Ethical Values in a Primitive Society (Lord of the Flies Book Analysis)

In our lives, do we act upon our morals? Or do we base what is right and wrong in the society we live in? Thousands of years have passed since society has been free of government and able to act on its own morals. How would we act under our own morals? What would we sacrifice to survive, our morals, or our health? Through both Ralph and Jack, the author of Lord of the Flies demonstrates the degradation of ethical standards within a society over time when placed in a primal and primitive situation. Throughout the novel, we see boys spiral down a path of savagery, foregoing any strong virtuous standard. 

In the novel, we see Jack change from a kind boy, to a savage and cruel leader, and along with his descent into madness, we see his ethical and moral boundary change to meet his need to survive. One example of Jack starting to forgo his standards is when they need to start a fire and Jack says to Piggy, “His specs – use them as burning glasses!” (Golding 40) Through this quote, one may see this as a simple means to an end to help the group but in reality, it begins Jack’s trend of doing things in a selfish manner as seen in the quote. Beyond this, Jack’s sacrifice of Piggy’s glasses, which is very important to him, demonstrates the sacrifice of Jack’s ideals for his own gain, and in this case, survival. In an instance in which Jack’s instincts for survival take over and he forgoes the morals that he once held, Jack and his tribe discuss the death of the beast, he mumbles, “In the silence that followed, each savage flinched away from his individual memory. ‘No! How could we--kill--it?’ Half-relieved, half-daunted by the implication of further terrors, the savages murmured again.”(Golding 160) In this quote, Jack is denying the immoral action that he has committed, and to justify it, he decided to plunge further into his primal nature. While Jack is denying the murder of Simon, which is a large moral wrong, the more egregious crime yet, is Jack accepting and not recognizing the thoughts of others in his tribe and deterring down into the pit that he falls into. While Jack’s unethical wrongs are shown, the standards of what he is willing to do to survive are lowered and lowered until he has completely foregone his thoughts and just standards of the first days on the island.

On the other hand, Ralph is a polar opposite figure to Jack but results in prioritizing survival over what he thinks is right which can also be seen in Jack as stated before. When Ralph realized that he had helped to commit the murder of Simon, he mumbled, “At last Ralph stopped. He was shivering. ‘Piggy.’ ‘Uh?’ ‘That was Simon.’ ‘You said that before.’ ‘Piggy.’ ‘Uh?’ ‘That was murder.” (Golding 156) As seen here, Ralph recognizes the atrocity he has helped to commit unlike Jack, but he can’t control his actions at the moment. When Ralph’s more primitive instincts kick in, Ralph cannot control his actions and thus, can’t decide or act upon what he thinks is right and wrong. This displays that no matter how high-minded he holds himself, the primal instinct inside of Ralph causes him to completely ignore or lower his moral standards to meet the situation at hand. In the same time frame, after Ralph has forgotten his standards was when he lost his temper and, “His temper broke. He screamed at Jack. ‘You’re a beast and a swine and a bloody, bloody thief!’ He charged.” (Golding 179) As displayed here, Ralph loses his cool completely, and in turn, gets punished for his immoral actions when he lowers his principles to do what his primitive instincts think is right. Deeper into this, Ralph decides that what he is doing is right, which displays the drop of a standard to protect his friends. This causes Ralph to lash out at someone who he once called his friend, which is completely against Ralph’s morals. So while Jack is the main example of someone who lowered their moral standards as life becomes more primitive, Ralph also loses his morality in exchange for survival tools that he needs to make sure his tribe stays stable.

In other cases however, the reformation to a primitive society can rid those inhabiting it of daily hardships today that affect our morality. Things like money or the challenge of gaining social and political power can cloud our judgment to make us steer clear of our guiding principles and act in greed. In fact, the University Of Zurich found that, “researchers found that people have a moral preference for supporting good causes and not wanting to support harmful or bad causes. However, depending on the strength of the monetary incentive, people will at one point switch to selfish behavior.” (UZH) In this, we can see the detrimental effects that money can have on your decisions especially when it is shown that people are more often to choose a less just option when money is involved. Furthermore, people are often clouded by factors that wouldn’t and didn’t exist in a primitive society or time, especially on the island of Lord of the Flies. In the beginning of the novel, we see a well-organized group of boys who act under a de facto government, which is a stark contrast to what we see later on in the novel. For example, we see the group organize and hold a very civil and fair vote. In this vote, the boys decide, “This toy of voting was almost as pleasing as the conch. Jack started to protest but the clamor changed from the general wish for a chief to an election by acclaim of Ralph himself. None of the boys could have found a good reason for this; what intelligence had been shown was traceable to Piggy while the most obvious leader was Jack.” (Golding 22) The initial weeks on the island are quite peaceful and serves as a contrast to what happens later in the novel, but at this moment they have an organized group with a definitive leader that governs the people which shows how one could have a more clear understanding of their morality when they don’t have the pressures of a more modern society.

The role of morals in the novel and in real life proves to be very important to the ability to function as a human without committing immoral acts. When in a primitive state, one’s morality is put aside and they do what they need to survive or protect themselves and their friends. With our morals being so important to us today, it is even more crucial to uphold our values in a time of instinct and times without an ethical standard set by those around us. (1156)