The Lord of the Flies: A Study of Chaos and Civilization

This essay delves into William Golding's 'Lord of the Flies,' exploring the central theme of societal breakdown and the consequences of lacking rules and order. The essay examines how the group of British boys stranded on a mysterious island devolves into chaos, highlighting the flawed nature of humanity and its capacity for savagery. It analyzes key instances within the novel, such as the boys' fear, the emergence of the 'Beast,' and the influence of characters like Jack and Ralph. The essay references Sigmund Freud's ideas on civilization and the repression of desires, arguing that the novel reflects how societal structures are fragile and can be destroyed by the evil within humans. Furthermore, it discusses the impact of irrational behavior, loss of identity, and the corruption of power, ultimately concluding that 'Lord of the Flies' effectively portrays how the absence of rules leads to the disintegration of society and the descent into chaos, emphasizing the importance of order and the preservation of humanity.

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Author Note
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The Lord of the Flies demonstrates that without order and rules, society
will dissolve in a state of chaos
The Lord of the Flies is a novel which was written in the year 1954 by Nobel Prize
winning British author William Golding. The novel tells the readers the story of a group of
British boys who gets stranded on a mysterious island themselves and how their failure to
govern themselves leads to the disastrous consequences in the novel itself. Therefore, the
novel serves the purpose of telling the readers to obey the rules and the laws, without which,
the society itself will dissolve into a state of chaos itself.
“What are we? Humans? Or animals? Or savages?” (Golding:79)
There are several instances in the novel which supports the thesis statements that are
presented in the article itself. The author has focuses on the flawed nature of the human
beings and the very flawed nature of the humans can lead to state of chaos which ultimately
dissolves the society itself. This is seen in the way in which the boys stranded on the island
themselves (Rosenfield:100). As it is seen by the readers, the boy’s fear of being stranded

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into the mysterious Pacific Island causes them to ultimately digress into all forms of
savagery. Hence, it is the elements of fear which the author focuses on the story itself. The
author tells the readers that the element of fear, power and the loss of identity can ultimately
lead to the dissolution of the society in the novel itself. The fear in this case is represented in
the form of the “Beast”, the unseen dangerous creature. It is the fear for the beast which turns
the civilized British boys into developing such cannibalistic attitudes themselves. The actions
which they therefore indulge themselves into is the indication of the state of chaos which the
society itself develops into a state if chaos itself.
“The thing is - fear can't hurt you any more than a dream.” (Golding:90)
In the novel, Golding emphasizes on the fragile structures of the society as well the
civilization itself. The novel itself is an account of the civilized nature of the society turning
into a savagery due to the actions of the boys especially Jack himself. It is seen in the novel
how Jack becomes savage by forming his own groups and involving themselves in the
cannibalistic activities by sacrificing pigs and other animals to the “beast” whom they are
afraid of (Fitzgerald:88). The “Beast” is a reflection of the fear of the boys which turns them
into such savages, and killing each other in the novel. The theme reflects the statement of
Sigmund Freud, who had stated that civilizations and society only exists today due to the
human capacity of repressing their desires. This thought is reflected in the novel when the
author himself says that societies and civilizations are actually a means of hiding the evil
which exists between the human beings themselves. The author states that the humans hide
the evil in civilized manner in the society and it is this same evil which can destroy the
civilizations and dissolve society, thereby creating chaos in the word itself.
“Maybe there is a beast… maybe it's only us.” (Golding:80)

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Chaos itself plays an important role among the characters in the novel also. In this
case, the author William Golding has given a detailed description of the wats chaos can cause
the civilized human beings to unleash their dark side (Rosenfield: 100). This is evidenced in
the case of the boys who were stranded on the island especially Jack and Roger. The beast
turns out to be imaginary in nature, however it is the different perceptions of the beast in the
minds of the characters which leads to more chaos in the island and the destruction of the
society which the boys had developed among themselves (Spitz: 33). The fear of the beast
causes the boys to lose their identities and become more corrupted in nature due to the fear
and chaos which prevails among them. This corruption and the loss of the identity of the
characters also causes them to lose their humanity. This corruption and the gaining of power
can be seen in the characters of Jack and Ralph. Jack’s hunt and kill technique and his corrupt
nature leads to him gaining power going separate ways from the fair-mindedness of Ralph
himself (Rosenfield: 100). All of these factors ultimately point to the problem of chaos
dissolving the society in the absence of the rules and the regulations in the society itself
(Rosenfield:100). Another important factor of the novel is the irrational behavior of the
individuals which the readers get to be a witness in the novel itself. This is further catapulted
by the fear of the beast, which makes the boys reject the rule of fair-minded Ralph to that of
aggressive minded Jack. Jack’s corrupted nature in addition turns the rests of the characters in
the novel as corrupted as himself, which ultimately leads to the destruction of the society
thereby turning it into chaos (Fitzgerald:80).
Thus, from the above discussions, it can be stated that The Lord of the Flies indeed
successfully manages to portray the way that lack of rules and order in the society turns the
society in to chaos itself. This is what happens to the characters who gets struck in the island
in the novel itself. The author successfully manages to portray the way in which the loss of

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identity and the corruption of power in the society can cause the individuals to lose their
humanity and become mindless cannibals themselves.
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Reference List
Fitzgerald, John F., and John R. Kayser. "Golding's" Lord of the Flies": Pride as Original
Sin." Studies in the Novel 24.1 (1992): 78-88.
Golding, William. "Lord of the Flies. 1954." New York: Berkley (1959).
Golding, William. Lord of the Flies. Penguin, 1987.
Reiff, Raychel Haugrud. William Golding: Lord of the Flies. Marshall Cavendish, 2010.
Rosenfield, Claire. "‘Men of a Smaller Growth’: A Psychological Analysis of William
Golding’s Lord of the Flies." Literature and Psychology 11.4 (1961): 93-101.
Spitz, David. "Power and Authority: An Interpretation of Golding's" Lord of the Flies"." The
Antioch Review 30.1 (1970): 21-33.