Lord of the Flies Dichotomies

A detailed Summary of Lord of the Flies Dichotomies

Throughout the book Lord of the Flies, order and chaos are dichotomized constantly. Order is traditionally represented by the huts and the conch, whereas chaos is represented with the hunters' spears and the jungle. However, upon close examination this though is not supported by these examples but instead is broken down by them.

My first example of order in the novel is the conch shell. As soon as the conch makes its grand entrance its use is inherently obvious, it brings people together. The shell also establishes rules and guidelines of when a person is allowed to speak. This is shown by the passage:

"And another thing. We can't have everybody talking at once. We'll have to have 'Hands up' like at school."

He held the conch before his face and glanced round the mouth.

"That's what this shell's called. I'll give the conch to the next person to speak. He can hold it when he's speaking."

"And he won't be interrupted. Except by me."

"We'll have rules!" he cried excitedly. "Lots of rules! Then when anyone breaks 'em-" (33).

On the other side of this example is the disorder of the spears. The spears cause death and destruction, alway

The example of the disorder of the jungle can be broken down as well. Simon is said to have found a "special place" in the forest. This is a sign that the jungle was not necessarily just a place of death and destruction, but also a place of life. This is demonstrated by:

Here, struck down by the heat, the sow fell and the hunters hurled themselves at her. This dreadful eruption from an unknown world made her frantic... (135).

The conch is shown as a symbol of order and lawfulness. Could it not also be perceived as creating disorder? I believe that it does so in the showdown at Castle Rock, and this is shown when Jack says, "'See? See? That's what you'll get! I meant that! There isn't a tribe for you anymore! The conch is gone-'" (181). In the same vein, the spear doesn't necessarily have to represent disorder. On the contrary I believe that it represents order by bringing everyone together in the feast. Without the spear the feast could not have happened. This is shown by:

Order is chaos, and chaos is order. Nothing stands completely for what it is supposed to, because in everything there is a little bit of everything else that it opposes. I leave you with a thought from Fight Club, Tyler Durden says, "Nothing is static, everything is falling apart." I believe that is what is demonstrated in the book with the dichotomies.

Some common words found in the essay are:
But- Look-, Ralph Piggy's, Castle Rock, Lord Flies, Conch That's, Tyler Durden, , example disorder, represent disorder, huts beach, death destruction, example novel, i'll conch,

Approximate Word count = 989
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

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