Lord of the Flies

Lord of the Flies by William Golding is a captivating novel with remarkable examples of fallacy and symbolism. Its constant allusion to the New Testament and Biblical parallels allows readers to better relate to the story line. I appreciated this book not only because of its classic use of archetypes such as friendship and betrayal, but also because of its constant description of fascinating events and noteworthy characters. The boys end up forming two segregated tribes because of the disagreement in leadership goals and personal aspirations. Golding wrote this book to exemplify how an isolated government would not be able to flourish. On the boys endeavor to construct a new government, the obstacles they face have no remedy and they are left to struggle and fight for their lives. This shows that society can always devolve in to a primitive mindset. Though Jack’s tribe had a higher population, his lack of leadership skills and his childish perspective on the direction of his tribe led to their eventual devolution. This book demonstrates that there is a savage nature within people, and the decline of human morals when put into life or death situations. This reflects the fact that when Golding wrote the book, World War II was in section and people were putting their morals aside. Golding captures the concepts of the boys turning into savages and loss of innocence in this novel when he writes, “He knelt among the shadows and felt his isolation bitterly. They were savages it was true; but they were human.”