The Deterioration of the Boys into Savages in William Golding's Lord of the Flies

William Golding wrote the novel, “Lord of the Flies” to show the inner darkness of man and the evil within each and every one of us. He shows what human nature is really like, if we could consider it apart from the mass of social detail which gives a recognizable feature in our everyday lives.

The main theme that is explored throughout the novel is how civilised and savaged over time. Golding wrote this novel during World War 2 to show that over a period of time humans can lose their sense of civilisation and care for immature concepts e.g. Jack and his need for hunting. During war and hatred times the worst of man is expressed which is what happens in “Lords of the Flies.”

The boys are on the island because a plane crashes which means they have no assets at all. Golding set the theme on the island to see how the boys would cope with no resources e.g. food, water etc.

At the beginning of the novel the boys are mature and decide they should have a chief, Ralph is nominated as chief so he suggests that they follow a few rules. Jack says “After all, we are not savages. We’re the English and the English are best at everything.” In the novel he gradually starts to become a savage and has a sudden urge for hunting.

As there were no grown – ups Ralph was chosen to be the leader which meant he had to think wisely. Whoever held the conch in his hand had the privilege to speak. The conch symbolizes authority/law. It loses its power as the boys start to become more and more savage. The light of the fire keeps “darkness”/evil/the “beast” away. They needed laws and order. When the boys ignore the fire, (their only hope for rescue and survival) they are sinking deeper into the pool of barbarism.

Later on in the book a storm is about to start and Jack and Ralph are face to face. The sky was all black and was sending out a message, a symbol which could mean something terrible was going to happen or a warning for the boys. The storm broke out like a waterfall and Jack and his tribe started to dance, Simon had been trying to war them that the beast was a human being. He crawled in the middle of the circle and Jack and his tribe thought it was the beast therefore they started digging their spears at him. I think that Simon’s death could symbolize Jesus because Jesus lived a sacred life to help others and tried to show that everyone’s heart is not filled with darkness.

In Chapter 11 Piggy is killed by Roger. Ralph went to create peace and to stop all the savageness; he accused Jack of being a thief because he took Piggy’s glasses for his own good. When Piggy was killed the conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist. The conch was the item for prosperity and now the boys were far apart more then ever.

In conclusion, Golding’s message in the book is that everyone is capable of evil and it is only society's rules that keep most individuals from acting on that evil. He felt that evilness was part of the human nature.