William Golding's 1954 novel, “Lord of the Flies,” conveys the unimaginable journey experienced by a group of vulnerable British schoolchildren. After being marooned on a deserted island, they are left to found their own civilization. Golding convinces the reader that humans are inherently evil, through the development of the symbolic conch, fire signal, and beast. Through the collapse of these symbols, Golding uses the allegory of war to demonstrate how children can be just as barbaric as adults when they are afraid. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Golding says that without the civility and structure provided by the shell, fear causes children to adapt to savagery. The shell symbolizes democracy and structure. This played a crucial role in their so-called civilisation, granting the holder the right to speak and was the main source of order on the island. Ralph points out to the boys, "He can hold it when he talks." “But…” “Look…” “And it won't be interrupted. This shows the conch's influence on the boys at the beginning of the novel and helped them establish a stable society. Their immaturity led to irrational decisions that contributed to the corruption of their civilization. Towards the end, as the boys turn to savagery, Golding made it clear that greed for power led to the end of their civilization. “The rock struck Piggy with a glancing blow from chin to knee; the shell exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist. This marks the collapse of their civilization. The shell, which symbolized order and civilization, caused the collapse of society. The fear of losing civilization led the boys to do unthinkable things as they grew increasingly wild. Golding describes how, without order, fear consumes children, causing the collapse of civilization and the unleashing of savagery. While the signal fire loses its importance, the fear of permanent abandonment triggers the boy's transformation into ferocity. The signal fire is a complicated symbol, representing both hope and destruction. With faith in the rescue, the boys establish a temporarily stable society and set priorities for survival. Ralph emphasizes to the boys: ''Fire is the most important thing on the island. How can we ever be saved except by luck, if we don't keep the fire burning? Is it too much for us to light a fire? Look at us! How many are we? Yet we cannot make the fire continue to produce smoke. Don't you understand? Can't you see that we should... we should die before we put out the fire?''. This quote indicates the importance of the signal fire when the boys were united, as it was their only hope for survival. Despite being a correlation with human civilization, the boys are soon controlled by the unstoppable fear deep in their hearts. As the novel progresses, they capitulate to the wild and uncivilized nature. Their irresponsibility and lack of rational actions to maintain the fire fuel their transformation into ferocity. Ralph, though his attempts were unsuccessful, pleads with the boys, stating, "We tried to keep the fire going, but we couldn't." And then you, playing hunt...”. This exemplifies how the signal fire has lost its value by the end of the novel. Without hope of survival, the fear of permanent abandonment has caused the boys to become ruthless killers, fascinated by hunting. Golding effectively describes how the fear of permanent abandonment results in the end of their civilization. Golding uses the boy's fear in.
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