In the Wiliam Golding novel Lord of the Flies children are stranded on an island
with the possibility of not getting off. There is no adult supervision, no laws,
no form of authority what so ever. When reading this novel, some questions come
to mind about society. Questions such as what compels us to behave properly in
our society? Is it a fear of the law? How can we behave in such orderly fashion
most of the time and yet be capable of terrible destruction? These are some
questions this essay will try to answer. A question that may stump some people
is what compels us to behave properly in society? The reason may be the want or,
for some the need, to fit in and be accepted in society and not to be judged.
People know what is accepted and what is not in society. It may be a fear of the
law because people know what the consequences for their actions will be,
therefore they stay within the confines of the law. People such as Jack, from
Lord of the Flies, would be seen as an outcast of society. “I thought I might
kill.” (p.55) This quote decribes Jacks character and personality. If someone
in our society said that people would consider him crazy and not normal. Not all
people are civilized and respectable in our society all the time. Sometimes when
people act they don’t think first which is probably why they are capable of
such destruction. They don’t think about the repercussions of their actions
before they act. Such was the problem in chapter nine “A View to a Death” in
Lord of the Flies. The boys think that Simon is the beast so they kill him not
knowing who it is. Jack shouts, “Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his
blood!” (P.167) By Jack saying this you know he is not thinking about the
outcome of his actions. Another good quote that shows this is in chapter five
when Ralph says, ”Things are breaking up. I don’t know why. We began well,
we were happy.” (P.89) This shows that they didn’t plan for the worst. If
they did plan than maybe things would be better. The situations that people are
in would also affect the way people think, or if they think at all. In the
situation with Simon’s death the boys were too hysterical to think things
through rationally. Questions such as why do we behave the way we so in society
and what makes us behave orderly most of the time and yet be capable of
destruction are difficult to answer. But when it comes down to it, simple things
like people not thinking that makes them capable of destruction. And its peoples
want for acceptance in society that makes them act the way they do. Examples of
these answers are in Lord of the Flies. When it comes down to it humans are
animals, and sometimes we act like our ancestors for the simple fact that we are
animals.