The story Lord of the Flies is Golding’s attempt to show that humanity left to its own devices, in other words without rules or laws, will devolve into savagery. This is still a very relevant idea in 2016 when you look at social media and the electronic savagery that occurs there. Because much of social media websites are more accessible to people and less regulated we are given a world with little to no rules or laws. Add to this lawlessness the idea of anonymity and people’s cruel nature is revealed. As it was with Ralph in the text most attempts at civilizing behaviors and attempts to establish order are met with ridicule and/or flat out lac of acceptance of the rules. Commenters on sites are banned then open a new account and go right back to their old behaviors; tell people they cannot talk unless they hold the Conch shell and they talk anyway. Places in the world that have little to no oversight, rules, laws or law enforcement show us the reader that Golding’s distrust in human nature is not unfounded.
However, Golding was not all doom and gloom; he presented us with Ralph as the everyman in an attempt to show that there is still good within individuals. Ralph’s concern for the group, and establishing of order, though ultimately destroyed, shows that we all have the capacity for good when we try to help others not just ourselves. This is juxtaposed with Jack who though he says he hunts for everyone, is only doing so to empower himself. Moreover, Jack’s selfishness pulls the others into chaos.
Golding presents his readers with a precarious line between good and evil. If we work for others then we hold back our violent nature, when we help only ourselves we fall to our base nature and this is a very important truth even to this day.
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