Law And Order In Lord Of The Flies: An Analysis

Throughout history it is easy to see the rise and fall of institutions, social or otherwise. There are some things that seem to work and others that do not work as effectively. Schools and authoritarian figures keep people from misbehaving and forcing education. Parents have a strong influence in teaching the right from the wrong. Other times institutions do not work as effectively. Leaders become dictators and destroy the sense of culture in societies and deprive people of the essential right of free speech and expression. William Golding's Lord of the Flies suggests that people need institutions such as parents and schools, to not only be socially accepted, but also for survival. Contrary to Golding, I do not think that it is necessary for

Throughout the novel, Golding shows the decay of law and order in the boys due to lack of societal influence. This is an interesting idea because, in my experience, people are capable of growth without the direct order of a superior. Golding shows that civilization would fail to run successfully without the help of institutions, and this downfall of civilization is effectively shown in Lord of the Flies. At the beginning of the book the boys followed the “rules” of their previous society that had been enforced for their whole lives. Piggy expressed this point when he “moved among the crowd, asking names and frowning to remember them. The children gave him the same simple obedience that they had given to the man with the megaphone.”(18). The man with the megaphone is an adult, someone the boys have been taught is superior to them. The obedience taught to the children is still present at the point in the novel. In addition, when Ralph says, “‘We've got to have rules and obey them. After all, we're not savages. We're English, and the English are best at everything’" (42). This further exemplifies the point that the

Golding believes that institutions are essential for the boys so they do not misbehave and to make them get along with each other. I believe that having strict law and order is worse than the mental and physiological effects it has on the world’s youth. The things that many of my peers and I experience are the stress of school, parents, and organized sports. There is pressure for turning assignments in on time, as well as the prospect of college in the near future and the anxiety that goes along with grades. All of these stressors in our lives add up, which can become too much to handle. It is difficult to deal with the expectations that institutions place on you. I feel that this process is not effective. In my experience, when life does not have the influence of institutions, it runs more smoothly. Every year, I find myself stress-free when I go away to camp for a month. The social dynamic at camp is very similar to the one seen on the island. The counselors act as Jack and Ralph and the campers are much like the littluns as they follow the bigguns’ example. However, unlike Lord of the Flies, when we go camping in the woods we do not forget the means of civilization or treat each other poorly. Camping in the woods is a change from what we have been doing, but that does not mean that people disregard institutions measures. Once Ralph was