Margaret Jimenez June, 2007

Lord of the Flies

By William Golding

One of the definitions for the word “society” as found online in Dictionary.com is “an

organized group of persons associated together for religious, benevolent, cultural, scientific,

political, patriotic, or other purposes.” The important words in this particular definition are

“organized” and “associated together”. These words denote what I would describe as a society

formed by a group of persons who live their lives in an orderly fashion, are respectful of one

another and aim to live their lives in accord. My own characterization of what makes an ideal

society would be a place where morality is valued, rules are accepted and obeyed, differences

embraced, liberties respected, and benevolence practiced - all of which is totally contrary to the

societal disorder that is presented in the book authored by William Golding titled Lord of the

Flies.

The society described throughout the pages of the aforementioned book, Lord of the

Flies, is representative of a community gone awry. A young group of English schoolboys are

stranded on a deserted island after their plane crashes. They find themselves alone and without

any adult supervision. At first they attempt to create what is a semblance of an ordered society

by appointing a leader to give them instruction and provide guidance. Ralph, their chosen leader

quickly gives orders to establish shelter, create and maintain a fire and hunt for sustenance and

for awhile it is so. But the conflicts that begin to form over their choice of leader signals the

beginning of the end of their attempts at democracy and order. The value systems with which

they have lived their lives up until that point slowly begin to erode as they give in to their base

emotions and desires in their lust for power.

1
 One can say that the society represented throughout the pages of the aforementioned

book is indicative of what occurs when moral code is forgotten and social order is lost yet others

would probably counter that it is better described as what social order should be - the experience

of having total liberty or license to do as your heart desires. Freedom defined in Dictionary.com

as “the absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice or action” is an action desired by

many, especially those who call themselves “libertarians”.

Libertarianism as described in Wikipedia.com is a political philosophy maintaining that

all persons are the absolute owners of their own lives and should be free to do whatever they

wish with their persons or property, provided they allow others the same liberty. Those who

criticize libertarianism tend to focus on issues of tradition and personal morality, by asserting

that the far-reaching personal freedoms promoted by libertarians encourage unhealthy and

immoral behavior and undermine religion. Libertarians however are aware of this elucidation of

their beliefs and therefore argue that by taking personal responsibility for their actions and

practicing good works they demonstrate an individual approach to liberty, which they assert

provides both a more effective and more ethical way to prosperity and peaceful coexistence.

The idea of libertarianism seems to work in theory but we should note that the practice of

true freedom in a society is not wholly based on philosophies and or doctrines but rather on

individual ethos or codes of moral conduct. Freedom is never free if the fundamental character

of a society is characterized by amorality. Moral codes are necessary for any society to survive

for without it freedom becomes fragmented forming communities where only the strong survive

and the weak are crushed, in other words an uncivilized society.

2
 We no longer live in barbaric times where lawlessness, cruelty and violence abound. The

world we live in today is so diverse and I hold no notions that ideal societies even exist. It is our

differences that make us all unique and our world is a hodgepodge of cultures and color yet a

common thread is that we can make it a civilized place by our actions. Most of us are taught

during our formative years to distinguish right from wrong. We are taught to be respectful.

Many of us are brought up in devout homes where faith and religion instills in us a strict moral

code that seeks to keep on us straight paths. We are taught to do to others as we would have

them do to us. We are taught to take responsibility for our personal choices and in doing so we

help maintain an order to society and hopefully serve as examples thereof. We constitute a

civilized society.

Inherent in man is the ability to make good, rational, ethical and moral choices that will

positively affect our fellow man and in doing so we can become the model society that cares one

for another, helps the disadvantaged and protects the unprotected. Like so many in this world,

the boys in Lord of the Flies allowed themselves to be shaped by their circumstances. They

allowed the hardships they faced, the calamity they suffered and their own immaturity to wreak

destruction on their attempts to form a civilized society. They forgot the moral lessons they had

been taught up to that point. We can learn a lesson from this story and it is that we don’t need to

let our negative circumstances debase or destroy the moral soul within us. Instead we need to

look deep within ourselves, see the good that dwells within us, allow life hard lessons to develop

and mature us and use these experiences to ensure that we make society fit our ideal, however we

may define it.