Saturday, September 7, 2013

Discuss the theme of civilization in The Lord of the Flies.

From the very outset of the play, civilization among the
boys is under attack.  It is represented in many ways by Ralph, by the conch, by the
choir boys in uniform marching down the beach, and by Piggy and his desire to think
things through and be rational.


As the boys get hungrier
and hungrier and begin to descend into a more animalistic state, the civilization
they've established quickly starts to unravel as do its representatives in Ralph and
Piggy and the authority of the conch.


Eventually the entire
idea of a civilized society is destroyed as the boys become a tribe of animals, driven
to hunt and to kill, as they kill Simon, then Piggy, then bring about the destruction
(at least symbolically) of the island by starting a fire that consumes much of it and
perhaps many of the boys as well.

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