Security In Lord Of The Flies

In Lord of the Flies, William Golding proclaims that “society” is a made up concept that exists only to create a feeling of security. When the boys first come together, they turn to the idea of order in an attempt to find comfort, endeavouring to recreate civilization by electing a leader and putting rules into place. However, the comfort of directives are soon over ridden by the savage instincts of the boys as they begin to find joy in hunting, killing and inflicting pain. At the conclusion of the novel, the boys come to the realisation that having laws and someone in charge does not automatically make peace and kindness, as they first thought, ultimately revealing that the usual perception of a law bound nation is simply a delusion.
At the start of the novel, Golding demonstrates the boys trying to find comfort and safety through a recreation of civilization by having laws, a leader to enforce them, and a representation of peace and tranquillity. A leader is one of the first things the boys decide they need at their meeting, when Ralph says “… we ought to have a chief to decide things”. The boys quickly embrace this idea, and Ralph is voted to be chief. The boys’ need for security causes them to draw on …show more content…
He shows that humans can create laws to form a civilised environment when left to their own devices. However, he also shows that individuals will eventually favour power and savagery over rules, which in turn affects the whole group. In the end, he reveals that order is only a human concept, with no support or reinforcement behind it, suggesting instead that it is savagery that comes naturally to people. Overall, Golding’s text demonstrates through the use of war that savagery can still exist within civilisation, thus showing a reader that a normal perception of our harmonious nation is ultimately a