization they have lost. At one moment Ralph

When put in dire circumstances anyone would do what it takes to survive, even children. The day after Simon was killed the boys don't want to believe it's true. They enter a stage of denial. Not wanting to believe they have become so barbaric that they would kill a friend for survival. Piggy, Ralph, and Samneric are disgusted with what they have become. They don't want to believe it's true so they pretend it did not happen. When reflecting on a dark night they decide to pretend they were not there, “You were outside. Outside the circle. You never really came in. Didn’t you see what we- what they did” (Golding 157). They are able to recognize the islanders, including themselves, are becoming out of touch with society. They are pushed to the break and begin to go insane. Survival is all they have in mind. Not only children are unable to handle being removed from civilization. It’s within anyone that when being pushed past one's limits they will shed humanity and do what it takes to live. To survive is a human nature; “The novel does not imply that children, without the disciplined control of adults, will turn into savages; on the contrary, it dramatizes the real nature of all humans” (Dickson). The world is extremely susceptible to making choices when put in difficult situations. When the boys fear the beast will harm them they act on it. The first opportunity they

When their plane crashed the school boys had just come from their perfect lives. Their civilization is intact, despite the minor trauma of the crash. Soon enough the boys find themselves at war with each other. Painted with clay found in the mud, killing each other thinking it's what has to be done. Ralph had picked up old habits. Looking down at his hands, “They were bitten down to the quick though he could not remember when he had restarted this habit nor any time when he indulged it” (Golding 109). This change in his behaviors is not the only disruption. The boys changed from the outside in. Biting their nails, outgrown hair, and painted bodies, the change is physical. In their minds is where the worst corruption occurs. Killing two innocent boys, Piggy and Simon, it was inevitable they would lose their civilization. They were all fighting to survive. Some together and some alone. Obstacles like lack of meat and a need for power pushed them to the death. A proper leader and an organized structure did not last long at all. This extreme need for a sense of belonging felt like life or death. Fighting to be on top and belong, “The loss of civilization can be traced through the gradual collapse of government” (Anjum). The islanders did not even notice the loss in their humanity. It being a “gradual collapse” left them going