Corruption In Lord Of The Flies

William Golding, author of the profound novel, Lord of the Flies, portrays an overall theme of the destruction of society. Young, innocent, boys, ages ranging six through twelve, are stranded on a desolate island, after the crash of a transport plane. These adolescents have no understanding of imperative survival techniques and geographical landmarks. Hence, the boys formulate a government, where Ralph, the audacious protagonist, is voted as leader, and Piggy and Jack help advise him in his decision-making. Throughout the course of the novel, a power struggle develops between Ralph and the leader of the choir boys and hunters, Jack. Ultimately, a plethora of the English boys loses sight of their old, civilized virtues and enter into a state

“The mask was a thing on its own, behind which Jack hid, liberated from shame and self-consciousness” (64). In the beginning of the novel, Jack agreed with having rules and order, showing the starting point of his personality (42). As Jack evolves, he paints on a mask, representing the first glimpse of savagery in the boys, as the mask is symbolic of a shield. Jack encourages the other boys to apply the face paint, as it prevents them from seeing clearly, leading them to commit the murder of their savior, Simon. The use of face paint represent the fogging of good judgement by the boys, leading to the loss of order and destruction of

The conch shell, symbolic of civilization and purity, slowly loses value in the novel. The discovery of the conch is symbolic of the birth of civilization; however, this order does not remain. In the beginning, Ralph establishes the conch as a power to speak. It slowly loses value as Jack’s tribe had no interest in stealing the conch, instead, Piggy’s glasses. After the thievery, Ralph attempts to hold a meeting by blowing the conch, but there is no response from the other boys. In this meeting, Piggy decides to proceed to Castle Rock for the retrieval of his glasses. During this confrontation, Piggy is killed, the boy’s last hope of regaining order, and the conch is shattered by the rock.“The rock struck Piggy a glancing blow from chin to knee; the conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist” (181). The destruction of the conch is symbolic of the destruction of society, revealing there is no hope of regaining