Lord of the Flies SSR
In Lord of the Flies, Simon and Ralph seem to be very moral and virtuous people; how does their morality and virtue differ.
Both Ralph and Simon are moral and virtuous people; they both work hard to aid everyone on the island and make it a good place to live, they are also fair and protective toward the littluns. The two have one key difference in their kindness; Ralph has learned his virtue from social protocol and rules set by society, while Simon’s way of life is instinctive. We know this because Ralph still has some involuntary impulse for evil within him (aka the beast). Ralph gets carried away in the thrill of the hunt, and also participates in the killing of Simon. Golding writes the following about Ralph, “he sunned himself in their new respect and felt that hunting was good after all …. ‘I hit him’ said Ralph excitedly”. This shows that Ralph has a subconscious urge to kill and be evil. On the other hand, Simon’s morality is pure and from nature, he cannot understand why these people have the urge to kill and hunt.
The conch shell is an important symbol in Lord of the Flies; what does it symbolize, and does it contribute to the theme of Civilization vs. Savagery?
In Lord of the Flies, the conch shell symbolizes regulation and civilization. The Conch shell symbolizes regulation in many ways, Golding writes, “I'll give the conch to the next person to speak. He can hold it when he's speaking.” The conch shell is involved in one of the “laws” of the island, the person holding the shell has the right to speak. The conch shell also calls everyone on the island to one meeting point; Piggy says, “We can use it to call the others. Have a meeting. They’ll come when they hear us”. Therefore the conch shell maintains order on the island because it signifies island meetings, and allows people to speak. And in chapter 11, when the conch shell is destroyed, regulation and civilization is symbolically taken along with it, and the...