Numerous themes are presented in William Golding's novel "Lord of the Flies." Many of these themes exhibit the destruction of civilization through evil. Three themes presented in the novel are Civilizations vs. Savagery, Fear of the Unknown, and Loss of Identity.
The most obvious theme portrayed throughout the novel is Civilization vs. Savagery. It depicts a conflict between the good and evil impulses that exist in all human beings. Ralph's group acted on their good impulses, and are known as the civilized group. They live by the rules, display goodness, and represent order. Jack's group acted on their evil impulses, and are known as the savages. They are careless, bloodthirsty beings who live primarily by impulse, and represent chaos. Laws, rules, goodness, and order are what make civilization. They keep the darker side of human nature away. If civilization is neglected, the evils of human nature are allowed to emerge; order is lost and chaos occurs.
The boys" fear of the unknown leads to their fear of the beast. A littlun informed the others of his sighting of the beast. The idea of a beast existing on the island seemed ludicrous, yet the boys somehow couldn't let go of it. Simon comes to realize that the beast is not a beast at all, but a dead human. This symbolizes that "they have nothing to fear but fear itself." They shouldn't be afraid of some evil beast, but of their own selves and other human beings surrounding them. The only beast that exists on the island is fear itself.
The existence of civilization gave man the opportunity to think and make choices. When civilization is lost and man turns to evil, his identity falls apart. Individual identity is lost when the group of boys are classified as biguns, term used for the older boys, and littluns, term used for the younger boys. They are no longer looked upon as individuals but as a group. The hunters use masks to cover their identity and this enables them to kill and murder.
