Lord of the Flies Short Argumentative Essay
Daniel Santana Mrs. Caston English CP9, Period 1 6/6/12 Essay for LORD OF THE FLIES When man is taken or is separated from civilization, man can become primitive. In the novel Lord of the Flies, William Golding addresses what happens to man when they are taken out of civilization. The book begins with a plane that is filled with British school boys that crashes on an abandoned island. Since there are no adults with them on the island, the boys are forced to create their own civil society which slowly falls apart throughout the novel.
In the novel Golding states that the boys are becoming uncivilized when they talk about the beast and what it is, the murder of Piggy, and the hunting of Ralph. One way the boys are becoming less civilized is when they start to fear that there is a beast on the island. For example Golding writes, “In a moment the platform was full of arguing and gesticulating shadows to, Ralph, seated, this seemed the breaking up of sanity. Fear, beast, no general agreement that the fire was all important…” (88).
This shows that the boys have lost their sense of worldly reason of the world and their fear has now created the ‘Beast’ that roams within the sea. It also shows that they have so much fear that they have no agreement to have the fire keep going so they can be rescued. Later in the story the children chant, “‘Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood! Do him in! ’…The beast was on its knees in the center, its arms folded over its face. It was crying out against the abominable noise, something about a body on the hill.
The beast struggled forward, broke the ring, and fell over the steep edge of the rock…” (153). This shows that they boys are overcome by the fear of the beast they turn to a primitive state to deal with this fear and they kill the beast without knowing it was Simon. This act shows in their rage against the beast they don’t hear Simon as he tries to tell the boys there is no beast while they are stabbing him. These quotes clearly lay out how the boys become more savage like from their fear of the ‘beast’ on the island. Another way that the boys were becoming uncivilized is when they murdered Piggy.
For example, once the boys break into two tribes, “Jack had backed right against the tribe and they were a solid menace that bristled with spears. The intention of a charge was forming among them…” (180). This shows that they are becoming uncivilized because when Piggy is talking he’s saying that if it is beater to be savages than having law and order the hunters are about to attack them. Also it shows that Jack and his hunters have converted to savagery. In addition Golding describes the murderess act, “High overhead, Roger, with a sense of delirious abandonment, leaned all his weight on the lever” (180).
This shows that Roger has no reason for what he is going to do, he’s acting on impulse. Also its shows that they have lost everything that is good to man and now they have become savages. These examples demonstrate the extreme loss of a civilized behavior. Another example of the boys becoming less uncivilized is when they and hunt Ralph so they can kill him. For example Samneric are talking, “I dunno. And Ralph, Jack, the chief says it’ll be dangerous—and we’ve got to be careful; and throw our spears like at a pig” (188). This shows that the boys have no sympathy for taking a human life.
Also it shows that the boys are going to hunt Ralph as if he was an animal. In addition Ralph talks to Samneric and continue to explain, “‘What are you going to do—? From the top of the towering rock came the incomprehensible reply. ‘Roger sharpened a stick at both ends,” (180). This shows that the boys have no lost their sanity and now they are complete savages. They transposed from having law and order to being savages so they can kill Ralph. In conclusion, the novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding illustrates the boy’s loss of civilization.
When the boys talk about the beast and fear it, they become less civilized because they would stop at nothing to kill the beast and push back the time of being rescued further. The death of piggy illustrates the boy’s loss of civilized behavior because they have no remorse for taking the life of a human being. The have completely lost their civilized behavior because they hunt Ralph and they would stop at nothing to kill him cause he is seen as a threat to Jacks new, wild society. When human beings are taken from society over time they will become savage like and lose reason for what they do.
