Authors

Class: 3E

Ryan D'Angelo Raymond (33)

Thaddeus Koe                  (37)

Shaugn Tan Sean Hon     (34)

Gerald Ho                         (21)

Reflection: How I relate my experiences to the novel

      I feel that the group of boys in the novel is very symbolic of a modern society. Many modern issues of society, are symbolised as characters in the Lord of the Flies. Because of this, I am able to relate the different characters and events in the novel, to what I am experiencing in reality, where we are conditioned by the rules and regulations of society, where we perform tasks under the boundaries of the law and where there are different systems of government. Some of us are law-abiding, while some abide by the law of true human nature.

      The relationship of the boys in the novel may be seen as a mirror to the rest of modern adult society. One may argue that our modern society is one of adults, more mature and restrained people and thus less likely to degrade like the boys in the novel. However, I feel that it is precisely the naivety of the boys that allows them to serve as a parallel to modern society. These boys, being young of age, are just beginning to learn the complexities of the world around them. They are at the point of their lives when they begin to question and understand the social expectations imprinted on them from birth. Thus, they serve as an almost simplified representation of society as a whole, having not yet been bound by responsibility to family or work, like an adult, but yet old to begin to understand at least the basic rationale behind some of society's rules. However, as they mature into the rational creature that is an adult, they still cling on to the unreasonable tendencies of a child, thus are somewhat representative of both sides of human nature. Therefore, they can be seen to represent what humanity truly is at its core, and represents its struggle. This struggle is one of rationality versus our base human instincts of survival and domination.

      When the boys first gather on the island, they attempt to create a semblance of the organised society they are used to. They hold elections for leaders, give out roles and hold meetings to discuss what to do. Modern society is like that of the boys; it understands that to reach its goal it must embrace the tenets of organisation, mutual understanding, peace and tolerance. However, it is not without flaws. Multiple parties vie for power, and their conflicts and differences can tear apart all innocents caught in the crossfire. In the novel, Ralph attempts to defend his position as chief against the advances of the more domineering Jack. However, Jack's lust for power and the savagery of the Hunt causes a lot of problems for Ralph and the boys, such as his act of letting the fire go out due to his irresponsibility, which cost the boys a chance to be rescued. This is a clear example of how in modern societies, the decisions of those in charge may be both positive or detrimental to the lives of all those around them. Countless times in history it is shown that poor leadership causes great pain.

       Another parallel to modern society that may be observed in the novel come in the form of ostracization. Piggy is victim of this. Being more mentally inclined, Piggy represents order and rationality. However, He lacks physical strength, and is thus looked down by the rest of the boys, especially the hunters like Jack. Piggy is thus ostracized from the rest of the boys due to his less than perfect grammar and physical weakness. He is constantly ignored and looked down upon though he may well be one of the few boys on the island who fully grasp the direness of the situation. In modern society too, ostracization is rampant. Women are being treated as less than men, and racial discrimination is common in many parts of the world. Minority groups are looked down upon by the better educated majority groups in many countries solely based on race, not merit. Such is the nature of humanity. While we preach peace and equality, the novel shows us that truly, we are bound to our carnal nature and instincts, looking down upon others who are seemingly weaker, surrendering to our social instincts and culling those who we deem unworthy from the herd to further our own interests. Truly, while we aim for a rational and free society where people can be depended upon to do the right thing for the good of everyone, it is shown in the novel to be impossible. Reason alone can never be a motive to any action, and at best it is the will to carry out reason that would drive us. In my opinion, we ultimately are slaves to our passion and savagery of our base human nature.

Symbols: The Beast

      The beast, also known as the 'beastie' among the littluns, symbolises the primal instinct of savagery that exists in each of the boys. Everyone has the innate instinct of savagery. Simon manages to realise that the boys are afraid of the beast because it exists in everyone. The boys’ belief of the beast grows as they become more savage, as the boys progress through the novel. The beast is not a physical being, but rather an instinct of savagery that exists in everyone. Later in the novel, the boys treat the beast as a god, and provide offerings to it. This is because their belief of the beast grew as their savagery within them became more evident and more expressive. The beast seemed to be more real to the boys as they became more savage, telling us that the beast symbolises the instinct of savagery in human beings.

Symbols: Piggy's Glasses

         Piggy’s glasses represent the power of science and intelligence in a society. Piggy’s glasses also represent the connection of rationality and intelligence from society to the boys stranded on the island. Piggy is the most rational and intelligent boy in the group. He is able to understand that rescue should be their top priority. His glasses is also used in the lighting up of the signal fire at the top of the mountain, showing the importance of his spectacles in the boys’ survival. Without his glasses, the boys would not have been able to light up the signal fire, and hence disallowing them from connecting with society. Rescue should have been the priority of the group of boys, but only few realised this, such as Ralph and Piggy. Golding puts Piggy as the one with the glasses that enables them to light the signal fire up, showing the importance of rationality in their bid for rescue. Therefore, Piggy’s glasses symbolises the power of science and intelligence in a society.

Poem: I Stood Upon a High Place by Stephen Crane

 I stood upon a high place,

And saw, below, many devils

Running, leaping,

and carousing in sin.

One looked up, grinning,

And said, "Comrade! Brother!" 

“I Stood upon a High Place” is a very interesting poem. In my opinion, the poem suggests the connection between civilisation and savagery. The title of the poem, along with the first line, is “I stood upon a high place”. This suggests that the person is above everybody else, who is sinister, and therefore means that the person is better and more civilised in behaviour. Devils are below the speaker, which gives the impression that evil thoughts and savagery are of a lower tier, not as important as order and civilised behaviour. Despite the fact that savagery does exist in everyone, as Golding suggests in the Lord of the Flies, I feel that the civilised behaviour that society has conditioned in us should take over this savagery, so that people can be organised and not chaotic. The last two lines of the poem, where a devil looks up, “grinning”, and says “Comrade! Brother!” suggests that the innate savagery in mankind is still present, because it is still able to connect with people, despite their conditioning from society.

This is similar to the characters of Ralph and Piggy in the Lord of the Flies. They are the two most rational boys of the group. They tend to see themselves as above the other boys, especially the ill-disciplined littluns and the power-hungry hunters. Because Ralph and Piggy are more rational and smarter than the rest in the sense that they are able to prioritise the right things for the boys on the island, they think they are the most civilised. They feel the hunters and the littluns have overcome the conditioning of society, and have turned to savagery, thus not prioritising rescue over hunting pigs.

However, later on in the novel, Ralph becomes excited in hunting for pigs, because he has also fallen to the trap of savagery. Why is this? As the poem suggests, savagery is innate. The man is only human, and is a sinner, like all other people. The rest of the boys simply fell into the trap of satisfying their own desires at their own will earlier than Ralph. Ralph believes that he is sophisticated enough to stay away from being savage, but the truth is, he is simply less savage than the rest.

          In the beginning, the boys felt that they were the best at everything and were the most civilised because they were British. Although it may not be wrong for them to say that the British are the best at everything, they still end up killing Piggy and Simon. Therefore, the theme of civilisation and savagery is heavily presented in this poem, and I can relate this to Ralph and Piggy, because they feel that they are under the protection of civilised behaviour, but their innate savage behaviour lurks in them, just that they do not realise this.

Poem from: 

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/i-stood-upon-a-high-place-2/

Symbols: The Signal Fire

    The signal fire acts as a measurement of the boys’ connection with civilisation. In Chapter 2, the boys were working together to put up the signal fire, with some gathering fuel and the biguns lighting up the fire. A sense of camaraderie was established, as everyone understood the importance of rescue. However, as time goes by, the boys forget about the signal fire, with the littluns playing, along with Jack instigating some other boys to hunt. The signal fire is then put out and not taken care of later on, which causes the chance of rescue to be lost when a ship passed by. The boys simply accepted the fact that they had to live on the island without any adults, hence falling to savagery and wrong prioritisation. Therefore, the signal fire tells us of the boys’ remaining civilised instincts and conditioning of society, as when the fire was up, the boys realised the importance of returning to society, and when the fire was absent, the boys had overcome the conditioning of society in the past and turned to savagery.

Symbols: The Conch

     The conch represents civilisation and order. In the beginning of the novel, the boys on the island were called up to settle in a meeting through the blowing of the conch by Ralph. The conch is used to summon the boys and is also used ceremonially as the sign that the meeting is called off when Ralph lays the conch on the trunk beside him in Chapter 5. This means that the conch is a symbol of civilisation within the boys as it is used to summon both the littluns and the biguns in an orderly manner for a meeting. The person that holds the conch has the right to speak, clearly showing us the power of the conch because of the regulations and order behind it, allowing anyone to speak in a meeting of all the boys. As the boys descend into savagery as their time on the island passes, and as the conditioning of society is gradually lost, the significance of the conch also deteriorates. This is evident in Chapter 5 when Jack interrupts Piggy while Piggy has the possession of the conch, later disagreeing with Ralph that rules are important on the island. Hence, the conch symbolises civilisation and order, due to the way it is used on the island.

Poem: BEAST by Brenden Belluardo

There is innocence inside of everyone

Youth, love, curiosity

A desire for good, for peace, for safety, for fun

A beacon of unwavering luminosity

There are two parts two every person

A perfect balance of character

Dark like the moon, bright like the sun

Calm like a clear sky, harsh like thunder

A vicious creature of brutality

A desire for blood, for authority, for power, for retribution

Savage, ruthless, ferocity

There is a beast inside of everyone

    Upon looking at the poem “Beast” by Brenden Belluardo, it is obvious the author draws upon inspiration from sources similar to The Lord of the Flies. The underlying topics that are fundamental to both this poem and The Lord of the Flies are parallel, thus this poem serves well as a comparison to the novel.

  

     Firstly, we examine the base themes present in both literary works. Both the poem and the novel speaks of the duality of man; the double sided nature of humans. Man can be both civilised yet barbaric, holding a desire for both peace and power, at times calm like the sky on a good day, at other times harsh like the crack of lightning and thunder.

   

    On one side, man is a rational creature that wishes for a peace and civility as it understand these are tenets necessary for society to flourish. In the novel, this yearning for “wholesome” principles such as said peace and civility is represented by Ralph, while the rationality of man which understands that such tenets are necessary for a community to advance is represented by Piggy. Ralph and Piggy yearn to be reunited with the rest of adult society, thus attempt to create an environment that is safe and organised, with everyone assigned proper roles, such as keeping the fire burning so as to be rescued by passing ships. Under Ralph, the boys exhibit a semblance of order and peace, reflecting normal, civilised society. In the poem, their longing for peace and order is represented in the lines “There is innocence inside of everyone. Youth, love, curiosity. A desire for good, for peace, for safety, for fun”.

 

     On the other side, man is a vicious and savage creature, bound by instincts and greed even under layers of supposed “civility”. The viciousness and bloodthirst of mankind is represented in the story by Jack and his transition from the prim and proper head of the choir to the leader of the barbaric and bloodthirsty tribe of boys. Jack thirsts for power, constantly trying to twist control of the boys away from Jack. As he learns more about the island and his position at the top of the food chain, he becomes more and more depraved, craving for the blood of pigs and the thrill of the hunt. He begins to lose sight of what is rational and right, such as building the hut, and instead becomes more and more obsessed with hunting and killing. He begins to show viscous behavior and disregard for organization, and demonstrates and irrational lust for power. Jack represents the darkness of humanity, and can be best described with the phrase “absolute power corrupts absolutely”. The poem exemplifies Jack’s brutality and hunger for control with the line “A vicious creature of brutality. A desire for blood, for authority, for power, for retribution. Savage, ruthless, ferocity”.

      Finally, both the poem and the novel demonstrate that while man has two directly opposing natures, both natures are just two sides of the same coin. The poem speaks of the civility and savagery of man, and how while they are different, “there are two parts two every person, perfect balance of character”. The novel demonstrates how man is a brutal and barbaric creature wrapped in a shell of civility with the downwards spiral of Jack from a well groomed choir boy to a savage tribal chief. His transition shows that barbarism may emerge from anyone, even the most seemingly “civilised” of men. Thus, it is shown in both the novel and poem that man is capable of existing in a state of both orderly peace and deplorable savagery.

Poem from: 

https://prezi.com/gaxy9prk1-a7/beast/

Change in Understanding of the Lord of the Flies

          When we studied the novel back in term 1, I thought of it as a more cheerful and exciting setting that the boys were in. As the boys landed on the island after the plane crash, the island seemed like an idyllic setting due to the description of the beach and the terrain. The first assembly seemed interesting as the boys came together for the first time to see the different personalities of each character, with Jack being introduced as a rather fierce and domineering character. Piggy was portrayed as a weak and gullible kid, physically inferior. Ralph was portrayed as a comparatively more outspoken character but mild-mannered, and seemed like a boy-next-door kind of person.

However, as we progressed further into the novel, I notice that the boys started to part to different sides, where their true characters were unveiled. Ralph gave me an impression of one who would think in the perspective of the littluns and act for the good of the group. He matured as they stayed longer on the island, and became much more intelligent compared to at the start. Piggy also seemed more of an intelligent character that was outcasted by the hunters because of his physical disability.  They started to despise him and saw him as an irrelevance, an example being when Jack punched him in the stomach, breaking one of the lenses of his glasses, used to light fires. Jack and the rest of the hunters, along with some littluns, revealed their true nature without the conditioning of society, when they started to turn to savagery. They killed a pig and started chanting like uncivilised children, and were not disgusted by the blood of the pig, untypical of regular children.

After Chapter 3, when tension between Ralph and Jack was triggered after Ralph confronted Jack, and later argued about their differing priorities between rescue and hunting, two distinct sides began to show up. Ralph, Piggy and Simon remained civilised but were suffocated by the strength of the other group of boys that became rather savage. One side was civilisation, order, organisation, and understood the importance of rescue as their top priority, while the other, was for the boys to get what they wanted to satisfy their own ill, innate desires, such as overpowering an inferior being, namely a pig. By the end of Chapter 5, the side with civilisation and regulations as their stand began to break down due to the amount of support for savagery, and also due to the innate selfishness  and ill-disciplined behaviour that Golding was trying to show in every human being.

My understanding of the novel has changed significantly, from an exciting and bright impression to a very complex, and untypical of a novel of boys stranded on an island. An easy-going life for the boys would be what I expected in the beginning, with the boys managing to survive and eventually get rescue smoothly. However, Lord of the Flies is very different from the expectations that I had, as the boys go through a very harsh time on the island, with many conflicts sparking up, where savagery takes over young children to the extent that they kill one another.