Lord of Flies

For human civilization to function effectively society must have rules, and these must be obeyed” Discuss this statement in relation to ‘Lord Of the Flies’ and identify how society can learn from events that took place in the novel. What is the message that this book brings to society?

Our world is run by laws, which are expected to be followed, understood and respected. Rules are a statement of what is allowed, they keep order in our homes, towns, and countries. We discover while reading “Lord Of The Flies” what would occur if all laws and the normal order of our lives were removed. The characters find themselves in a struggle against the usual impulse to obey rules. They begin to rebel against civilization and revert back to their violent ancestry.

Not only are rules needed to keep order in our society; they also govern what we do and where we stand. We know what to do when we have rules; it is a human trait to feel lost without rules. As the characters in “ Lord of the Flies” discovered, we are so used to having rules applied upon us. So when they are taken away, we are unsure of how to react. Piggy found the need for rules early in the text. “ How can you expect to be rescued if you don’t put first things first and act proper”? He found the need for rules, and although the boys found joy in not having to attend school. The idea of no rules and no limits frightened them.

Piggy represents order and democracy in a world (the world of “Lord of the Flies”) chaos and anarchy. He was the one who suggested the use of rules to begin with. Throughout the novel Piggy found the need to constantly be given rules, and always found the need to stick by them. Piggy dies for what he believed in, leaving his dying statement to be “ Which is better-to have rules and agree, or to hunt and kill?” Piggy was constantly reverting back to “ My Aunt this.. And my aunt that” he clung to civilization with sheer desperation. He, unlike the majority of the boys, understood the necessity for law and order.

William Golding wrote “Lord of the Flies” to produce an understanding on how political systems (i.e. the government) cannot rule society without taking into consideration the faults of human nature. He attempted to show this by giving each character a “role” to play. Showing that without rules, humans will run ramped and revert back to what they were in the beginning. Without rules, humans will have no boundaries to abide by making them show their animal like qualities. Rules and order are what separates us from animals. If regulations are removed humans will show their natural qualities, as Golding is trying to prove in “Lord of the Flies”

Anarchy defeats order in many situations that occur throughout “ Lord of the Flies”. The killing of Simon, Piggy, the hunting of the pigs, the stealing of Piggy’s glasses. Rules in a “normal world” are set against such acts, but the human instinct made these such events possible. Humans will always act upon instinct and their anarchical demands will always win over authority and laws. The traits of human kind can never be controlled.

Rules are however needed in our society to keep law and order, although we should all keep in touch with the instinct inside of us that can never be controlled. We are all human and inside all of us are emotions that are as real as the ones rules allow us to portray. Just like the characters in “Lord of the Flies” we would act in such a way when all rules are removed. I conclude that rules are need in our society to up stand the evil side of human nature and that when these rules are removed all humans will revert to their darker and more primitive side.

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