Essay Sample in English Literature: Deterioration of Civilization in Lord of the Flies

The order of life is the critical thing towards achieving a modernized life that leads to fulfillment. On the other hand, the creation of rules and focusing to live by them is a roadmap towards a self-fulfilling, respectful and willing to anything that betters up life is the route towards civilization. Civilization, therefore, is an internal human battle that tends to show a countervailing drive towards savagery and to attain civilization at the same time. Additionally, the desire to live a life of order, guided by rules and basic respect for others is what constitutes civilization. This essay seeks to point out the deterioration of civilization in the novel, how civilization tends to be built by all means possible like violence and how well deterioration of civilization occurs in the novel, Lord of the Flies.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Order now

The author revolves around the boys on the island who are said to be accustomed to school rule, respect for authority and leave by wearing school uniforms. The boys are portrayed to be living in a seemingly civilized world which is sandwiched in a brutal and savage war. In spite of the fact that the boys live a life that leads to civilization, their plane is shot making them run to England as a way of escaping war on their land. Regarding Golding (72), the conscious boys in Europe are sensitive to fight since they are accustomed to living by rules and to attain civilization but they tend to believe that the war in Europe might last for "a year or two." The savage image of the young boys who "refused to blend with that ancient picture of a boy in shorts and shirt" (Golding 183) showing that the society paid no concern for the young ones. Therefore, the society in Lord of Flies is rooted in absurd savage and deterioration of civilization.

Regarding Golding (184), "the loss of innocence and identity" is observed among the people who had spears, fierce looks on their faces and who were naked. Consequently, the looks show that they had invested in making the innocent young children to lose innocence and identity by becoming cruel. The deterioration seems to have started earlier with the statement "yet invisible, was the taboo of old life" (Golding 184). Some of the rhetoric questions suggest the quest for the deterioration of civilization. For instance, "which is better, to be a pack of painted niggers or to be sensible like Ralph" (Golding 164) and "which is better to have rules and agree or to hunt and kill?" This was later seeming to be answered in the direction of the loss of civilization whereby the passionate hunters started assaulting humans by engaging in man-hunting activities like attacking a plane carrying innocent children.

In conclusion, this essay has pointed out the deterioration of civilization in the novel, Lord of the Flies, how civilization tends has been deteriorated by all means possible through violence, loss of humanity and lack of innocence among children forced to follow orders. In that perspective, the novel has pointed out that the society in Europe is engrained in lack of humanity and is always using the innocent to alleviate its critical aims of violating civilization through savages.

Work Cited

Golding, William, and Lois Lowry. Lord of the Flies., 2016. Print: 1-190