Lord of the Flies Paper Essay

What is stronger savagery or civilization? The human has two desires that conflict with each other: to live by civilization and to live by savagery. The civilized impulse we have is to live peacefully, morally, and by rules and laws. The savage characteristic we have is to act violently, using force to gain authority and power over others. In Lord of the Flies by William Golding, symbolism and figurative language links the clash of civilization and savagery with a group of boy are stranded on an island. William Golding inserts symbolism into his story Lord of the Flies to elaborate on savagery vs. civilization. For example, at the beginning of the story civilization is still intact, â€Å"That’s what the shell’s called. I’ll give the conch to the next person to speak. He can hold it when he is speaking,† (33). Ralph and Piggy discover the conch shell on the beach and decide to use it for organization and order. The conch soon becomes a symbol of civilizati on as the shell effectively governs the boy’s meetings. The boys create a society on the island, â€Å"The twins, Sam ‘n Eric were the first to get a likely log but they could do nothing till Ralph, Jack, Roger and Maurice found room for a hand-hold,† (39). The relationship develops between the older and younger boys when the older ones and leaders and the younger ones are followers. The younger boys emphasize the older boy’s connection with civilization savagery. In Lord of the Flies by William Golding also introduces figurative language when describing the conflict of savagery and civilization. A type of figurative language, such as foreshadowing, is utilized, â€Å"It’s time some people knew they’ve got to keep quiet and leave the deciding things to the rest of us,† (102).The foreshadowing of the possible dictatorship presents itself in this quote. Jack’s violent actions and words dictate the boys and without conch savagery has come about. For instance Golding creates a metaphor, â€Å"The sun was right and the danger had faded with the darkness,† (108). The reassurance and relaxation come back with the dark and the night. The metaphor establishes that when the darkness approaches the danger disappears because essentially the savages are sleeping. The central concern of Lord of the Flies is the conflict between two competing urges that exist within all human beings: to act peacefully or violently. In the end, civilization can quickly turn to savagery. People’s actions, words and beliefs can turn any situation into a bad one or a savage one. Savagery vs. civilization is in everyday life and it is the way we handle things that decides how society works.