Society In Lord Of The Flies

Whether or not the influence of society causes people to be better or worse is a controversial question. Some people believe that society’s preconceived conceptions about common behavior provides a sort of construct in one’s life; while others believe society damages one's actions. In regards to the novel Lord of the Flies, written by William Golding, this theme appears in a variety of ways. And, after considering the novel’s own quotes and multiple pieces of real world evidence, I have come to the conclusion that society causes people to behave worse. Throughout the novel, the boys’ civil natures consistently declines. However, the boys started out being orderly and manageable. While first gathering on the island, the boys declared a leader and set some

They learn how to fend for themselves and make responsible decisions on their own. While the officer came to rescue them, he said, “I should have thought that a pack of British boys -- you’re all British, right? -- would have been able to put up a better show than that” (Golding 201-202). However, while the officer is joking around with the actions of the boys, Ralph thinks back to a major conflict in the book: Simon’s death. Going back to this scene, the schoolboys let the society influence their fear of “the beast”, which caused them to essentially kill Simon. From an outside view of the scene, it can be described like so: “The beast [Simon] was on its knees in the center, its arms folded over its face. The beast struggled forward, broke the ring, and fell over the steep edge of the rock to the sand by the water. At once the crowd surged after it, poured down the rock, lept onto the beast, screamed, struck, bit, tore. There were no words, and no movements but the tearing of teeth and claws” (Golding 153). For the boys to go from civilized with a leader and guidelines to barbaric with no structure or protocol, is certainly a change for the