Rules ,which is defined as “an authoritative, prescribed direction for conduct, especially one of the regulations governing procedure in a legislative body or a regulation observed by the players in a game, sport, or contest.”.(www.Dictionary.com).In both the novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding and the essay “THE RULES ARE ALL WE’VE GOT,” by Sidney H. Schanberg the reader is shown that rules are necessary to have a functional civilized society. With out rules man can become evil and uncivilized.

The novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding is the story about young boys who get stranded of a deserted island after a plane crash. Golding tells of the experience on the island building a society. One major theme in this novel is the importance of making rules and following them. Ralph, a main character and Piggy were exploring the land; they came across a conch shell. Ralph would blow into the shell and that would mean that he wanted to have a meting. It was also used during the meeting; who ever had the shell was aloud to talk without getting interrupted. Throughout the novel the conch was used as a symbol of authority. When the boys first got together on the Island, everyone was very rambunctious and excited. Ralph then said “Seems to me we ought to have a chief to decide things.” (Lord of the Flies P 22) This was the first time in the novel that the realization hit that they needed to establish rules. The beginning rules were practical; they were simple like keep the fire going, getting food and building shelter. In chapter 5 Ralph calls a meeting, at which he discusses that he was upset with the boys. They have been neglecting the rules and have not done anything that is required of them. They are refusing to work on building shelters, gather drinking water, keeping the signal fire going. They have not been using the designated toilet area. Ralph restates the importance of the rules. The boys are ignoring the rules because there are no punishments for breaking them. Jack is fed up with Ralph’s rules; he and the other boys form another tribe. This is the turning point of the novel. In Jacks tribe there really are no rules. This lack of rules led to robbery and murder. I wonder if there was a person over the age of eighteen would there have been the same events in the book? In my opinion if there was an older person there the boys would have behaved in a civilized manner. The children were use to having parents or a teacher to listen to so they would have acted like that person was a parental figure. The outcome of the events in the novel would certainly have been different with an authority figure on the Island.

The essay “THE RULES ARE ALL WE’VE GOT” by Sidney H. Schanberg is a paper about what happens when people stop following rules. In the essay written in the 1981, the author says “The rules are all that stand between us and anti-civilization.” The author feels that people are beginning to break the laws without care. He feels that New York City has too high of crime rate and he is concerned about what direction the society is taking. If people begin to stop following rules that they feel are less important than others, society as a whole pays the consequences for these actions. For example drivers are running red lights and because of this they are hitting innocent people who are crossing the street. How come people don’t obey the rules? It is human nature for certain people no matter what to break the rules. Either they weigh the risks and chose to break the rule or they disagree with the rule. There are laws against littering and a fine attached for those who litter but that has not stopped people from doing it. In the article Sgt. William Snyder states that young people in the city steal something if they want it. “Even getting caught is not a big deal. They know that they’ll serve their time and get out again.” The problem stems from people not respecting the laws and not following them. The author of this article speaks exactly to the main idea in book Lord of the Flies,

In a society there needs to be fair sensible laws and rules to maintain a civilized social order. In the novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding the reader is shown how without rules man primitive nature takes over and society is lost. In the article “THE RULES ARE ALL WE GOT” written by Sidney H. Schanberg illustrates what happens when rules are not followed. In both of these pieces the authors tell us how without rules society is lost and man can become evil.