Jack Symbolism In Lord Of The Flies

“Symbolism is no mere idle fancy or corrupt egerneration: it is inherent in the very texture of human life” This is a quote from Alfred North Whitehead, an English philosopher from the early 90s, that explains that symbolism is not a pointless past time, but rather it is a part of human structure. The very existence of the human species is based solely off its ability to survive, the first society of humans where not so gifted as man is today for they had to fight and kill in order to live another day. It was eat or be eaten in there world. Nowadays, man is taught, at a very young age, that he must always act accordingly or in a civilized manner thus concealing his ancestral dark side. In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies there are many
Jack is speaking to Roger in this instance as he first thinks up the idea to cover himself in clay and charcoal sticks because he believes that the only reason he is not successfully killing any pigs is because they see him too quickly. Jacks mask not only changes his appearance but also his personality. “He began to dance and his laughter became a bloodthirsty snarling […] the mask was a thing of its own, behind which Jack hid, liberated from shame and self-consciousness.” (Golding 64) With the mask on his face, Jack was no longer the leader of the choir instead he was a sage hunter. Later on in the novel, almost all the boys want to have their faces painted as well “They understood only too well the liberation into savagery that the concealing paint brought.” (Golding 172) The mask represents the evil within each and every boy who had their face painted. In other words, it portrays the savage within. It does not hide the children’s true nature; it rather reveals
At first, it is introduced as a physical creature that one of the boys claims to have seen on the island which of course strikes fear into the hearts of most of the children. “A snake-thing. Ever so big, He saw it.” (Golding 35) “He says the beast comes from the sea.” (Golding 88) “‘There were eyes—’ ‘Teeth—’ ‘Claws—’” (Golding 100) as the story progresses, every boy starts to develop a separate description and or a theory of where it comes from and why it is “trying to eat them”. Simon, being the free spirited boy that he is has a completely different theory completely. “Fancy thinking the Beast was something you could hunt and kill!” (Golding 143) After having his eye opening conversation with the Lord of the Flies, Simon finally understood the truth about the beast. That it is basically just the fear of the unknown, it is inside everyone, and it is a form of paranoia that can never be defeated, a collaboration of one’s inner