Rules or Restrictions?

Rules are supposed to be followed, but what if there’s a rule that  just feels wrong? If you think about it, nothing is born with rules already naturally stored in their heads. Animals aren’t naturally domesticated, and humans aren’t naturally born obedient. From a young age, we’ve been taught what’s right and what’s not, but how can we be sure what we are told is really right? We are taught that if we disobey a rule, then we are “bad”, but what the way we disobeyed a rule was justified, and the actions taken had good intentions? Rules have a way of taking over and controlling our brains telling us whether or not a society is civilized or savage. People come to accept all rules and laws as ‘civilized’ even if they are not, because they get used to what’s expected of them.

In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, we see many examples of how rules took over the boy’s minds and we can see a total transformation in their behavior from civilized “good english boys”  to completely savage. When the boys first arrived on the island, the first thing they wanted to do was pick a leader amongst themselves. In picking that leader, the boys expect him to make them all cooperate in hopes of them one day being rescued, including making the rules and laws of the island. There is some tension because the choice is between Ralph or Jack as the leaders because they both have a powerful influence over the boys.  Ralph is elected the leader, and has some difficulty containing the boys at their assemblies. In one assembly, Ralph says to the boys “all this i meant to say. Now I’ve said it. You voted me for chief. Now you do what I say.”  (pgs. 58-59). When the boys got rowdy, all Ralph had to do was remind them that they agreed to follow certain rules, and they chill out. In their minds, the idea of having rules is equivalent to having order, and that’s why they calmed down.

The boys in Lord of the Flies have multiple assemblies to establish order and to get everyone on the same page throughout the book. In one of the first meetings, Jack says to the boys “We got to have rules and obey them. After all, we’re not savages. After all, we’re English, and the English are best at everything.”  There is so much wrong with that statement. Jack believes that all of the rules that are created should be obeyed, because that’s what makes them “good boys”. This way of order does not last very long, however. Readers can see the rivalry growing between Jack and Ralph over who should be the rightful leader, and eventually the rivalry reaches a boiling point. War breaks out and the civilization the boys had on the island splits in two, and blood is shed when the boys abandon their morals and rules that were supposed to keep them united. The boys  interpret their rules in a completely reversed and savage way and it is madness on the island until they are rescued.

The way the boys act on the island, is similar to how our government works in today’s modern society. The laws are there because a vast majority of people decided or agreed it should be there. The punishments are similar between the two situations as well. They are both cruel and unnecessary in some situations. For example, 670.000 people are incarcerated for misdemeanors that are not dangerous, and other nonviolent crimes across America. People are imprisoned for maximums of 3 years, or can be fined up to $2,500, and the person who committed the crime is now considered a felon.  According to an article I read, “Felonies don’t just land you in jail- they also result in a significant loss of civil rights.” This is a rule that the leaders of our country decided on. This rule which grants another humans to take away some of the basic rights that make us a “civilized” country. For a small misdemeanor, a person can lose their right to vote, the right to hold a political office, and can even be denied you second amendment, which is the right to bear arms. Where is the civilized action in that? Laws like these ignore and completely go against the basic morals of humanity that everybody should have.

Rules were not automatically stored into our brains when we are born. Our upbringing creates the idea that we must have rules to be civil and peaceful. People believe that we must have rules in order to function and survive. What people don’t realize, however, is that by creating rules, society is also creating an image of what “wrong” people and things to do are. Our society is naturally judgemental and it has been like that since the beginning of this country and the first laws were set. Rules are also so contradictory to themselves, and instead of stopping savagery, they just create leeways for less extreme behavior, but still savage all the same. For example, slavery was abolished, but there are still acts of racism that are allowed to take place in this country, like the KKK, who are still allowed to have meetings openly to this day.  

The lines that divide a civilized civilization from a savage one, and what’s right from what’s wrong are slowly getting blurred. Another thing that people fail to realize is that rules shouldn’t be a determining factor in how they portray the world and the goings-on around them. In some cases, the rules that are put in place are effective, and beneficial, and appropriate. Some rules are essential, and there is just no getting around them. Rules should not have to determine whether something is a success or not. They should not determine the potential something has either.  In determining what makes something civilized or savage, we have to not be biased just because of a set of rules tells us what’s justified and what isn’t. People should not succomb to all rules or laws because it’s expected of them to do so.

Works Cited:

1. Golding, William. Lord of the Flies. New York: Perigee, 2006.

2. "NORML.org - Working to Reform Marijuana Laws." FEDERAL Laws & Penalties -. Web. 07 Apr. 2016.

3. "NORML.org - Working to Reform Marijuana Laws." FEDERAL Laws & Penalties -. Web. 07 Apr. 2016.