Savagery Vs Civilization

The title, that has an anonymous author, represents the point that is trying to be proven. “What are we humans? Or animals? Or savages?” (p.5) Here, Piggy’s telling the other boys that they are turning into savages. They’re no longer being civilized boys like when they arrived, but like crazy animals. They are running around and doing bad things without caring about the consequences. In the book, Lord of the Flies, a group of civilized school boys get stranded on an island and eventually turn savage; however, some turn to savagery quicker than others. Although, some don’t become savage at all; for example, Sam and Eric didn’t become savage, they just went with the crowd. The two major topics of this book are savagery and civilization. Golding wrote this book to show that even the most civilized people can turn to complete
savagery.
Jack was the first one, out of the group of boys, to turn savage and be overtaken by evil. When re-reading Lord of the Flies, the reader can see how much Jack has changed throughout the book. It’s seems like he has transformed into a new person. Here’s a quote to prove that Jack is a complete savage, “[Jack] began to dance and his laughter became a bloodthirsty snarling.” (p.33) It seems like he isn’t a person anymore, but a crazy animal. He is like a blood-thirsty coyote.
Another example is Rodger. In the beginning, Rodger did some typical young boy things like destroying the younger kids’ sandcastles. He didn’t do anything crazy because he was held back by the rules of society and civilization. However, at the end of the book those rules are broken and he becomes a complete savage and kills Piggy with no remorse. He became savage like all the other boys because he thought it looked fun. Piggy said it perfectly by saying, "Which is better, to be a pack of painted Indians like you are, or to be sensible like Ralph is? A great clamor rose among the savages.” (p.202) Piggy’s saying that its more fun to be crazy and savage than calm and sensible like Ralph. Also since they’re all little boys, most of them just want to have fun and in this case, fun was Jack’s savage-like tribe.
Sam and Eric, who are referred to as Samneric, were the most civilized people in the end.
Although everyone around them are savages, they still have a little piece of civilization left in them. Here’s a quote to prove this point, “Samneric protested out of the heart of civilization, “Oh! I say! honestly!” (p. 175) Samneric are somewhat savages but they never become total saves because they only want to appease whoever is in charge. They aren’t leaders, like Ralph, or crazy savages, like Jack. They follow the person with the most power; they try to be good and follow their orders but later in the book, end up getting caught up in the evilness of other people.
When one found out that the boys get rescued, they might question what would their life be like when they return. Some of the boys are like a whole different person. Haruki Murakami, a Japanese writer, said it perfectly by saying, “When you come out of the storm you won’t be the same person that walked in. That’s what the storm is all about.” The storm is like their life on the island because the island changed all of the boys; therefore, it will be very difficult when they return
home.
In Conclusion, the author showed in his book that even the most civilized people can turn to complete savagery. They were many different levels of savagery taking place on the island. For example, Jack and Roger turned to complete savagery; however, Sam and Eric know when to stop. Some have turned so savage it’s like they’re a different person.