How They Lost Civilization
Will Durant, mostly known for his book The Story of Civilization once said: “Civilization begins with order, grows with liberty, and dies with chaos.”. Throughout Lord of the Flies, Golding tells a story of the conflict for power between boys trapped in an island. In the novel Lord of the Flies, William Golding uses (1) the conch, (2) Piggy’s spectacles, and the character (3) Ralph to advance the theme that humans tend to become uncivilized by their nature. William Golding uses the conch as a symbol of civilization and with the conch he shows the turning point from civilized to savage. At the beginning of the novel the boys use the conch to call assemblies, and to have the right to speak. We understand this from Ralph’s speech in an assembly: “I’ll give the conch to the next person to speak. He can hold it when he’s speaking.” (Golding 31). This rule shows democracy, the first necessity for a civilized society. Also, Piggy was a major symbol of human development and towards the end of the book the conch is shattered into pieces during Piggy’s murder. “The rock struck Piggy a glancing blow …show more content…
Golding uses these symbols to show how people lose their civilized sides by their nature. He uses these symbols to advance this theme by showing their transitions throughout the novel. Each symbol represents civilization and order at the beginning of the book and the reader sees how the boys obey them. However, towards the end of the book the reader starts to see how they are either destroyed or changed to become uncivilized. Golding reveals what many experiments during the time tried to prove: human nature wants to become savage. When we look back at history, we see many examples of savagery when there wasn’t an authority. So, if we were in the same situation, would we become savages
Will Durant, mostly known for his book The Story of Civilization once said: “Civilization begins with order, grows with liberty, and dies with chaos.”. Throughout Lord of the Flies, Golding tells a story of the conflict for power between boys trapped in an island. In the novel Lord of the Flies, William Golding uses (1) the conch, (2) Piggy’s spectacles, and the character (3) Ralph to advance the theme that humans tend to become uncivilized by their nature. William Golding uses the conch as a symbol of civilization and with the conch he shows the turning point from civilized to savage. At the beginning of the novel the boys use the conch to call assemblies, and to have the right to speak. We understand this from Ralph’s speech in an assembly: “I’ll give the conch to the next person to speak. He can hold it when he’s speaking.” (Golding 31). This rule shows democracy, the first necessity for a civilized society. Also, Piggy was a major symbol of human development and towards the end of the book the conch is shattered into pieces during Piggy’s murder. “The rock struck Piggy a glancing blow …show more content…
Golding uses these symbols to show how people lose their civilized sides by their nature. He uses these symbols to advance this theme by showing their transitions throughout the novel. Each symbol represents civilization and order at the beginning of the book and the reader sees how the boys obey them. However, towards the end of the book the reader starts to see how they are either destroyed or changed to become uncivilized. Golding reveals what many experiments during the time tried to prove: human nature wants to become savage. When we look back at history, we see many examples of savagery when there wasn’t an authority. So, if we were in the same situation, would we become savages