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8/13/2019 LOF Essay
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/lof-essay 1/2
Following Unsupervised English Boys Plunge Into Savagery
Lord of the Flies by William Golding follows a large group of English boys and
their steady deline from all aspets of ivili!ation into primitive haos and savagery" #he
word $ivili!ed$ is generally used to desribe order% organi!ation% proper table manners%
so on and so forth" #o be ivili!ed is to be polite% to follow the rules% and to at li&e a
grown'up" ( perfet e)ample of suh ivili!ed manner is the stereotypial English
household" Everything is neat and proper" #he fall of the boys* English% ivili!ed
lifestyles ta&es plae with eah symbol failing to represent order and ommon sense% but
instead degrading into ions of savagery and haos"
#he first symbol to be mentioned is the onh shell% at first synonymous with
order and rules% but eventually it ame to represent the destrution of unity" #he boy to
initially use the onh was +alph% who went on to beome the first hief of the group"
#he sound of the onh resounded around the island% gathering all the boys to one spot%
reating an assembly spot" ,ere +alph arranged the first rule% similar to raising hands in
shool" Giving the onh power% +alph $*-would give. the onh to the ne)t person to
spea&" -Whoever is given the onh. an hold it when he*s spea&ing"""(nd he won*t be
interrupted*$ /001" ,owever% the onh is later destroyed and Piggy% +alph*s right handman and longtime supporter% is &illed by the tribe of +alph*s leadership rival% 2a&" It
$e)ploded into a thousand white fragments and eased to e)ist$% signifying the omplete
destrution of the unity from the gathering it used to symboli!e /3431" In addition%
+alph*s power as hief was entirely lost% as he was the one who established the onh as
an ob5et of importane" #he portrayal of the onh begins at shool'li&e rules with the
onh used as a right to spea&% but eventually its importane rumbled literally and
symbolially as the unity of the whole group shattered and none of +alph*s power was
left"
(nother symbol throughout the novel is Piggy*s spes% at first onveying grown'
up intelligene and insight but then degrading to simple ompetition for essential
resoures between the two fations of the group" 6uring the ourse of the story% Piggy*s
spes beame the symbol of Piggy*s ontinuously presented valuable insight% with
8/13/2019 LOF Essay
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/lof-essay 2/2
thoughts of an adult on matters onerning all boys" ,e attempted to &eep tra& of the
numerous little ones% 7uestioning the leaders if anyone $*too& any notie of *em*$% or if
they $*-&now. how many -they have.*$ /891" In ontrast% as the plot progressed% the spes
simply beame the only way to reate fire" In turn% a rivalry developed between +alph
and 2a&*s two separate tribes in a ompetition for essential resoures% mainly fire" 2a&
and two others snu& upon +alph*s enampment $*at night% in dar&ness% and stole -Piggy*s
spes."""-+alph would. have given them fire if they*d as&ed*$ /3:;1" (t first% the spes
were assoiated with Piggy and his mature ideas on situations% but as the group split into
two% the spes fell from representing suh intelligene to symboli!ing the desperate
ations of thievery and ambush in attempts to reover valuable items"
#he third symbol that played an important role in the events of the island is paint%
starting off innoently enough as simple amouflage" <et even this ould turn into the
mas& of tribes and savages" (ll 2a& seemed to want from the island was meat% so he
suggested the hunters $*paint -their. faes so -the pigs. wouldn*t see*$ them oming /=81"
Initially% paint was amouflage% a disguise against the pigs to ma&e them easier to &ill"
2a& then went wild with this paint after a while" ,e built up support and hosted highly
univili!ed parties so that he and others who 5oined ould $*-pretend. to be a tribe% and
-put. on war'paint*$ /3841" #his tribe &illed two of the boys on the island inluding Piggy%
and they ated without thin&ing of anything but hunting and &illing" #he paint would shift
from a simple method of ma&ing meat easier to obtain to a mas& of belonging to a tribe of
hunting% &illing% savagery% and haos"
Eah symbol mentioned started off with good intentions" #he onh gathered
assemblies and made sure all voies were heard" #he spes offered new insights not
thought of by the boys but were important for deisions" #he paint would ma&e meat
easier to ath" >evertheless% eah symbol would fall to a more savage image" #he onh
lost the previous unity of the group and showed a good leader*s loss of power" #he spes
beame the middle of a primitive onflit" #he paint beame the literal fae of savages"
Eah symbol no longer represented order and ommon sense% but plunged into
illustrations savagery and haos"
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