How Golding Presents the Decline from Civilisation to Savagery in Lord of the Flies

How Golding Presents the Decline from Civilisation to Savagery in Lord of the Flies

Lord of the Flies is the name given to the inner beast, to which only

Simon ever actually speaks. As Simon's waits for the beast's arrival

near the bloody sow's head on the stake (buzzing with flies), The Lord

of the Flies speaks to him, warning him not to get in its way or else

he shall be killed by the boys. The Lord of the Flies name comes from

the sow's head and the countless flies buzzing about it, which soon

move from the sow's head to swarm around the head of Simon as the Lord

of the Flies tells him, "I'm a part of you." In biblical texts, the

Lord of the Flies is the title of Beelzebub (a direct translation of

his name), a demon of Hell. There is a clear distinction between this

book and The Coral Island. There is no separation between boys and

savages, good and evil, Christianity and cannibalism, British and

savages in this book, where as in the Coral island this distinction

comes out many times.

Jack is the novel's primary representative of the instincts of

savagery, violence, and the desire for power, which is shown from the

beginning. When the idea of having a Chief is mentioned, Jack speaks

out immediately. "I ought to be chief," Jack says with simple

arrogance, "because I'm chapter chorister and head boy." He is furious

when he loses the election to Ralph, which subtly begins their

conflict, and continually pushes the boundaries of his subordinate

role in the group. Jack and his compatriots are portrayed as

militaristic and aggressive, with Jack's bold manner and the choir

marching in step with one another. They are the first concrete

entrance of civilization onto the island and a decidedly negative one;

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... is the conflict

between two competing impulses that exist within all human beings: the

instinct to live by rules, act peacefully, follow moral commands, and

value the good of the group on the one hand; and the instinct to

gratify one's immediate desires, act violently to obtain supremacy

over others, and enforce one's will on the other. These two instincts

may be called "the instinct of civilization" and "the instinct of

savagery," as one is devoted to values that promote ordered society

and the other is devoted to values that threaten ordered society.

Throughout the novel, the instinct of civilization is associated with

goodness, while the instinct of savagery is associated with evil, and

the latter prevails. It is only at the very end of the book that the

group is drained of savagery, as the captain pictures these small,

ragged, confused little boys.