How do we, as humans, define civilization? What exemplifies our community as a species and distinguishes us from the common beast? Is it art, science, literature, technological progress or the philosophical spirit? In Lord of the Flies, Golding succeeds in unraveling our delicate perceptions of what makes us human through a series of haunting and powerfully constructed symbols: the beast, Lord of the Flies himself, and fire. Through his story, light is shed on the evil inherent in human nature, and society is revealed as a weak and easily penetrated facade. Additionally, our level of refinement is highlighted. an instrument of incomparable malevolence, enhancing our powers of destruction beyond those of our primitive ancestors. Golding constructs these images carefully, and at their very center is the concept of the beast, at the heart of the island, crawling in the darkness. foliage of the jungle, the boys unknowingly begin to personify the beast as the snake. They are overcome by fear of the invisible monster which attacks on all fronts, land and sea, and from which there is no refuge. This broad abstraction of the beast later crystallizes for the reader when it evolves into the dead parachutist, who, while human, is gone, still trapped by a "complication of lines." His artificial trap, which will remain long after his earthly body has deteriorated, gives the illusion of life to the deceased soldier. This dead parachutist is rightly called a “message from the adult world,” because the parachute is a compelling metaphor for the hollow, bureaucratic constructs that serve as both pillars and bars of society. Because beyond wars, the...... middle of paper...society. Yet, darkly and ironically, he observes that the very achievements that civilize us and advance us beyond animals do indeed allow for a greater range of possibilities within human savagery. However, Lord of the Flies is not a fatalistic statement about humanity's insurmountable nihilism. At the novel's open conclusion, a thread of human diplomacy remains, even if it is brought close to extinction by the barbarian. This fraction of hope is an invocation to humanity, so that it can rediscover its humanity. It is an evocation of the goodness that resides in each of us and a plea to examine the path we have chosen to follow as a species. But above all, Lord of the Flies is a conjecture about our future downfall made by a man who witnessed in his life the potential atrocities and carnage at the hands and in the souls of people..