One of the perspectives of William GoldingÆs (1954) Lord of the Flies focuses on the conflict between social order and chaos. Though each of the boys stranded on the island exhibits different aspects of social order and/or different forces of destruction, RalphÆs tears at the end of the novel represent the lost illusions of civilized society in the face of nuclear annihilation.
Lord of the Flies embodies multiple themes and might be interpreted from a political, social, and/or religious perspective. The novel takes a black-and-white perspective of the world-at-large, for which the island stands as a microcosm. Within this perspective, there is good versus evil, order versus chaos, and intelligent humanity versus evil. Golding uses narrative as a means of provided each of the storyÆs characters with some aspect meant to illustrate the struggle between order and chaos, democracy and anarchy, and good versus evil. Written during the era of World War II, Lord of the Flies maintains the view that only clear-sighted intelligence and ordered democracy can save the world from destruction. Through their actions on the island, RalphÆs loss of innocence stems from his recognition that within each of us there is the potential for both good and evil. The battle that will erupt between Ralph and Jack is one of friend to friend or even brother to brother, speaking from a humanitarian reference. Chaos and destruction will come through battle, but a battle between them that is waged for different reasons. In his second inaugural address, Abraham Lincoln (1864) described a battle between brother and brother that depicts the different motives between Ralph and Jack, ôàOne of them would make war rather than let the nation survive; and the other would accept war rather than let it perish. And the war cameö (1). It is only clear-sighted intelligence and democracy that prevent chaos from the potential for evil within individuals as well ...