Lord of the Flies In William Golding's novel, Lord of the Flies, a group of boys revert from civilized children to savages. The boys are stranded on a tropical island with no adults in authority to tell them what to do. Only one tool, a knife, and their intelligence provide the boys with the ways to survive. The story shows how the boys gradually loose their ability to behave in a socially acceptable way. They …showed first 75 words of 700 total…

…showed last 75 words of 700 total…of any hope the boys had of being sensible again. The flies symbolize death and decay, which are extensions of Satan (3). Lord of the Flies is about struggles and conflicts in society: good vs. evil. Civilization vs. society. Intelligence vs. emotion. Leadership vs. anarchy. Through these boys in a small island setting, William Golding's use of symbolism helps create a vivid picture of the action, the descent into savagery by a group of British students.