Lord of the Flies

1) When an individual does not have to answer for or accept societal punishment or consequences, it becomes much easier to lose a sense of morality or responsibility.

2) A good society depends not only on a solid governing system but also on the moral shaping of each individual.

Which do you think would be easier to develop on or find direct quotations from the book showing it?

The first would probably be an easier essay because you can track the progression of the moral responsibility from the beginning of the story to the end. At the beginning of the story the boys are very careful how they behave because there is still a chance that they will be saved. However as time goes by, the boys begin to give in to their more sadistic behavior. For instance, Roger throws rocks at Percival as he plays on the beach. Roger doesn’t hit him, but this is one of the first signs that they are losing their moral obligations because there is not punishment for them. The fact that the Simon and Piggy are killed and the boys feel little or no remorse yet is another sign. The final progression is finally shown when the boys are on a savage hunt to kill Ralph. They do not stop until they have run Ralph down on the beach and find the Admiral standing over Ralph. When they see this adult, guilt overcomes the boys and they begin to cry. This is just a short example of one way you could go with the first topic.

I would prefer the second question: it seems to me easier to structure an answer to. You would need a section on what is a "solid governing system" - this would be a great place to introduce what we know about the social and historical context - the discipline of the boys' school and teachers are referred to in the novel - the governing system installed by Ralph and the imagery of the conch which becomes increasingly fragile can then be set up as a comparison. The logic would guide you to show that the system set up on the island is not "solid" and therefore led to the violence. An interesting point may then be to bring the war into the essay - both the cold war and WW2 as conflicts caused by a "solid governing system"

Your second section would then require a series of character analyses to show the moral shaping of each individual and track the changes through the novel: Jack and Roger's increasing sadism; Ralph and Simon's increasing weakness and vulnerability. You would need to explore the fact that the society fails despite the apparent moral strength of some of the characters.

Clearly the essay is inviting you to discuss the image of the Beast and the Lord of the Flies - the inherent weakness and selfishness inherent in us all - and Simon is your best source of quotations on this. Again, the cultural echoes of the novel with Genesis and the Fall - the concept of original sin - could be introduced as part of such a wider discussion.