Throughout the story, the beast, in whatever form it takes, takes shape as a small worry, develops into a growing fear, until it reaches a level almost equal to a deity of some kind. The sad thing about these children is that they never quite realise the beast is not a physical thing at all, and if it ever was, they should not have feared it. The only thing the beast was - that was truly fearful – was the hate, evil and ability to harm burning deep inside each and every one of the boys. The main purpose of the beast in this story is to display that without something to fear and respect (a primitive form of religion), then man can, and possibly will go crazy.
The conch is the very first important discovery on the story, next to the discovery of two survivors. This discovery is so near to the beginning of the book that it becomes something close to not only Jack and Ralph, but also to the reader. It brings together all of the island dwellers right from the first gathering. The boys advance slowly into savagery, and at the same rate as this happens, the conch slowly loses its importance and democratic symbolism, the boys respond less to its calls, and soon enough, it only calls Sam, Eric, Ralph and Piggy. Without the basic laws of society, the boys broke down into savagery, seemingly in no time at all. Near the end of the story, the very last signs of intelligence and democracy are destroyed simultaneously – the conch and Piggy.
Fire may be the only thing that drives some of the people to carry on surviving in this story. Later on in the story, even though fire stands for survival, the boys forget about survival, and the only thing they say is ‘fire’. This maybe the only thing in Ralph’s mind that keeps him sane, over the course of his time on the island. The hope of fire and rescue could have been what originally broke up the inhabitants of this island into a tribe of survival and fire, and a tribe of hunting and adventure. The further the plot develops, the more fire is forgotten about (except by Ralph) along with the hope of rescue. This leads to two possibilities and questions;
Are the boys so engrossed in savagery and socio-politics that they have simply forgotten about the fire?
Or,
Have the boys really given up on the fire, and are planning for a longer stay than first anticipated?
The trouble starts with Jack at the meeting where the votes for chief are cast. As a form of appeasement, Ralph allows Jack a small amount of people, his choir. This is where all the trouble started, because it simply gave Jack the chance to build up his force and finally undermine Ralph’s authority as chief. Jack himself is the first to rebel against the authority on the island, along with fire and rescue. He stands simply for fun and adventures, with his choirboys. All the time that Jack is saying things, (although it is a little forced) he is always supported by his choir members. When he thinks he has sufficient forces, he sets up his own tribe, and before anyone knows it, he has fully taken over as chief, but as more than just ‘chief’. Like a renegade chief or general in the army (much like the film ‘Apocalypse Now’), Jack forms a rebel tribe outside rules, morals and justice, whereas these qualities are upheld by Ralph’s remaining tribe. To his loyal, hunting minions, Jack is not just a leader, but becomes known only as ‘Chief’, and without a real name. This no-name appearance makes his existence all the more surreal and mysterious (once again very much like the film ‘Apocalypse Now’). Basically, Jack has totally given in to mans primal instincts, and not only has he given in to this, but he is almost showing it off by creating his own base for human nature, Castle Rock.
All in all, Golding’s view of mankind in ‘Lord of the Flies’, is one of a base human nature. The entire story is a true, and much more realistic interpretation of what would have really happened on ‘Coral Island’. The story refuses to show a very well acted, patriotic performance by these boys. Its shows much more realistic actions. The boys revert back to a savage and unruly way of life, fending for themselves, killing one another, and creating war. The great contrast in this book comes at the very end: It is the difference between the smartest and most idiotic characters in the book itself. The most intelligent people are Piggy, for his intellect, and ability to see things clearly, and Simon, with his ability to see what is really wrong with the island, to tell the beast is not a physical thing, and to have the courage to see that the beast from air was no god at all. On the other hand, the most naive, idiotic individual is most definitely the sea captain, with his belief that nothing has gone wrong on this island, and that these boys have put on a ‘jolly good show’.
