Lord Of The Flies Disintegration Of Society Essay, Research Paper

The context of this novel reveals a truth about mankind and how it would react without civilization and the feeling of social security. Living apart from the few people who keep us in our right minds, like Ralph, the human race could easily be brought to a great downfall and the blame would lie upon nothing but ourselves. Golding knows that without democracy, dictatorship, civilization and strong good-hearted people society would suffer and eventually degenerate into a world of inhuman savagery.

When the boys first arrive on the island, they are still influenced by our mostly civilized world and therefore signs of democracy and the desire to be rescued are shown. The conch and the meetings symbolize democracy, which helps the boys stay temporarily focused on acting civilized. Their perceptions of life and civilization are not yet affected by the loss of law and order.

Throughout the novel the progression of the obsessive hunts causes the disintegration of civilization on the island. Jack s obsession grows stronger with every kill, influencing the boys number one priority as the hunt. Ralph s dictatorship is progressively over ruled, allowing the blindness of the boys on what s really happening- the dominance of evil within themselves, to increase. Golding shows that it doesn t require much to trigger the beast- the common evil within man.

The boys considered most events as games, like the hunt, kill, chant, and dance, whereas in reality these were all key elements to the disintegration of their established society on the island. Order was only ever slightly restored when the boys encountered the naval officer during their manhunt. The games they played mostly to keep their mind off being trapped on an island eventually lead to killings of each other, brutal beatings, dancing like cannibals after a successful hunt, and a savage inhuman manhunt.

Golding is incinuating that we as as a society are completely oblivious to the fact that we could break down into an uncivilised inhuman savage world at any given time. We must learn to appreciate the strong people that keep us in tact, like Ralph.