Civil to Savage
Savage peoples are ruled by passion, civilized peoples by the mind. The difference lies not in the respective natures of savagery and civilization, but in their attendant circumstances, intuitions and so forth. The difference, therefore, does not operate in every sense, but it does in most of them. Even the most civilized people, in short can be tired with passionate hatred for each other, Karl Von Clausewitz.
As in the novel, The Lord of the flies, by William Golding, Karl Von Clausewitz expresses how evil suppressed by man can turn even the most civilized into a savage beast. In the beginning, one may come to believe that the novel in simply about a group of boys lost in their own adventure, but as the story progresses, this group of boys slowly lose the glimpse of the civilized democratic society they had once believed so strongly in. Golding provided his readers with evidence of this progression by providing symbols and having the boy set up rules and regulations, then having it all fall apart.
Man has created rules and regulations in hopes to control the savagery trapped within. As the boys fight for control, they lose themselves and soon begin to forget all the civilized means of being an Englishmen. "What is unique about the work of Golding is the way he has combined and synthesized all of the characteristically twentieth-century methods of analysis of the human being and human society and used this unified knowledge to comment on a "test situation""(204). The boys start out by electing a chief, who then decides to create rules, and social figures so that they can try to be like adults.
The rules are simple, keep the fire going and no one speaks at a meeting without the conch, but for Jack Merridew, the leader of the hunters, these rules are too much to bother with. He turns savage by killing without grief, and even painting himself to boost his confidence. Golding reveals the rational way of thinking through Ralph and Piggy, and the savage beastly way of thinking through Jack and Roger. Ralph may have set up the rules, but Piggy used his intelligence to help Ralph understand the means of staying civilized. Jack, from the beginning wanted to have the power, and used his knowledge to manipulate the other boys to fallow him. Jack used, his hunting as a hook to real the boys to his "clan". Simon was a boy that was awkward and epileptic, but saw the beast for what it truly was. He knew the beast was the boys own evil and desire eating them away. Golding symbolized Simons realization of this by showing the pigs head talking to simon about how it was the devil.
The conch, the device used to call meetings represented power and authority, but Jack never liked the idea of using the conch as authority, and when he tore away from Ralph, he lost all respect for it. Piggys glasses represented intellect by proving piggy with sight and the boys with fire. Ralph hated Piggys, whether it was because Piggy was fat or if it was because of his intelligence, Ralph showed hostility toward Piggy. When Ralph hit Piggy and knocked off his glasses, one spec was broken and Piggy could only see through one. This represented Jacks loss of common intellect and symbolized the separation of the clans. In the end Piggy and Simon die, Simon was brutally murdered by the other boys without them even knowing it. Roger killed Piggy by throwing a rock and hitting over the head, which caused Piggys fat dead body to fall over the cliff and wash away. Roger became just as hostile as Jack and killing Piggy provided Goldings readers with solid evidence,
Golding is trying to prove that man must have rules in order to control his savage side. He is showing his theory that you need rules or else there will be chaos and rules are necessary in order to remain civilized. Golding is also showing that morals come directly from our surroundings, and if there is no civilization around us, we will lose these values. Golding reveals how powerful human nature can be without rules and reasoning. He also represented the different sides and influences of man by using different characters and symbols. In conclusion, Lord of the Flies isnt just an adventures story, is reveals more about human nature then many of us realize. It shows rules are necessary in todays society, to keep man from becoming the savage beast within all men.
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