The conch is a very big symbol of power. It shows authority within their group. It also could show order and stability. Eventually, no one really cared about the blowing of the conch. The conch was last used as a battle signal, and when shell broke, it seemed as though everything turned into complete chaos. Whoever held the shell had the chance of speaking and giving their opinions. Piggy, “the ‘adult’ the boys so desperately need, disguises himself impenetrably and there is no hope of his being recognized”(Reilly 144). But, the boys would laugh at the idea of taking orders from Piggy (Reilly 142). Lord of the Flies clearly defines society as being shaped by the individual’s ethical nature not by what political system is intact. Any sanction of people or land may attempt to establish a type of government or monarchy. The government or political system tries to shape society how the leaders see fit, but it will never work out unless the people are willing to abide by the rules and regulations. Maturity plays a large role in society and as well as Golding creates it in his book. For instance, the children would get sidetracked or bored with the dictatorship, especially the followers of Jack and Ralph and didn’t appreciate the order nor understanding of how it could help them in the future. Some of the different functions of the island’s system included the signal fire, hunting, and the assemblies. Each described above are examples of how the society was affected by the nature of the children (the immaturity of the children in each case). In the book there was a cycle of man's rise to power, and his expected fall from that power. The Lord Of The Flies symbolizes this fall in different ways. One minute it was a pig running freely around the island and the next the pig is a prisoner, and finally the end of its freedom and the release of its life. The boys had their say in each of the matters, but as time progressed it seemed as though they kept quiet, in fear that Jack would retaliate against them.
An airplane crash-landed on a tropical island leaving only a group of children as survivors, “the contemporary world’s symbol of innocence” (Coskren 255). Having these children on a tropical island with no one to teach them right from wrong should declare them innocent. But Claire Rosenfield believes that the narrative follows the children’s gradual return to the amorality of childhood, a non-innocence that makes them small savages (Rosenfield 261). The lack of grown-ups really made this impact difficult because the grown ups would have maintained society’s order and enforced it among the children as they typically do in a civilized society. Basic wildness is the theme of this book (Epstein 279). It is a struggle between Ralph and Jack, the young boys, who do not seem to have a sense of direction on how they should live their lives on the island, their fear against a ferocious beast, or whether they should be on the side of good or evil. The boys often imagine that there is a beast in the forest; the beast turns out to be the boys’ worst enemy even though it never really exists. The beast turns out to be the boys themselves. This is a symbol of innocence in a matter of inner fear. They are all scared the beast will kill them, but they end up hurting or killing one another just by defending themselves from the so-called “beast.”(Golding) “If anything were to go wrong, as it tragically did, it could only come from within; the only enemy of man is himself”(Spitz 23-24). The first sign of the beast was when the boys were first scared. When the little boy told the rest of the boys about the “snake-thing” he saw in the woods and refers to it as the “beastie.”(Golding) None of the boys really believe him, but in all their minds it gets them thinking and worrying about what’s on the island, and if a beast really exists. If the boys hear a noise in the woods or see something wrong that scares them they believe it to be the beast. This frightening beast works the boys up so much that their primary goal is to kill it. In the end they kill one another, and finally they realize that they were running from themselves. The beast never existed anywhere, but in their minds. The beast is a representation of the boys themselves, and it ends up being their worst fear knot even knowing its existence. David Spitz gives an example of ho the boys do not want the truth to be revealed to them. Spitz believes they cannot handle the truth. “Simon sees him and understands; he knows that ‘the beast was harmless and horrible; and the news must reach the others as soon as possible.’ Like Moses, then, he comes down from the mountain bearing the truth-which in Simon’s case is that the beast is man himself, the boys’ (and man’s) own natures. But when he comes out of the darkness, bringing the truth, he is not heard-for what ordinary man can live with so terrible an understanding? Like Jesus, he is killed…. (Spitz 25) Coskren understands how Golding use symbolism in this book and oddly depicts the wildness of the boys. For example, he says, “Ralph weeps for an innocence that man once possessed; he laments the loss of goodness, and this is not some vague goodness, but the palpable goodness in his ‘true, wise friend’ (Coskren 254).” If Ralph shows no innocence or goodness throughout the story, why does he sob at the end of the story for the “end of innocence?” Coskren also explains how Golding uses adjectives to indicate an ordered universe, such as the storm after Simon’s death. He states, “If William Gloding’s universe is ‘a cruel and irrational chaos,’ he has certainly chosen most inappropriate words to describe it (Coskren 255).”
Everyone, at one time or another has dreamed of running away to a deserted island to get away from the real world. But in William Golding's Lord of the Flies perceives a fantasy world we only dream about and bring it to reality. When the dream finally comes true for a group of English boys, things don't actually turn out as glorious as they once imagined. Human nature went into effect and let evil run wild. This could have been one of the best argumentative points a person had to give in order to grasp the terminology of how evil works. In the end good surpasses evil and it cured the boys from he wrong temptations. Hence, evil does reside in the darkness of everyone's soul, but being prepared to watch out for evil and shove it back into its shadowy corners and when it strikes it is something we all can conquer. Ralph was one of the strongest and held on until the end. If you understood the key events, then you know how evil is inherent in human nature and should be aware of it.
