The Beast In Lord Of The Flies
Are people really civilized or is it a cover up of their primitive savage instincts and their true savage selves? Is humanity really ‘good’, or is it a kind that submits to temptation without considering the consequences? Does the supernatural evoke this? The term supernatural refers to an order of existence beyond the visible, observable universe and usually pertains to a spirit, demon, angel or beast. A beast is the crude animal nature common to humans. Contrary to the beast are morals, which are people’s standards of behavior concerning, what is and is not acceptable for them to do. Lord of the Flies, written by William Golding explores the motif of the supernatural through the role of the beast in the novel. The beast represents controlling
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The beast exists from the very beginning until the conclusion of the novel. In the first few pages of the novel, as Golding is describing Ralph, he states, “He undid the snake-clasp of his belt,” (Golding 5). During the procession of the novel, as Jack and his hunters are hunting a pig, almost immediately after their rebellion from Ralph and the rest of the boys, Jack states, “We’ll kill a pig and have a feast,” (Golding 147). Near the conclusion of the novel, Golding describes Ralph’s encounter with the twins after being forced to switch over to Jack’s side through physical torture, and they warn him: “They hate you, Ralph. They’re going to do you,” (Golding 209). When the author initially describes the island, it seems to be a mixture of both good and evil, but by Golding’s use of diction, ‘snake’, the reader realizes that there might in fact be more evil within the island than initially perceived. A snake is a form of the devil, which tempts Adam to ignore God’s commands, and eat from the tree of knowledge. Since then, snakes have commonly been associated with evil. Golding shows the reader that evil exists in every given circumstance, be it on a deserted island or be it in the souls of humans, by clarifying this fact. Also, by Jack eagerly stating the term ‘kill’, it proves that the evil present on the island is not diminishing, but merely evolving. The evil symbol, the snake, develops into the actual evil present within the young Jack. Furthermore, by the twins warning Ralph that the hunters will ‘do him’, it shows how evil transgresses from one individual to the next. Likewise, the beast is becoming widespread and is disturbing the peace on the island. Moreover, the beast exists within all of the
The beast exists from the very beginning until the conclusion of the novel. In the first few pages of the novel, as Golding is describing Ralph, he states, “He undid the snake-clasp of his belt,” (Golding 5). During the procession of the novel, as Jack and his hunters are hunting a pig, almost immediately after their rebellion from Ralph and the rest of the boys, Jack states, “We’ll kill a pig and have a feast,” (Golding 147). Near the conclusion of the novel, Golding describes Ralph’s encounter with the twins after being forced to switch over to Jack’s side through physical torture, and they warn him: “They hate you, Ralph. They’re going to do you,” (Golding 209). When the author initially describes the island, it seems to be a mixture of both good and evil, but by Golding’s use of diction, ‘snake’, the reader realizes that there might in fact be more evil within the island than initially perceived. A snake is a form of the devil, which tempts Adam to ignore God’s commands, and eat from the tree of knowledge. Since then, snakes have commonly been associated with evil. Golding shows the reader that evil exists in every given circumstance, be it on a deserted island or be it in the souls of humans, by clarifying this fact. Also, by Jack eagerly stating the term ‘kill’, it proves that the evil present on the island is not diminishing, but merely evolving. The evil symbol, the snake, develops into the actual evil present within the young Jack. Furthermore, by the twins warning Ralph that the hunters will ‘do him’, it shows how evil transgresses from one individual to the next. Likewise, the beast is becoming widespread and is disturbing the peace on the island. Moreover, the beast exists within all of the