Lord of Anarchy
Society is a fragile thing. Without all parties agreeing to a way of life, chaos ensues. William Golding understood and this and tried to present it to a new audience with his novel, Lord of the Flies. The novel tells the story of a group of British schoolboys stranded on a tropical island. They must do their best to re-establish a society, despite all of the trials they must endure. Through the use of various story elements, Golding develops the idea that without society’s rigid rules, anarchy and savagery will come to light. Golding chose to set his novel on a remote, tropical island. This is important when understanding how a group of children could fall to such despicable lengths. First, by having the island be in the …show more content…
THe conch becomes a symbol to the boys of leadership; since Ralph found it and blew it, he is their chief. However, to the reader, the conch comes to represent so much more. Not only does it denote the leader, but during the tribal meetings, whoever holds the conch gets to speak and the others must listen. It symbolizes law and order, the rules this new society is creating for themselves, and the agreement that the members of this society will follow those rules. Later, as Jack begins to openly defy those rules, Piggy asks Ralph to blow the conch and summon the dispersed group back. Ralph refuses stating that if he were to blow it and no one came back, the power of law and order would be broken. After Simon’s death and Jack’s declaration as the true island chief, Ralph ventures to the other side of island to confront Jack and try to reassert order. The conch is destroyed when Jack’s band attacks. This destruction is also symbolic, with the last symbol of rule destroyed, the island has truly descended into anarchy and …show more content…
As a mini-war breaks out on the island, the reader can’t help but feel pity for the boys. They are children after all and don’t know better. They have committed atrocities, but those can almost be written off as boys misbehavior gone unchcked. It isn’t until rescue finally comes to the island, in the shape of a British naval officer, that the reader understands the horrors of anarchy are larger than the island. The naval officer represents man’s world, the adult world, and yet he completely misses the trauma these children have gone through. He is too busy watching his warship, ready to get back to the battles at hand, to see that the boy’s have slid too far into savagery to ever come back. When they begin to cry at the sight of the first real authority, the officer turns from them, instead focusing on his selfish desires. Throughout the novel the boys have wished for adults to save them, but when they finally do, Ralph realizes that adults are just grown up versions of Jack
Society is a fragile thing. Without all parties agreeing to a way of life, chaos ensues. William Golding understood and this and tried to present it to a new audience with his novel, Lord of the Flies. The novel tells the story of a group of British schoolboys stranded on a tropical island. They must do their best to re-establish a society, despite all of the trials they must endure. Through the use of various story elements, Golding develops the idea that without society’s rigid rules, anarchy and savagery will come to light. Golding chose to set his novel on a remote, tropical island. This is important when understanding how a group of children could fall to such despicable lengths. First, by having the island be in the …show more content…
THe conch becomes a symbol to the boys of leadership; since Ralph found it and blew it, he is their chief. However, to the reader, the conch comes to represent so much more. Not only does it denote the leader, but during the tribal meetings, whoever holds the conch gets to speak and the others must listen. It symbolizes law and order, the rules this new society is creating for themselves, and the agreement that the members of this society will follow those rules. Later, as Jack begins to openly defy those rules, Piggy asks Ralph to blow the conch and summon the dispersed group back. Ralph refuses stating that if he were to blow it and no one came back, the power of law and order would be broken. After Simon’s death and Jack’s declaration as the true island chief, Ralph ventures to the other side of island to confront Jack and try to reassert order. The conch is destroyed when Jack’s band attacks. This destruction is also symbolic, with the last symbol of rule destroyed, the island has truly descended into anarchy and …show more content…
As a mini-war breaks out on the island, the reader can’t help but feel pity for the boys. They are children after all and don’t know better. They have committed atrocities, but those can almost be written off as boys misbehavior gone unchcked. It isn’t until rescue finally comes to the island, in the shape of a British naval officer, that the reader understands the horrors of anarchy are larger than the island. The naval officer represents man’s world, the adult world, and yet he completely misses the trauma these children have gone through. He is too busy watching his warship, ready to get back to the battles at hand, to see that the boy’s have slid too far into savagery to ever come back. When they begin to cry at the sight of the first real authority, the officer turns from them, instead focusing on his selfish desires. Throughout the novel the boys have wished for adults to save them, but when they finally do, Ralph realizes that adults are just grown up versions of Jack