The theme for Lord of the Flies can be different things to differing people. Some of the themes or templates could be good vs. evil, sensibility vs. impulsiveness, or civilization vs. savagery. In Lord of the Flies there are two sides conflicting with the other person throughout the whole story, and they are civilization vs. savagery. In Lord of the Flies civilization symbolizes good while savagery represents bad. Civilization is the good inside of man to choose to live a life by rules, under authority, take action affordable, and peaceful with others. Savagery presents the evil of choosing never to live peacefully with others and not live by guidelines, but instead living to gain ability over others and operating violently. However, living by rules and authority does not always guarantee serenity and performing violently does not make someone a savage. The males in Lord of the Flies show the decision they have to make whether to reside in by rules or to live violently and gain vitality for themselves; this shows the males' change of habit from being civilized and having good patterns to being crazy and violent, as shown in the two main individuals Ralph and Jack, and the loss of the guys' innocence.
When Ralph and Piggy occur on the island they realize that there are other young boys on the island other than themselves and opt to gather the kids altogether by blowing by using a conch that they find. . Once all the kids are obtained, Ralph says them they desire a key to rule over them. Some thought that they still needed adult leadership
and asked, "Aren't there any people?" (Golding 20). After they realized there were no individuals on the island with them, they were not exactly sure how to proceed. The boys opt to still stay by previous guidelines and behavior. They decide they want a leader when they say, "Vote for a key!" (Golding 22). This shows the males believed in some kind of command whether an adult or an older kid. After they voted Ralph as chief they also agreed to use the conch that Ralph used to call them along. The conch plays a very important role throughout the storyline. The conch helps collect meetings and also allows the person possessing it to speak. This is a good example of order one of the boys. The conch governs the group of young boys more than Ralph will. As the children' good habit starts to go away, so does the power of the conch and order. The disappearance of the is shown throughout the whole account until at the very end of the storyline all the children, even Ralph, became what Golding wanted to show:
"Golding perceives moral behavior, in many cases, as something that civilization causes upon the individual rather than a natural appearance of human individuality. When left with their own devices, Golding signifies, people obviously revert to cruelty, savagery, and barbarism" (SparkNotes Editors).
This shows the decision the children in Lord of the Flies was required to make either to live by rules or to live outrageous and violently. In the end they thought we would live crazy and violently.
The two main personas of Lord of the Flies are Ralph and Jack. Ralph is the protagonist and "the agent of civilization" (Golding 206). Jack port is the antagonist and symbolizes savagery and assault. The turmoil between Ralph and Jack begins at the beginning reaching when the males vote for a main and Ralph is chosen over Jack port. "I ought to be main, " said Jack with a simple arrogance, "because I'm a chapter chorister
and head son. I could sing in C distinct" (Golding 22). This shows the start of Jack's jealousy towards Ralph because he was used to being the leader. It also shows the jealousy of man and exactly how it creates someone want their own electricity.
Ralph is a very big affect on the younger boys. He thinks in taking care of the boys and finding ways for everybody to be rescued. Some ways he performed this is by building the hearth and huts. "Because of this, Ralph's electric power and influence above the other kids are secure at the start of the book" (SparkNotes Editors). To the boys, Ralph, Piggy, and Simon are a sign of security. However, steadily, throughout the storyplot the security of Ralph is insufficient for the boys when their violent side takes over. Throughout the whole account Ralph symbolizes order until he's the sole who doesn't join Jack's group. Jack port is the opposite of Ralph. Jack really wants to have power over all the guys but it is taken away when Ralph is voted main. The violent side of Jack commences when he starts off hunting pigs and uses the thought of the "beast. " The thought of a beast triggers the kids to feel fear. The more of any savage Jack port becomes, the greater he influences the boys to be savages. Some symbols that represent Jack port will be the "Lord of the Flies" that "becomes both a physical manifestation of the beast, a symbol of the power of wicked, and some sort of Satan body who evokes the beast within each human being" (SparkNotes Editors). This shows the bad that hid in Jack port but is also in mankind. The beast is "the primal instinct of savagery that is accessible within all humans" (SparkNotes Editors), the one thing that frightens all the guys and is the key reason that Jack port gains power over the kids. In "The Scarlet Ibis" there is a resemblance between "brother" and "Jack" because they manipulate people to pay attention to them and do what they need those to do. The conflict between Ralph and Jack is the decision of getting one's own power or looking after the needs of others.
When they come to the island the males have no thought of operating violent or outrageous. They don't really know really what to do without adult guidance so they create their own guidelines. Here it is hinted that the rules the males have decided to will never be adopted or enforced for very long because of the situation the kids are where is complete liberty from everything they've known. In "Liberty" the family would like freedom from the risk they are in. However there is good independence and bad freedom. The young boys are in a location where flexibility is all around them and there are no people to inform them what is right or wrong. This sort of freedom is very dangerous because the a bit longer they stay on the island with no rules, a lot more they neglect what good habit is and finally become outrageous and violent. From the impact of the beast and Jack port all the guys little by little become enthralled by the ways of savagery. The influence of Jack causes the males to find pleasure in eliminating, torturing and spilling the blood of pets. The guys become so enthralled that they chant, " Destroy the beast! Lower his neck! Spill his blood!" (Golding 152) They become so violent and outrageous that they even defeat and eliminate some kids, pretending they are the pig. "It had been dark. There is that - that bloody dance. There was lightning and thunder and rain. We was terrified!" (Golding 156) shows the males don't think of what they did as wrong but as a game. Their savagery presents the evil that dwelt included of wanting to injured someone or something. The band of boys in the beginning of the book is definately not being the same band of boys at the end of the storyplot. Ralph at the end of the story cries because he realizes that wicked dwells not only in people but also in children.
Throughout Lord of the Flies civilization signifies good, while savagery represents evil. However, the book's theme also shows the evil that man has inside if given the opportunity to show it. The children in Lord of the Flies possessed to decide if they wanted to live by guidelines or live violently. That they had rules that they used but there is no-one to enforce it in it. Civilization may have guidelines but that will not mean that people will always obey them. Lord of the Flies implies that adequate time away from civilization can have a radical have an effect on on a person plus they might not remember how to act properly in culture. The decrease of the kids' behavior throughout the storyline from being civilized and having good habit to being untamed and violent shows that evil dwells in every individual. Man can chose to control that wicked or fall under its control as shown in the fall of the males in Lord of the Flies.
