Why do things fall apart in Lord of The Flies?

In today’s world every one has some type of personal identity, whether it is their name, appearance or personality. Throughout the novel the boys lost their individual identity, and were no longer known by their names, rather as a group term. When the hunters painted their faces and slaughtered pigs, they instantly lost their individualism, and became part of a group mentality of savagery. Personality was also lost when the twins, named Sam and Eric “combined” personalities as “Samneric.” Hence they were no longer known as two separate personalities or individuals, but rather as one person.

In order to sustain humanity and individualism we need supervision and control, something that was taken advantage of in the novel. Ralph somehow represented order and poise in society, however Jack grew tired of Ralph being in charge, and took it upon himself to become chief. Piggy and Simon also represented clear sightedness and the status of social order. Nevertheless, savagery and Democratic power were abused and ended up overriding this order and control. “Roger gathered a handful of stones and began to throw them. Yet there was a space round Henry, perhaps six yards in diameter, into which he dare not throw. Here, invisible yet strong, was the taboo of the old life. Round the squatting child was the protection of parents and school and policemen and the law.” (Chapter 4) This quote clearly describes the beginning of Roger’s cruelty towards the littluns, an important early step in the group’s decline into savagery. This is where the cracks begin to show, particularly in some of the older boys’ willingness to use physical force and violence to give them a sense of superiority over the smaller boys. Hence describing the psychological workings behind the beginnings of that enthusiasm. However Jack hasn’t yet forgotten the authority of parents, school, policemen and the law…however, this didn’t last a long period of time.

Just as a society cannot be run with out supervision and control, nor can a couple of teenage boys stranded on an island. Consequently, when we are asked, “Why do things fall apart in Lord of The Flies?” instantly we can tell the reasons why.