According to Golding, author of Lord of the Flies, the actions of mankind are unpredictable when placed in a society without structure. In this novel, a group of boys are stranded on a deserted tropical island after an airplane crash. While on this island, these boys go through stages from civilized school boys to barbaric savages. These stages from civilization to savagery can best be observed through their attitude towards law and order, through the beast they saw among them, and through their sense of priority concerning which activities are most important.
Firstly, the boys' attitudes towards law and order take drastic changes throughout the novel. For example, the boys look at the conch, which represents law and order, differently as the story goes on. Law and order is first established with the conch when they use it to allow everyone an equal opportunity to speak. Ralph is the individual who establishes this rule with the conch when he says: - ' I'll give the conch to the next person to speak. He can hold it when he's speaking. "(p. 36) Later in the novel, the boys do not want to use the conch anymore. This is demonstrated when Jack says:- ' We don't need the conch anymore. It's time some people knew they've got to keep quiet and leave deciding things to the rest of us. "(p. 102) This shows that they are slowly changing into savages. The conch is finally smashed and this shows not only the complete destruction of law and order but also that the boys have become complete savages. Another example of how the boys feel about law and order is when Jack decides to form his own tribe. The other boys that joined his tribe follow Jack and obey to all his rules and orders. All his rules and orders go completely against law and order such as tying Wilfred up and trying to hunt and kill Ralph. The fact that all the boys follow and obey Jack shows that they have become absolute savages.
