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Lord of the Flies: Themes | SparkNotes 25/06/24, 16:46
Lord of the Flies

Themes are the fundamental and often universal ideas explored in a literary
work.
Civilization versus Savagery
The central concern of Lord of the Flies is the conflict between two
competing impulses that exist within all human beings: the instinct to
live by rules, act peacefully, follow moral commands, and value the good
of the group against the instinct to gratify one’s immediate desires, act
violently to obtain supremacy over others, and enforce one’s will. This
conflict might be expressed in a number of ways: civilization versus
savagery, order versus chaos, reason versus impulse, law versus anarchy,
or the broader heading of good versus evil. Throughout the novel,
Golding associates the instinct of civilization with good and the instinct
of savagery with evil. The conflict between the two instincts is the
driving force of the novel, explored through the dissolution of the young
English boys’ civilized, moral, disciplined behavior as they accustom
themselves to a wild, brutal, barbaric life in the jungle.
Lord of the Flies is an allegorical novel, which means that Golding

conveys many of his main ideas and themes through symbolic
characters and objects. He represents the conflict between civilization
and savagery in the conflict between the novel’s two main characters:
Ralph, the protagonist, who represents order and leadership; and Jack,
the antagonist, who represents savagery and the desire for power. As
the novel progresses, Golding shows how different people feel the
influences of the instincts of civilization and savagery to different
degrees. Piggy, for instance, has no savage feelings, while Roger seems
barely capable of comprehending the rules of civilization. Generally,
however, Golding implies that the instinct of savagery is far more primal
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and fundamental to the human psyche than the instinct of civilization.
Golding sees moral behavior, in many cases, as something that

civilization forces upon the individual rather than a natural expression
of human individuality. When left to their own devices, Golding implies,
people naturally revert to cruelty, savagery, and barbarism. This idea of
innate human evil is central to Lord of the Flies, and finds expression in
several important symbols, most notably the beast and the sow’s head
on the stake. Among all the characters, only Simon seems to possess
anything like a natural, innate goodness.
Loss of Innocence
As the boys on the island progress from well-behaved, orderly children

longing for rescue to cruel, bloodthirsty hunters who have no desire to
return to civilization, they naturally lose the sense of innocence that
they possessed at the beginning of the novel. The painted savages in
Chapter 12 who have hunted, tortured, and killed animals and human
beings are a far cry from the guileless children swimming in the lagoon
in Chapter 3. But Golding does not portray this loss of innocence as
something that is done to the children; rather, it results naturally from
their increasing openness to the innate evil and savagery that has
always existed within them. Golding implies that civilization can
mitigate but never wipe out the innate evil that exists within all human
beings. The forest glade in which Simon sits in Chapter 3 symbolizes
this loss of innocence. At first, it is a place of natural beauty and peace,
but when Simon returns later in the novel, he discovers the bloody
sow’s head impaled upon a stake in the middle of the clearing. The
bloody offering to the beast has disrupted the paradise that existed
before—a powerful symbol of innate human evil disrupting childhood
innocence.
Read more about how the loss of innocence shapes characters in
Khaled
Hosseini’s novel The Kite Runner.
Struggle to Build Civilization
The struggle to build civilization forms the main conflict of Lord of the
Flies. Ralph and Piggy believe that structure, rules, and maintaining a
signal fire are the greatest priorities, while Jack believes hunting,
violence, and fun should be prioritized over safety, protection, and
planning for the future. While initially the boys, including Jack, agree to
abide by Ralph’s rules and democratic decision-making, the slow and
thoughtful process of building an orderly society proves too difficult for
many of the boys. They don’t want to help build the shelters, maintain
the signal fire, or take care of the littluns. The immediate fun and
visceral rewards of hunting, chanting, and dancing around the fire are
more attractive than the work of building a sustainable society. Near the
end of the novel, even Ralph is tempted by Jack’s authoritarian regime,
regularly forgetting why the fire and rescue is so important.
Man’s Inherent Evil
The fact that the main characters in Lord of the Flies are young boys
suggests the potential for evil is inherent even in small children. Jack,
for example, is initially keen for rules and civility, but becomes obsessed
with hunting, frightened and empowered by the promise of violence.
Jack’s desire to control and subjugate proves more powerful than his
desire for empathy, intellect, and civilization, and Jack becomes a brutal
and leader. Even Ralph and Piggy, who both strive to maintain their
sense of humanity, ultimately join in on the mass murder of Simon,
momentarily surrendering to the thrill of violence and mass hysteria.
While Piggy tries to ignore their participation, Ralph is devastated when
he realizes that he is no better than Jack or Roger, and that he has a
darkness inside as well.

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Lord of the Flies: Themes | SparkNotes 25/06/24, 16:46

Lord of the Flies

Civilization versus Savagery

Lord of the Flies is an allegorical novel, which means that Golding

and fundamental to the human psyche than the instinct of civilization.

Golding sees moral behavior, in many cases, as something that

As the boys on the island progress from well-behaved, orderly children

Read more about how the loss of innocence shapes characters in

Struggle to Build Civilization

Man’s Inherent Evil

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