Civilization Vs. Savagery
...nd no one knows where they are. The boys, isolated from society, must now create their own. The children soon realize that there are, "No grownups!" (Pg.8; ch. 1) This means that the boys must fend for themselves until they are rescued. There are no parents or adults to give the boys rules or punish them if they do wrong, so they must learn how to control and govern themselves. Their first attempt mimics the society that they have grown up with, that of a civilized democracy. A conch shell is used to call assemblies and decisions are voted on (pg.17, ch. 1). The fire that they try to keep going on the top of the mountain is a symbol of their civilized society because it represents their hopes for rescue and a return to their ordinary lives. Unfortunately, the children soon grow tired of this civilized life. They want to have fun and quickly lose interest in whatever job they are doing. Ralph states the problem when he says to the group of children, " We have lots of assemblies. Everybody enjoys speaking and being together. We decide things. But they don't get done. We were going to have water brought from the stream and left in those coconut shells under fresh leaves. So it was for a few days. Now there's no water. The shells are dry. People drink from the river.' " (Pg.79; ch. 5) All of their resolutions soon degrade and fall apart. The society gives into its more savage side and now only concerns itself with having fun. Hunting, which originally was only a practice of getting food so that they could survive until they were rescued becomes all-important. All of the children's fears become condensed into a monster that they fear and awe. They make sacrifices to "the beast" to appease it and keep themselves safe (pg.137; ch. 8). In the end, their grand society becomes no better than a bunch of savages in this lush island setting. William Golding uses Lord of the Flies to teach us that the most dangerous enemy is not the e...