In the Bible, Romans 7:19-21 says, “For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand.” William Golding makes this apparent in the story he created, where a group of boys becomes stranded on an island, and attempt to make an orderly society, which gradually gives way to their evil desires because there is no one to restrain them. In this novel, The Lord of the Flies, Golding uses the conch shell and the sow’s head as symbols to show that if there is no ruling power to hold the true human nature in check, then the society will become one of
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In the story, the sow’s head represents the beast, which is used to symbolize the evil in the true human nature, and the chaos and destruction in a society. Simon realizes this when he says, “Maybe there is a beast…. maybe it’s only us” (89). Even though the other children disregard his idea, he had come upon the truth: that the beast is the base impulses in each person, threatening to swallow them up, especially on the island, where there is no true civilization to hold them back. Very soon after the children arrive, the order which Ralph had set up was starting to disintegrate. The creation of Jack’s tribe only accelerated the process. Though it may seem like Jack was the leader of the tribe (he is frequently called “chief” by his tribe members), really no one is in charge. Roger realizes his freedom within this group when he hears that Jack punished a boy for no reason. He “received this news as an illumination. He ceased to work at his tooth and sat still, assimilating the possibilities” (160). He used his newfound power when he tortured Samneric: “Roger advanced upon them as one wielding a nameless authority” (182). Without anyone telling him not to, Roger was free to do whatever he wanted, and his desires weren’t good. As chaos takes over in the society, acts of violence more frequently occur. While Simon was trying to tell the other kids the truth about the beast, they fell on him in a mob, and “screamed, struck, bit, tore. There were no words, and no movements but the tearing of teeth and claws” (153). No one is there to stop them from killing Simon, and so they do. Even Ralph and Piggy, who were trying to resist the evil, participate. Later, any hope for civilization is lost when Piggy, who represents intelligence in the society, is killed. Roger, once again feeling his freedom in the society, “with a sense of delirious abandonment, leaned all his weight on
In the story, the sow’s head represents the beast, which is used to symbolize the evil in the true human nature, and the chaos and destruction in a society. Simon realizes this when he says, “Maybe there is a beast…. maybe it’s only us” (89). Even though the other children disregard his idea, he had come upon the truth: that the beast is the base impulses in each person, threatening to swallow them up, especially on the island, where there is no true civilization to hold them back. Very soon after the children arrive, the order which Ralph had set up was starting to disintegrate. The creation of Jack’s tribe only accelerated the process. Though it may seem like Jack was the leader of the tribe (he is frequently called “chief” by his tribe members), really no one is in charge. Roger realizes his freedom within this group when he hears that Jack punished a boy for no reason. He “received this news as an illumination. He ceased to work at his tooth and sat still, assimilating the possibilities” (160). He used his newfound power when he tortured Samneric: “Roger advanced upon them as one wielding a nameless authority” (182). Without anyone telling him not to, Roger was free to do whatever he wanted, and his desires weren’t good. As chaos takes over in the society, acts of violence more frequently occur. While Simon was trying to tell the other kids the truth about the beast, they fell on him in a mob, and “screamed, struck, bit, tore. There were no words, and no movements but the tearing of teeth and claws” (153). No one is there to stop them from killing Simon, and so they do. Even Ralph and Piggy, who were trying to resist the evil, participate. Later, any hope for civilization is lost when Piggy, who represents intelligence in the society, is killed. Roger, once again feeling his freedom in the society, “with a sense of delirious abandonment, leaned all his weight on