Savages with No Laws

Savages With No Laws

The great Aristotle once said “At his best, man is the noblest of all animals; seperated from law and justice he is the worst.” This is best explained as with regulations and someone enforcing them, man is the best of all; without having to obey by them, we become savage and our inner evil comes out of us. This is played out in Lord Of The Flies by William Golding.

The first part of the quote can be seen when all the boys come together and elect a chief. They choose Ralph and now have to obey by him and the rules (laws) he makes. When the boys had a chief that gave instruction and told them what to do, they were at their finest. They did not kill others for their own liking or disobey what they were supposed to do and learned back where they lived. This can also be seen later in the book when Jack has the opportunity to kill a pig; “The pause was only long enough for them to understand what an enormity the downward stroke would be. Then the piglet tore loose from the creepers and scurried into the undergrowth (pg. 31).” He hesitated and does not kill the pig because he civilized and can not imagine plunging a knife into living warm flesh. Back where Jack lived, he never killed anything be cause it was against what he had been taught.

The second part of the quote is explained as without law, people will do what they want and become savage. When Jack starts to rebel and there is no punishment for him not doing what ralph says so he can do whatever he wants. This is the start of the boys becoming savage. Then Jack becomes the ruler and it turns into a dictatorship and most of the kids choose to follow him. All the rules fall with the leadership of Ralph. In chapter 11, When Piggy went to get his glasses and the boys rolled the boulder off castle rock killing Piggy and destroy the conch shell represents the total destruction of civilization. The shell was symbolic of what