A group of British private schooled boys are stranded on an uninhabited island with nothing but each other, will they be able to survive despite the troubles and difficulties they will face? Within the thrilling novel “Lord of the Flies”, the author, William Golding delivers a profound narrative about how this group of boys deals not only with the conflicts of civilization versus savagery, but also additional conflicts all the way throughout the novel whether it being person vs. nature, person vs. person, or person vs. self. The two main characters, Ralph and Jack, who represent civilization and savagery are not only the main cause of conflict in the novel, but they also have an immense effect on the rest of the boys in the group. Due to the
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The first example of civilization that occurs among the boys is at the first gathering they have together as an entire group, when Jack asks the question, “Aren’t there any grownups?”(21). As they distinguish the fact that the island is occupied only with children, the boys make use of their ability to think rationally and agree to elect a leader. This tells us that the boys believed in having someone to organize and keep things under control, just as it was for them before they became stranded on the island. The next introduction to civilization that we get as the reader is through a conch shell, which throughout the entire book acts as a symbol of civilization. We relate the shell to Ralph as he becomes the leader of the group and uses it to gain control of the boys. At the first called assembly Ralph days, “I’ll give the conch to the next person to speak… he won’t be interrupted”(33). This demonstrates that there is civilization on the island and Ralph wants to keep it that way in the fact that he is willing to give everyone an equal chance to speak if they want to; not only will they get the chance to speak, but it is also made clear that the rest of the boys are expected to listen and respect what they have to say. The conch though is not the only evidence we receive that there is civilization among the boys. Ralph, the main character, is the main representation of civilization in the novel. When he becomes the elected leader of the island, he persistently continues to assure the boys and himself that someone will eventually come to rescue them and that they won’t be on the isolated island forever. Another way in which Ralph tried to maintain civilization among the boys is through having a fire on the mountain. He told the group that their main priority would be to keep this fire going because it would offer the greatest opportunity for them to be rescued.
The first example of civilization that occurs among the boys is at the first gathering they have together as an entire group, when Jack asks the question, “Aren’t there any grownups?”(21). As they distinguish the fact that the island is occupied only with children, the boys make use of their ability to think rationally and agree to elect a leader. This tells us that the boys believed in having someone to organize and keep things under control, just as it was for them before they became stranded on the island. The next introduction to civilization that we get as the reader is through a conch shell, which throughout the entire book acts as a symbol of civilization. We relate the shell to Ralph as he becomes the leader of the group and uses it to gain control of the boys. At the first called assembly Ralph days, “I’ll give the conch to the next person to speak… he won’t be interrupted”(33). This demonstrates that there is civilization on the island and Ralph wants to keep it that way in the fact that he is willing to give everyone an equal chance to speak if they want to; not only will they get the chance to speak, but it is also made clear that the rest of the boys are expected to listen and respect what they have to say. The conch though is not the only evidence we receive that there is civilization among the boys. Ralph, the main character, is the main representation of civilization in the novel. When he becomes the elected leader of the island, he persistently continues to assure the boys and himself that someone will eventually come to rescue them and that they won’t be on the isolated island forever. Another way in which Ralph tried to maintain civilization among the boys is through having a fire on the mountain. He told the group that their main priority would be to keep this fire going because it would offer the greatest opportunity for them to be rescued.