"Corruption vs. Civilization in Lord of the Flies" is a novel that delves into the inner being of a group of young British boys who find themselves stranded on a desert island. William Golding uses the motifs of pig dancing, conch dancing, and masks to convey the theme that man becomes a corrupt and savage being without a rigid system of order and civilization. The boys' belief that the Lord of the Flies, or "beast" symbol, is something they can hunt and kill is challenged when they realize that it is a spirit that dwells within a soul and slowly seduces it until complete and absolute ferocity. . Ralph finds himself in a much more complex and compromising battle, which takes place within the mind. Dancing and singing to celebrate the brutal murder of a pig, the boys enter a society surrounded by sadistic and brutal thoughts. The first time the boys perform this ritual, Golding describes their actions as "relieved and excited...they made sounds and screams as if they were dying of a pig" (81). Clearly, kids feel a rush of exhilaration and excitement when they escape their civilized ways and become members of this vicious sacrament. These feelings only serve to drive them deeper into this cult, as can be seen in their future "pig dances". Later in the novel, Golding describes Ralph's feelings during the subsequent pig dance, writing that "the desire to squeeze and hurt was overwhelming" (130). Well, it's obvious that even one of the most civilized kids on the island can still let himself be conquered by this "desire". The reader can see that the boys are slowly becoming wilder and moving further away from their civilized norms. During one of the last "pig dances" mentioned in the novel, the experience can be seen to have become much more excruciating and brutal: "There were no words, no movements except the tearing of teeth and claws" (175).