Civilization and Savagery: Creating a New Society

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1. Major Obstacles

In Lord of the Flies, the boys who crashed were forced to start a new society because they found themselves on an uninhabited island lacking an established civilization. However, the boys in Lord of the Flies, when given control over government, environment, and values, chose not to form an organized and focused civilization, but alternatively made choices and created arguments that resulted in chaos and savagery. While there are always obstacles throughout the formation of a new community, some challenges could be overcome to create a propitious society favored by the people. Some major obstacles that would undoubtedly be encountered while creating a new civilization include disagreements among people regarding the goals of the community, controversy in relation to power and control, and repression of individual voice.

In Lord of the Flies, as well as in modern-day society, people have different goals or opinions about what is important. In Lord of the Flies, one of the prominent themes is keeping the fire going, which would ultimately mean rescue, versus hunting for pigs, which represents the boys’ de-evolution to savagery. On one side, Piggy says, “The most important thing on the island is the smoke and you can’t have no smoke without fire” (Golding 129). Contrasting to this is Jack’s belief, and he states, “We’ll get food. Hunt. Catch things…” (Golding 30). In a modern-day society, this controversy represents how conflicting goals of different groups of people can take the focus away from actually solving the problem.

Another issue that causes conflict in Lord of the Flies and would correspondingly cause issues in any new society is argument over who should be in power and direct the actions of the pe...

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Democracy. Democracy Building, n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2011.

Factors of Change. Sociology Guide, 2011. Web. 13 Nov.

Gladwell, Malcolm. The Tipping Point. New York: Back Bay Books, 2002. Print.

Golding, William. Lord of the Flies. New York: Penguin Group, 1954. Print.

International Baccalaureate. International Baccalaureate Organization, 2011. Web. 13 Nov. 2011.

Psychological Sense of Community: 
Theory of McMillan & Chavis. Wright House, n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2011.

Trueman, Chris. Democracy. n.p., 2011. Web. 13 Nov. 2011.

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