Rules In William Golding's Lord Of The Flies (Book Analysis)

Rules aren’t important, nor are they needed...right? Societal rules are what keep us sane and established. Rules are the glue to the world's puzzle that keeps everything in place, intact, working, growing, and more. If rules ceased to exist, communities would begin to collapse and people would begin to split; civilization would be no more. In William Golding’s novel Lord of the Flies, the boys take a turn for the worst and begin to slowly lose their sanity. As the boys stay stranded on the island. In the novel behavior is turned, some get more power over others, and the boys resort to savagery.

As days go by with the boys on the island they all begin to change in behavior. Some begin to tease the thought of harming another, or partake in doing something a normal person would consider wrong. In chapter four of the novel, one of the boys Maurice kicks sand into a “littluns” eye.  “ In his other life Maurice had received chastisement for filling a younger eye with sand” (page 60). He felt uneasy with his wrong doing but there was no parent or adult there to yell at him for his inappropriate behavior. This shows the shift in the boy's perspective and consciousness. With the boys knowing there is “no consequences” for their actions, they now will be more reckless.

While on the island the boys form a leader who abuses all power and is seen as a higher being than the rest of the kids. Jack, who is now the leader, gives cruel demands and corrupts the minds of the littluns. They begin to become way more violent and bloodthirsty. All they now want to do is hunt and kill, specifically pigs. “Bollocks to the rules! We’re strong – we hunt! If there’s a beast, we’ll hunt it down! We’ll close in and beat and beat and beat - !” (page 91). Jack demonstrates his growing desire for power over the others as he begins establishing an authoritarian system focused on hunting and barbarity. Since Jack gained all power he makes everyone obey his system and rules.

Majority of the boys on the island resort to full savagery. All now capable of physical harm, having said 2 boys, Piggy and Simon, have been killed. They no longer have their young innocence or their human decency. Almost all the boys begin to hunt for one other boy, all with the intention of murder. The boys aren’t referred to as “littluns” anymore, now they’re known as “savages”. The “savages” also have a dance they do while they sing out disturbing lyrics. “Kill the pig. Cut her throat. Spill her blood.” Immediately after their first successful hunt, Jack's hunters chant together. All their doings show they are no longer the little boys they were when they first arrived on the island, they are now savages.

With knowing how the boys turned out, it goes to show how important rules are. Without them the boy's behavior changed for the worst, a corrupt leader gained power, and they all turned into complete savages. If the boys had followed basic rules they would have done fine on the island. Rules influence a person overall, and depending on those rules, the person could be terrible or amazing. They are a necessity.