Lord Of The Flies, Creating A Society

The Lord of the Flies  is the most recognized work of the British William Golding, published in 1954. It did  not enjoy great repercussion in his time, but it would be revalued years later, becoming a classic of post-war English literature, which has been carried to the cinema twice, in 1963 and 1990.

It is an allegory of human nature, where each character represents an important aspect of people; explores the creation of a society from scratch and founded by children, how are roles assigned? How do you choose a leader?

The plot begins when a plane, whose passengers are children, suffers an accident near a desert island. Thus, the survivors must organize to survive and try to be rescued. On an island, in the middle of nowhere, where there are no rules and populated by children, a new society emerges. Throughout the novel we discover how evil can be born in anyone, regardless of age. The Lord of the Flies  is a whole journey towards evil, towards the different faces that human nature can present.

Children, leaders and allegory

The title of the work itself is, in part, allegorical, since it alludes to Beelzebub, to evil. In the novel, we find this image of evil in the boar’s head that children place on a spear; the head, in a state of decomposition, is surrounded by flies.

Upon reaching the island, the children unite in the hope of surviving and being found as soon as possible, proving that human beings are social by nature.  Perhaps conditioned by the society in which they grew up, perhaps by fear and survival instinct, children decide to choose a leader and they do so democratically. The leader is Ralph, who is not the smartest kid, but he is agile, strong and builds trust in others.

What could have been an opportunity to challenge adults, to show that children can be more just and rational, ends up becoming a real catastrophe. From the moment the leader is chosen, rivalry arises, from there, hatred will be born that will lead to a tragic and uncontrolled situation. Without adults, without laws, they are the ones who decide:

• Ralph: is the leader chosen by the rest of the children. He represents democracy, his intentions are good and he wants the children to stay together, he is the one who decides to keep a bonfire burning in the hope of being seen and rescued. Despite his good intentions, he always consults Piggy and ends up losing control and leadership.

• Jack: he is the opposite of Ralph, he is another born leader, but authoritarian. He is the oldest of the group, having been in school for less time than Ralph, he is not elected leader, something that bothers him. His attitude is arrogant and pessimistic, he has lost hope of being rescued and, little by little, he is falling into irrationality, becoming more and more violent. Spread fear among the other children and thus get them to join you.
• Piggy: his name means little pig, he is the main object of ridicule for his appearance and for his asthmatic condition. However, he is one of the most intelligent characters and represents rationality, but because of his appearance and his poor physical condition, no one considers choosing him a leader. Despite this, Ralph fully trusts him and always asks for his help.
• Simon: Like Piggy, he is not in good health; He is a reserved child and qualified as rare, however, he shows great sensitivity, especially, towards animals. This really revealing character, discovers the “lord of the flies” and is something of a carrier of the truth.

• Roger: is one of the characters that presents the greatest evolution, standing on Ralph’s side at the beginning and becoming Jack’s right hand towards the end. Roger seems a calm and shy boy, but he soon discovers a new facet of himself, seeing that there are no laws and that his actions will not be condemned, he turns to violence.

These children establish a hierarchy, an order inspired by the world they know, but which will gradually break down and become radicalized. Faced with fear, they do not need a rational leader, but a strong one who assures them tranquility and food.

The Nature of Evil in  Lord of the Flies

The Lord of the Flies intends to “destroy” Rousseau, who said that the human being in his natural state was kind and did not know evil, it was society that corrupted him by turning him into evil. In the novel, the opposite happens, the children are free, they are in a totally natural state and, nevertheless, since there is no society, since there are no rules, they allow themselves to be carried away by that evil nature, acting in a totally irrational way.

The other side of the coin would be Hobbes, who argues that it is society that regulates this evil, which makes us behave as rational beings. At this point, we would place the work of Golding, that despite having tried to choose a leader and establish a society, children cannot help feeling that on the island they are free, that they do not have to obey anyone.

We see that, at first, they try to imitate the behavior of the world they know, of adults. They find a conch shell that will become a democratic symbol, which they will use to give the floor to others; they will organize to keep the bonfire burning, to get food and work together, but soon this whole democratic utopia will end in failure.

Some children see a dream place on the island, without parents, without teachers … Why would they obey? Why behave according to rules? The leaders will play a crucial role and the children will choose which side they want to be on until a war breaks out.

The rumor that a beast inhabits the island will make the children fear and support the one who is stronger ; others will feel the freedom to unleash their wildest instincts. Thus, the island, initially paradisiacal, will end up becoming a veritable locus terribilis of destruction.

Lord of the flies , reflections

The Lord of the Flies speaks not only of human nature or the loss of innocence, but also of the organization of society. In their own way, these children create a new hierarchy out of nowhere, in which we see various roles that are quite reminiscent of the real world.

Children will be divided, as we do with political ideas, they will face each other as in wars and rationality will be put aside. They do not reward intelligence, they do not seek a leader who follows reason, but a strong leader who protects them from their fears.

All of this reminds us of the world as we know it, of how we elect our leaders, and leads us to question whether democracy really exists or is possible. Understanding as democracy that world in which we all have a voice, that utopia that children raised at the beginning and that they themselves will destroy.