Lord of the Flies by William Golding

Lord of the Flies by William Golding

Lord of the flies was written by William Golding in 1954. It is an

enthralling, book that explores the concept of the behaviour of man

when he is exempt from society. Golding achieves this by stranding a

group of British schoolboys on a secluded island, in the midst of a

war. Throughout this period the boys evolve from being civilised and

let savagery take over.

This book is well written and effectively presents the theme of the

story: the evil that man is capable of. Once read, this book will stay

in your memory for its provocative idea that humans are a flawed race.

The story takes place on a remote, tropical island. As the island is

secluded, there is no contact from the outside world. This is

significant because this means that the rules that applied in the

outside world don’t apply here. The boys are now free from society,

which holds together people’s judgement of what is right and what is

wrong. The absence of such an influential factor to the peace of man,

permits anarchy to break out.

The island is a microsm of the real world. This means that the same

fundamental activities that take place in the real world also take

place on the island, just on a smaller scale. For example the outside

world is fighting an intense war; a war is also taking place on the

island, the battle of civilisation and savagery.

The lord of the flies presents many themes and ideas. The major ones

being good versus evil or civilisation versus barbarism and the evil

man is capable of. Golding portrays that there are two major impulses

in man. Order and civilisation or anarchy and savagery. He also

implies that anarchy is the more dominant impulse. He depicts the

battle of good ve...

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...brutality and evil of man. They have just killed piggy and have

compared his body to one of a dead pigs, they don’t even view him as a

human, let alone value the life of a human.

The contrast presented in the quote, “Which is better – to have rules

and agree, or to hunt and kill?” paints a picture of the central theme

of the story. Civilisation or Savagery.

The boys finally get rescued at the end of the book by a navy officer.

Linked to the outside world it is ironic because this officer, dressed

in white is depicted as an angel, their salvation. However this very

soldier is a symbol of the evil man is capable of, by fighting in the

war.

This book has demonstrated that humans are flawed. We are capable of

great evil. This is still relevant in today’s society because, put

under the right situations, you too could carry out unspeakable

atrocities.