8/13/2019 LOF Essay

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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

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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"