Lord of the Flies was written in the early 1950s by William Golding. Golding wrote this allegorical novel in England during World War II and Stalinism in Russia was at its height. Lord of the Flies attracted a cult of followers, especially among young people of the post-World War II ("Golding") generation. People thought his book was too harsh, but what they didn't realize was the true essence of what war was really like. The war showed the good and bad sides of everyone and made people turn against each other and no longer be civilized. “What are we? Humans? Or animals? Or savages?” he wondered because of the experiences he had as a British naval officer during this period. This meant that the worst of humanity would prevail and that many so-called good-minded people would be easily and willingly influenced to act in terrible ways towards one another, causing a conflict between civility and savagery. The boys have turned their backs on society by ignoring their rules and relying on their ferocious ways for their survival. The conch was used to conduct their meetings and symbolized civilization. At the beginning of the novel, the boys began their society as a unit with a leader, but as the story progressed their mini-civilization began to collapse (Neighbors). As the novel progressed, the boys began to distance themselves from the shell and its rules. More and more boys began to become hunters and savages and eventually turned their backs on the society they had created on the island. This estrangement from society began with their disdain for the rules of the shell (neighbors). As soon as the boys separated from their parents, they became wild and began to have... middle of paper... the world they saw. He demonstrated this in the novel by initially asking the kids to create a small civilization on the island, but as the days go by the kids begin to rebel against the rules and their society. They act like savages and become obsessed with killing. They ignore the fact of a possible rescue only for the fascination of hunting and killing to survive. It seems that Golding is saying that humans are not moral beings by nature; they are naturally hungry for barbarism, violence and power (Neighbors). When the kids are faced with the possibility of returning to civilization, they see where ignorance of society and its rules has led them to take over. They have become permanent savages and barbarians and have no intention of returning to civilization. Savagery has taken over and the worst of humanity has prevailed, forcing them to act in terrible ways.