’s is one of the 20th century’s most significant novels. Following a plane crash, a group of British schoolboys find themselves alone on a desolate island, and set out to form a new society. One of the boys, Ralph, is chosen as the leader–but soon, his rival, Jack, attempts to persuade the boys to follow him. Another boy, Simon, serves as the voice of morality for both sides. Ralph’s most loyal friend, Piggy, acts as the intellectual antithesis of Jack’s savagery. Without adult supervision, though, their civilization quickly crumbles, and the boys fall into brutal violence.
Though written in the 1950s, the depiction of societal breakdown in Lord of the Flies remains just as chilling today. The complex but flawed characters represent the fragility of social order and the ever-present possibility for evil in human beings. Golding's work is a profound study of humanity’s susceptibility to chaos.
Here are 30+ of the most important quotes from Lord of the Flies that reveal the darkness of human nature.
The best Lord of the Flies quotes about evil and brutality
“Fancy thinking the Beast was something you could hunt and kill! You knew, didn’t you? I’m part of you? Close, close, close!”
“Maybe there is a beast… Maybe it's only us.”
“The beast was harmless and horrible.”
“Kill the pig. Cut her throat. Spill her blood.”
“They understood only too well the liberation into savagery that the concealing paint brought.”
“What are we? Humans? Or animals? Or savages?”
“He began to dance and his laughter became a bloodthirsty snarling.”
The best Lord of the Flies quotes about society and order
“We've got to have rules and obey them. After all, we're not savages.”
“Which is better–to have laws and agree, or to hunt and kill?”
“Most men and women will grow up to love their servitude and will never dream of revolution.”
“Here, invisible yet strong, was the taboo of the old life. Round the squatting child was the protection of parents and school and policemen and the law.”
“Bollocks to the rules!”
The best Lord of the Flies quotes about knowledge and choice
“I believe man suffers from an appalling ignorance of his own nature.”
“There have been so many interpretations of the story that I'm not going to choose between them. Make your own choice.“
