The theme in The Lord Of The Flies by William Golding Essay Example for Free

The theme in The Lord Of The Flies by William Golding Essay The pristine stillness of the sandy knoll was set off by the crystal shine of the waves slowly rolling toward shore. The waves gently lapped at the pure white sands of an island in the Pacific Ocean. The only object that stood out of from the perfectly even surface that only an undisturbed course of nature could create, at first glance appeared to be only a rock. The rough spiky surface of the object made the glass-like smoothness seem like a mahogany table with a nail driven into it. If one were to pass by it on a lonely beach they would think it only to be an odd stone, but if the shell were to be flipped over, it would reveal an aurora of pinks and creams. The smoothness to the touch is unsurpassed in almost any element of creation. Many are fooled by the unsurprising outside but the few who take the time to examine it closely are treated a sight incredible beauty. None could guess that this shell would play a strategic role in the survival of a group of boys stranded on that very island peace and euphoria. The theme of this book is the inevitable decline of civilization without rules and order. In almost every thing we do there is an order and society and everyone has a place in that society. A huge example could be government where the head of government rests mainly with the president and he decides how the country should run. While on a Soccer team there is a captain who decides many things for the team and how the game should be played. Its not always a leader but it could be a symbol of leadership, a scepter is a symbol of the kings power and it granted the right to state the persons opinion. Just like the scepter was a leadership symbol, and played an essential role in the society of the kingdom. The conch plays a vital role in the order of the boys society. The sound of the conch reverberated throughout the island and soon children the thick jungle and beach became alive with running children. Ralph and Piggy are the first ones to find the conch. From the very start the conch is the thing that brings the boys together and gets organized. At the first meeting of the children who were stranded on the island, Ralph began by making rules and putting to the vote that should become leader. Another rule, which was clearly defined, was that whoever was holding the conch had the right to say anything that he wished. Throughout the rest of the story the conch is used mainly to call meetings. During these meetings whomever had the conch had the right to speak. The conch was like a scepter, which granted rights to the speaker. Ralph and Jack, the rival leaders, one represents order and civility under desperate situations, the type of society and logic that would have made the best British proud. The other leader led his group the inevitable social decline of a society with no regulations or boundaries. The wild savagery of this group was displayed in their brutal murder of both Simon and Piggy who posed no harm to any of them. Every modern civilization has a symbol of justice and supremacy. The conch is the symbol of Ralphs tribe which looked for ways to be rescued and survival instead of becoming uncontrollably wild. Jack, who was the chief of the other tribe, immortalized the pig and hunting, the killing and eating of it. When Jack formed his own band, it is a turning point in the story. Ralphs plan of survival and rescue becomes threatened and eventually destroyed by the escalating savagery and cruelty of the savage tribe. It started innocently, almost a game. Jack and the choirboys were going to be the hunters for the boys stranded on the island. Unfortunately the pig hunting became an obsession and when they finally did kill a pig with their primitive means they began to act primitively. This is illustrated by when the boys during their feast at the castle rock failed to recognize the conch as the supreme authority. Piggy said right before he died: Stop it you are acting like a bunch of kids. Piggy was referring to what we would call terrible two-year-olds. They thought that they knew better, and like most two year-olds led them only to trouble and they always think that they are the authority on every issue. That is exactly what the hunters were doing, not listening to authority. They refused to pay attention to the voice of wisdom (Piggy) and not only did not listen but destroyed Piggy and the conch. Throughout the book Ralph had blown the conch to assemble meetings. They had used it as a symbol of authority, something to give the boys a sense of order and dignity. When Jack didnt listen to the call of wisdom all order and society collapsed. The theme of this book is the inevitable decline of civilization without rules and order. In almost every thing we do there is an order and society and everyone has a place in that society. A huge example could be government where the head of government rests mainly with the president and he decides how the country should run. While on a Soccer team there is a captain who decides many things for the team and how the game should be played. Its not always a leader but it could be a symbol of leadership, a scepter is a symbol of the kings power and it granted the right to state the persons opinion. Just like the scepter was a leadership symbol, and played an essential role in the society of the kingdom. The conch plays a vital role in the order of the boys society. This story clearly illustrated the fragility of civilization. The conch represents the systematic order that hold it all together. As was exemplified in this story man can easily go back to their wild unruly state. Draft horses can illustrate this point, The only thing that holds them from doing their own way is the bit in the horses mouth. Even though this piece of metal is puny compared to the half-ton of meat and muscle, without this vital part of equipment the horse would have no idea what to do or where to go. And all order and discipline would go to the dogs.