Lord of the Flies--Sense of Order
With reference to Lord of the Flies, discuss how the sense of order deteriorates on the island in the course of the novel. Support your views with examples.
In the book, various symbols are used to represent the establishment and the gradual fall of law and order on the island. The most important characters and symbols to be considered in this case are probably Piggy, Piggy’s glasses and the conch. The deterioration of the sense of order on the island is not caused by a single event, but is a step-by-step process that is marked by several milestones.
I believe that the development of the sense of order on the island can be divided into three main stages.
In the first stage, the boys were conscious of the need of order in the society, and attempted to establish law and order on the island. It begins when Piggy discovers the conch, and advises Ralph to use it to call a meeting. It ends with Jack’s breaking one of the lenses on Piggy’s glasses.
When the boys just arrived on the island, their memories of the civilised world were still fresh and clear, and they tried to re-create an orderly society by replicating the adult world. Imitating the elections in the real world, they held an election for the chief, and to establish ‘laws’, Ralph, the chosen Chief set up rules on the island, for example, if the boys wanted to speak, Ralph will ‘give the conch to the next person to speak. He can hold it when he is speaking, and he will not be interrupted, except by’ Ralph himself. In this stage, the two important symbols that represent law and order—Piggy and the conch—were introduced.
Piggy, one of the first characters that appear in the story, is the person who was the most conscious of the need of social order and the most determined on setting up an orderly society on the island. Even from the very beginning, Piggy insisted that ‘We got to find the others. We got to do something.’ stating his wish for organization and order on the island. Later, it was also Piggy who
In the book, various symbols are used to represent the establishment and the gradual fall of law and order on the island. The most important characters and symbols to be considered in this case are probably Piggy, Piggy’s glasses and the conch. The deterioration of the sense of order on the island is not caused by a single event, but is a step-by-step process that is marked by several milestones.
I believe that the development of the sense of order on the island can be divided into three main stages.
In the first stage, the boys were conscious of the need of order in the society, and attempted to establish law and order on the island. It begins when Piggy discovers the conch, and advises Ralph to use it to call a meeting. It ends with Jack’s breaking one of the lenses on Piggy’s glasses.
When the boys just arrived on the island, their memories of the civilised world were still fresh and clear, and they tried to re-create an orderly society by replicating the adult world. Imitating the elections in the real world, they held an election for the chief, and to establish ‘laws’, Ralph, the chosen Chief set up rules on the island, for example, if the boys wanted to speak, Ralph will ‘give the conch to the next person to speak. He can hold it when he is speaking, and he will not be interrupted, except by’ Ralph himself. In this stage, the two important symbols that represent law and order—Piggy and the conch—were introduced.
Piggy, one of the first characters that appear in the story, is the person who was the most conscious of the need of social order and the most determined on setting up an orderly society on the island. Even from the very beginning, Piggy insisted that ‘We got to find the others. We got to do something.’ stating his wish for organization and order on the island. Later, it was also Piggy who