The Decline in Order and Civilization

The Decline in Order and Civilization

In both real life and fiction, without authority the world would fall apart. This is evident in the novel Lord of the Files by William Golding. The gradual decline in order and civilization starts the minute the boys arrive on the island. In this novel there are hints that their attempts to create order will fail, partial destruction of society, and they experience barbaric chaos, this essay will demonstrate how these factors brought upon the decline in order and civilization.

Secondly, partial destruction of their society is evident, illustrating the gradual decline in order and civilization. The symbolism of the gradual breaking of Piggy's glasses is an example of partial destruction. This is because the glasses represent authority and intellectual thinking, and throughout the novel, when the glasses become more broken, it seems as if authority and intellectual thinking is declining. "Ralph made a step forward and Jack smacked Piggy's head. Piggy's glasses flew off and tinkled on the rocks"(Page 75). This is when Jack semi-brakes Piggy's glasses, at this point in the story; order and civilization is declining. This connects the symbolism of Piggy's glasses to authority and intellectual thinking. Next, the fire burning half of the island also represents partial destruction of society. They are beginning to become more irresponsible which results in this fire. "As they watched, a flash of fire appeared at the root of one wisp, and then smoke thickened" (Page 44). This is at the start of the fire, and it quickly catches half of the island on fire. Also, the killing of the sow represents partial destruction of society. This is because

the killing of the sow is the turning point for the boys, in which the turning point is that they actually kill a pig, and this pig means even more because it is a female pig who probably had babies. And if you're willing to kill a mother and it's babies, you're willing to kill anything....