Lord of the Flies Common Assessment: Civilization vs.

Savagery
The emergence of this concealed, basic wildness is the theme of the book; the
struggle between Ralph, the representation of civilization, and Jack, in whom the
spark of wildness burns hotter and closer to the surface than in Ralph and who is
the leader of forces of anarchy on the island, is also the struggle in modern society
between those same forces translated onto a worldwide scale. E. L. Epstein
PROMPT: Deep down, are humans naturally civilized or naturally savage?
You will write a five paragraph essay answering the prompt above using at least
two properly cited examples from Lord of the Flies and two properly cited
outside examples from the options below.

The Bystander Effect

o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIvGIwLcIuw
o https://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/bystander-effect
o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=175ig2I9rt0

Groupthink
o https://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/groupthink
o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ds3-ljxTRvo
o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRW8vgoHOWg

The Milgrim Experiment:

o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HcMWlnTtFQ
o http://www.simplypsychology.org/milgram.html

Note: When you have decided which two outside examples you are using,
you will need to copy and paste the links into www.easybib.com. Dont
forget your Works Cited Page at the end of your essay; its worth 10
points!

Introduction:
Your
introduction
needs to:
Introduce
your
topic:
whether
or not
humans
are
civilized
or savage

Introduce
the novel:
what is
the title?
Who
wrote it?
When?
Why?

Thesis
Statement:

William Goldings novel Lord of the Flies,

____________________________ (outside example 1), and
_______________________________ (outside example 2) prove
that humans are naturally _______________________.

Topic
Sentence 1:
Your topic
sentence needs
to support your
thesis and
explain what
you will discuss
in your
paragraph. I
suggest
grouping the
two examples
from LotF
together. Feel
free to use my
template for a
topic sentence
or write your
own.
Evidence:
Here, you will
use your first
quote from Lord
of the Flies that
proves your

____________________________ (summary of example 1 from

LotF and ___________________________________ (summary of
example 2 from LotF) show that humans are naturally
______________________.

For example, in Lord of the Flies,

point. Make sure

that your quote
is properly
cited: (Golding
45).
Analysis: You
need to explain
in your own
words (in 2-3
sentences) how
this quote
proves your
point: civilized,
savage, or both.
Evidence: Here
you will use
your second
quote from Lord
of the Flies.
Make sure that
your quote is
properly cited.
Analysis: You
need to explain
in your own
words (in 2-3
sentences) how
this quote
proves your
point: civilized,
savage, or both.
Topic
Sentence 2:
Your topic
sentence needs
to support your
thesis and
explain what
you will discuss
in your
paragraph.
Evidence:
Since you are
using videos
from youtube as

Another example that shows this is when

_________________________ (outside example 1)

demonstrates that humans are naturally
_________________________.

For example,

evidence, you
will need to
summarize what
is happening in
the video in
your own words
and then cite it.
Analysis: After
you have
summarized the
video, you need
to explain (in 23 sentences)
how this
example proves
that humans are
either civilized
or savage, or
both. You may
also want to
connect this to
an example
from Lord of the
Flies. For
example, if you
are discussing
the Bystander
Effect, you
could give an
example of the
Bystander Effect
from Lord of the
Flies.
Topic
Sentence 3:
Your topic
sentence needs
to support your
thesis and
explain what
you will discuss
in your
paragraph.
Evidence:
Since you are

_________________________ (outside example 2)

demonstrates that humans are naturally
___________________________.

using videos
from youtube as
evidence, you
will need to
summarize what
is happening in
the video in
your own words
and then cite it.
Analysis: After
you have
summarized the
video, you need
to explain (in 23 sentences)
how this
example proves
that humans are
either civilized
or savage, or
both. You may
also want to
connect this to
an example
from Lord of the
Flies. For
example, if you
are discussing
the Bystander
Effect, you
could give an
example of the
Bystander Effect
from Lord of the
Flies.
Restatement
of Thesis:
Restate the
thesis from your
introduction
here.
Summary of
Points: Give an
overview of why
you think

humans are
either civilized
or savage deep
down.