Lord of the Flies is an allegorical novel written by Nobel Prize in Literature winner William Golding. The story follows a group of British boys stranded on an uninhabited island after their plane was shot down during WWII. Lord of the Flies deals with the issue of human nature and how it can be corrupted when one does not have any guidance. Lord of the Flies was Golding’s first novel. Lord of the Flies is also known for being infamous for its use of profanity, despite it being intended to be written for young adults.
On an island in the Pacific, there are some boys stranded after their plane crashed while they were on a WWII evacuation mission. The only people that survive the crash are the young boys that comprise the choir of a prestigious British school. The novel Lord of the Flies starts when Roger, one of the choirboys, smashes a young boy’s head in with a rock because he suspects him to be “the Lord of the Flies”.
Lord of the Flies is a novel set in hypothetical times after a plane crash strands a group of British schoolboys on an island. Lord of the Flies follows Ralph, Jack Merridew, Piggy and other boys as they attempt to survive on the island while also trying to maintain order amongst each other. Piggy’s death was the turning point in the novel Lord of the Flies. Piggy’s death was a direct result to Ralph and Jack’s constant fighting, which showed a symbolic shift from order to chaos.
Lord of the Flies is a warning for society about what may happen if humanity fails to maintain order amongst each other, as seen with the rise in chaos after Piggy’s death. Lord of the Flies is a novel about a group of boys stranded on an island trying to maintain order, however, with Piggy’s death, Lord of the Flies clearly shows that without order there will be chaos. In Lord of the Flies, Ralph is seen as one who prioritizes keeping order amongst his peers and keeping up standards within society. One example of this is when Jack announces that he wants to have fun instead of waiting for rescue.
Ralph tries to convince him otherwise by saying “We can make fire…we can find food…then we won’t be rescued but we’ll live a good life, hunting and fishing and gathering fruits-” (Golding 43). In Lord of the Flies, Ralph is seen as a level-headed and quite rational boy who seems to understand that without society there would be no rules or norms. However, Lord of the Flies also shows that while he values order, it doesn’t come naturally for him. After Piggy’s death, Ralph becomes overwhelmed with fear and guilt.
He runs into the forest and curls up into a ball until Jack finds him and forces him to follow his orders and do some work (Golding 211). Lord of the Flies makes it clear that even though Ralph may value order more than others in his society, he isn’t necessarily completely comfortable following all rules either. Lord of the Flies shows that without order, Ralph loses control and seems lost. In Lord of the Flies Piggy’s death was caused by Roger’s rock being thrown at him. After Piggy dies, chaos begins to break out all around the island. While this may not seem apparent to some readers, Lord of the Flies makes it very clear.
For example, while Piggy is alive Jack uses Piggy’s glasses for different things such as a marker in hunting or a magnifying glass to start fires (Golding 183). But once Piggy dies, Lord of the Flies demonstrates how there is an increase in destruction. For example, “Simon took off his glasses and looked at them. ‘They’re broken,’ he said in a voice of dismay that struck even himself as authentic… Piggy kicked the broken glass savagely and suddenly” (Golding 6). Lord of the Flies makes it clear that there is chaos with Piggy dead because destruction reigns supreme after his death.
Lord of the Flies demonstrates how when disorder comes into power there will be an increase in anger and tension. Lord of the Flies shows us quite clearly what happens when order breaks down as seen through Jack becoming leader and everyone trying to kill Simon. The novel Lord of the Flies makes it evident that disorder brings out the worst in people as seen with Jack leading his tribe against Ralph. In Lord of the Flies when Roger throws a stone at Piggy and kills him, a shift is seen from order to chaos. Lord of the Flies makes it clear that there was a symbolic shift in society after Piggy died.
Lord of the Flies show us that without order, chaos reigns supreme. Lord of the Flies makes it evident that people get overwhelmed with fear and anger when disorder comes into play which results in panic and violence. Lord of the flies shows this quite clearly through Ralph’s breakdown after Piggy dies as well as Jack becoming leader and hunting down Simon causing increased tension on the island. Lord of the flies demonstrates what happens when people cannot maintain some form order amongst themselves, showing a clear message about maintaining some form of order to protect the society around you.
Second, he had seen Piggy before and therefore knew that he was an individual worth killing. He also didn’t just blurt out thoughts but rather planned it so he would be able to get away with such a heinous crime undetected. Lastly, there were no extenuating circumstances for what happened; Piggy hadn’t provoked Roger because he hadn’t even been aware of his presence yet when this happened.
One day during Lord Of The Flies, Jack and some other boys started chanting “Kill the Pig! Cut his Throat! Spill his Blood!” Other boys joined in not knowing why they were doing it or what it meant, but only that the group was acting strangely and they didn’t want to be the only ones who didn’t participate. The chant continued and the boys eventually ended up surrounding Piggy with spears made from fallen branches in Lord Of The Flies and ending his life in a horrible way.
I think that this is by far my favorite Lord Of The Flies excerpt because it just shows how savage people can become when put in horrific situations such as war, shipwreck, or stranded on an island during their adolescence where there are no rules and they have nothing else but violence and death to keep them occupied.