William Golding's Lord Of The Flies

The Necessity of Evolution as Shown in William Golding’s Lord of the Flies
Emma d’Aquin
Lord of the Flies is a compelling novel written to express author William Golding’s ideas on what true survival on a deserted island might look like. He expresses many ideas in this story contributing to psychoanalytic development, human nature, the loss of innocence, the darkness of man, and most importantly, evolution. The idea of evolution was suggested by “Charles Darwin…proposing that natural conditions ‘selected’ the best-adapted species and favored adapted changes” (Olsen). Throughout the novel, Golding uses multiple examples, shown through multiple boys, to emphasize his ideas on evolution, but his best examples are shown through Jack and the littuns,

This enforces the idea that evolution is crucial for survival. Early in the novel, Piggy sets himself apart as a parental figure as he “tries to keep order on the island by reminding the boys of the rules of the adult world” (Gale Student Resources in Context). He scorns the boys by calling them children after they set half the island on fire, declaring, “Like kids!...Acting like a crowd of kids!” (30). His glasses are a representation that he still sees everything differently and he sees science and society. “Piggy's knowledge and belief in the power of science and rational thought to help people understand and thus control the physical world for their mutual benefit” (“Themes and Construction”) leads to his hatred and separation from the other older boys, especially the hunters. When Piggy cradles the conch, as he does on many occasions, it represents the need he has for order to survive. In fact, Piggy dies soon after order is destroyed on the island. Eventually, during Ralph’s final weeping on the island, it is revealed to everyone on the island that Piggy does not change. Piggy’s physical appearance parallels his personality in that his hair does not grow, he still wears his uniform, and he does not lose or gain any weight. The author thus uses Piggy to show that if one does not evolve to the circumstances thrown at them, they will live a miserable, alienated life and eventually die before their