Lord of the Flies: Main Theme, Civilization vs. Savagery

In Lord of the Flies, William Golding created a picturesque society that was doomed for disaster. However, not all of the children on the island had the same savage attributes as some of the others, mostly hunters. This created a stark difference in characteristic traits on the island. You were left with the good versus the bad, or the Civilized versus the Savage. From this, I concluded that the main theme in Lord of the …

…Civilized versus the Savage. He picked two individuals to represent each group. Jack represented the savage and Ralph represented the civilized. As the novel progressed their priorities became clearer. Ralph wanted to be rescued and Jack wanted to kill. Their personality clashes would later set the stage for an abysmal series of events at the end of the novel. Thus, the main theme of the novel, Civilization versus Savagery was personified through Ralph and Jack.