Preview

Henry Lord Of The Flies Analysis

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1091 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Henry Lord Of The Flies Analysis
Thesis Statement In Golding’s novel he has the boys face the unknown through acts of savagery which shows how human nature is evil through its desire to obtain supremacy over others.

Claim As the boys explore their new home, Henry, one of the littluns, encounters a small lagoon swarming with creatures of the sea.
Evidence/Quotation
“This was fascinating to Henry. He poked about with a bit of stick, that itself was wave-worn and whitened and a vagrant, and tries to control the motions of the scavengers. He made little runnels that the tide filled and tried to crowd them with creatures. He became absorbed beyond mere happiness as he felt himself exercising control over living things. He talked to them, urging them, ordering them” (66; ch.
…show more content…
Jack is quickly losing his moral sense and proceeds to facing the unknown by using violence. By him wanting to have power over the monster, Jack starts lose his humanity and becomes a person of wickedness.

Claim
Soon after leaving the somewhat civilized group Ralph has tried to maintain, Jack and his hunters go out and experience their very first kill without being chained to the imposed standards given to them by their old society.
Evidence/Quotation
“Then Jack found the throat and the hot blood spouted over his hands. The sow collapsed under them and they were heavy and fulfilled upon her. The butterflies still danced, preoccupied in the center of the clearing. At last the immediacy of the kill subsided. The boys drew back, and Jack stood up, holding out his hands. ‘Look.’ He giggled and flicked them while the boys laughed at his reeking palms” (154, 155; ch. 8).
Reasoning
Golding makes the mood of Jack’s kill very gruesome and dark. Jack, experiencing for the first time being free in the forest from the rules of humanity, embraces the savage instinct inside himself and proceeds to violently killing the piglet. He is being more and more twisted as he gains power from deciding life or death for other living beings.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    One night, an aerial battle occurs above the island, and a casualty of the battle floats down with his opened parachute, ultimately coming to rest on the mountaintop. Breezes occasionally inflate the parachute, making the body appear to sit up and then sink forward again. This sight panics the boys as they mistake the dead body for the beast they fear. In a reaction to this panic, Jack forms a splinter group that is eventually joined by all but a few of the boys. The boys who join Jack are enticed by the protection Jack's ferocity seems to provide, as well as by the prospect of playing the role of savages: putting on camouflaging face paint, hunting, and performing ritualistic tribal dances. Eventually, Jack's group actually slaughters a sow and, as an offering to the beast, puts the sow's head on a stick.…

    • 892 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Finally free from the shackles of civilization, Jack is only governed by the incessant presence of the id in his own mind. Jack appeared to merely be a strong-willed young boy when the plane first crashed on the island, but by the time the British navy arrives to rescue the boys Jack proves to be the epitome of savagery and violence viciously seeking to fulfill his own aspirations. For example, when electing a leader at the first meeting of all the boys, Jack states: “I ought to be chief…because I’m chapter chorister and head boy.” (Golding 22) Here Jack demonstrates his longing for power by pursuing a position of authority among the boys, yet he clearly has no concern for their well-being. Furthermore, when Jack is denied the position of power, he becomes increasingly obsessed with hunting pigs. For example, Jack suggests that the hunters wear dazzle paint, and he chants: “Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood!” (Golding 152) Jack blatantly ignores the rules of civilization, and pursues his selfish quest for power and totally disregards the well-being of the rest of the boys. In addition, Jack establishes his own tribe that is based upon savage rituals such as hunting…

    • 810 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    William golding uses many imagery and adjective to portray ways that jacks vicious and savage deeds to other group members which proves that he is innately evil in the book. Throughout the novel we see jack and his archenemy and rival which is piggy who is one of the main characters . “Your talking to much .. Shut up, Fatty!” (Golding 28) This shows that jack is deprived to make someone feel amused about themselves. This relates to the question because it really shows that jacks is really innately evil because all jacks wants to show that he has power and can rule and especially to the people he hates like piggy, he would do anything to hurt him and make him feel bad cause piggy. Another example is after piggy died and the conch being destroyed…

    • 160 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Despite almost all of the characters going through transitions due to the changed circumstances, Golding depicts Jack as the most explicit figure. “Jack and Ralph smiled at each other…The point tore the skin and flesh over Ralph’s ribs”. Initially, when Jack first shows up on the island, we realize that he is a leader of a choir, marching in military style. Although this foreshadows Jack’s totalitarianism and dictatorship, it still shows the typical characteristics of a typical teenage boy, wanting to take on leadership roles and smiling whenever possible. However, as Jack becomes obsessed with hunting pigs and eventually putting on the mask, he turns savage and gruesome beyond return. The fact that he uses a spear to attack Ralph immediately after Piggy’s brutal death shows Jack has completely lost his rationality and sense of human being.…

    • 685 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    To conclude, Jack spends nearly the whole book trying to get power over Ralph, and when he finally does, he uses it for evil instead of actually helping his tribe like he promised. Jack knows that he has to be leader and makes that goal happen for himself. Even if that means a little murder here and…

    • 447 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Piggy lord of the flies

    • 576 Words
    • 2 Pages

    At this point in the novel, the group of boys has lived on the island for some time, and their society increasingly resembles a political state. Although the issue of power and control is central to the boys’ lives from the moment they elect a leader in the first chapter, the dynamics of the society they form take time to develop. By this chapter, the boys’ community mirrors a political society, with the faceless and frightened littluns resembling the masses of common people and the various older boys filling positions of power and importance with regard to these underlings. Some of the older boys, including Ralph and especially Simon, are kind to the littluns; others, including Roger and Jack, are cruel to them. In short, two conceptions of power emerge on the island, corresponding to the novel’s philosophical poles—civilization and savagery. Simon, Ralph, and Piggy represent the idea that power should be used for the good of the group and the protection of the littluns—a stance representing the instinct toward civilization, order, and morality. Roger and Jack represent the idea that power should enable those who hold it to gratify their own desires and act on their impulses, treating the littluns as servants or objects for their own amusement—a stance representing the instinct toward savagery.…

    • 576 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    This aspect of the book reflects Golding's belief that every man has an immense potential for evil as well as his experiences during the World War II as a Navy officer when he discovered the catastrophe British men, who were considered purely good people, were capable of making. He believed all humans could be easily corrupted, contradicting the British mindset at the time that evil lies within something else or was inherited from a supernatural being or another nation. Having in mind men are the real beasts of the world and should be feared accordingly, he wrote the novel developing the characters' fear of one another as some of them let their inner potential for cruelty out, implying even civilized men can become…

    • 1500 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Lord of the Flies

    • 1696 Words
    • 7 Pages

    1. Jack shows that he is controlling and blood thirsty by wanting to be chief and bossing the choir boys around. Jack as a hunter is insecure in his desire to kill shown by the inability to kill a pig.…

    • 1696 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Jack is the boy that is power hungry and enjoys the ability to kill. Later on, multiple boys within the once united group accompany Jack in order to explore their evil instincts rather than listen to Ralph and obey his orders. Although Ralph and Piggy constantly have to remind the group that without the fire there will be no rescue, their ability to overcome their savage intuitions is demolished when Ralph understands that hunting is both thrilling and essential. Ralph’s incapability to move past the desire to become a hunter ultimately leads to the death of his two friends Simon and Piggy. Towards the end of the novel, all of the boys have abandoned the ideals of civilization and desire the ability to commit violence. This can be seen when the boy’s desire to kill almost leads to the murder of Ralph. Altogether, Golding’s illustrates the message that savagery is not confined to certain people and that it exists in…

    • 1673 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Jack’s feelings toward the situation are in parallel to everyone else’s, but only due to the fact that he believes he will be elected chief. Infuriated with the decision of Ralph being the final decision, he becomes very happy when appointed leader of the hunters. This reveals Jack’s feelings about being in charge and his strive for leadership. With this, Golding shows Jack’s quick transformation as he ends up being appointed to the leader of the hunters. His decision later to go and hunt for a pig for the group in chapter 4 (69), demonstrates his fast need for the spill of blood in a less than innocent fashion compared to his previous ordinary lifestyle. Not only this, but his future endeavors result in a desperate attempt on Ralph’s life by setting the island on fire, demonstrating how far he was willing to go to achieve what he wanted (199). The group’s idea and attempt to be “civil” and “humane” are nowhere to be found by the end of the…

    • 930 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    As seen throughout, Golding uses Jack to depict the evil side of humanity and symbolizes every man’s wickedness. Jack had a desire and jealous intent to be chief. As can be seen “I ought to be chief”, said Jack with simple arrogance (22). That shows humanity’s want for power. His fetish with killing and trying to make himself a killer was always showed. Seen in a conversation with Ralph when Jack replied “Hunters” (23). He always wanted to hunt and kill whatever he could…

    • 774 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The outcome of Jack portrays a negative view of humanity because it shows that greed can lead to violence. Jack’s greed for power led to ruthless killings of innocent creatures on the island. He was filled with hate towards Ralph and would have gone as far as even killing him. This violence was foreshadowed by Jack’s murder of the sow and his indifference to Simon and Piggy’s death. During Jack’s conflict with Ralph, “with full intention, he hurled his spear at Ralph and tore the skin over his ribs” (Golding 181). Jack’s greed had led to his merciless…

    • 747 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Fear In Lord Of The Flies

    • 844 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The group of boys who, once had innocent and pure lives turned into a group of monsters who wreaked havoc against anyone who opposed them. Fear led the boys to make illogical choices and the overall thirst for power and dominance caused them to act uncivilized to one another. After being on the island for so long, the boys became aware that it wasn’t crashing on an island that drove them to savagery, but that it was having to deal with each other that led them to the lifestyle they lived. The deterioration of morality among the boys caused them to act in ways they wouldn’t have if they hadn’t crashed on the island. As a group, the boys were not able to live in peace with each other due to their fear and greediness for control and that soon led to the downfall of their…

    • 844 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Lord of the Flies

    • 497 Words
    • 2 Pages

    “They knew very well why he hadn't: because of the enormity of the knife descending and cutting into living flesh; because of the unbearable blood” (Page.31)…

    • 497 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Jack and his tribe are hunting a wild boar in the forest, "The spear moved forward inch by inch and the terrified squealing became a high-pitched scream. Then Jack found the throat and the hot blood spouted over his hands. The sow collapsed under them" (135). He didn’t even think twice before slitting the pig's throat. Hunting has brought out the savage side of Jack which urges him to slaughter other living creatures. His sensitive emotions have temporarily flown out the window and his cruel personally has barged through the door. Jack has serious anger issues. He was upset with Wilfred without giving a solid reason as to why he was mad, “I don’t know. He didn’t say. He got angry and made us tie Wilfred up. He’s been-he giggled definitely-he’s been tied for hours, waiting.” (159). Now, even the slightest mistake will set off Jack. He is in control and if he says to have someone tied up or killed they will do it. Why? He is violent and intimidating and no one wants to question his authority. Jack is a stick of dynamite that is waiting to be lit. During the confrontation about Piggy’s glasses, “Jack made a rush and stabbed at Ralph's chest with his spear.” (177). Boy is this young child aggressive. Jack doesn’t even want to have a proper conversation with Raph. He wants to approach the situation with violence; long gone are those choir boy manners. What happened to the Jack who said they weren’t savages? His dominating and aggressive demeanor have gotten to his head, he has clearly gone power-mad. Jack is no longer a sweet and polite young man, he is fierce and…

    • 1225 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics