William Golding's The Lord of the Flies is not simply a book about out conflict between individuals. It is, rather, a novel about one's inner being. When the formerly civilized British boys of Golding's novel are stranded on a desert island and must fight for survival, many of them surrender to the "Beast." Yet, contrary to the beliefs of the boys in the novel, the "Beast", or the Lord of the Flies, is not "something you could hunt and kill" (164). Instead, it is a spirit that dwells inside of a soul, slowly reducing one into complete and utter savagery. Therefore, the real conflict on the island--as shown through the character of Ralph--is inside each boy's mind. To symbolize this battle, Golding particularly uses the motifs of the pig dance, the conch, and the people with masks are the symbols of evil.
By dancing and singing to celebrate the brutal murdering of a pig, the boys enter into a society, or even a cult, that emphasizes brutality and sadism. The first time the
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Golding might also be trying to show, through Biblical references like the island originally resembling the Garden of Eden and the character of Simon symbolizing the Savior, or Jesus Christ, that there is something more than just what man has inside of him that is required to defeat these internal forces. These motifs show the drastic change that occurred in many of the boys without being disciplined and commanded what to do. When one is outside of their comfort zone, one is vulnerable to being influenced by the thing inside them that tempts them to turn to savagery and disorder; this thing is the Lord of the Flies. Although the book was written nearly four decades ago, its theme reminds us that, even today, we must fight against the same