Theme Of Savagery In Lord Of The Flies
What does it feel like to lose humanity, to face an ever present conflict between the roles of civilization, and the urges that lead us to savagery? While many average Americans may be oblivious to this struggle, several characters in Lord of the Flies by William Golding represent this struggle. Characters can be seen giving into the impulse to shirk humanity as they act like savage hunters, constantly fighting for control, and committing great crimes against each other. First of all, many of the boys acting like savage hunters. Savagery, as defined in the dictionary is the “Condition of being primitive or uncivilized.” (American English Dictionary). This can be seen throughout the book, starting out with Jack. “He made one cheek and one
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eye socket white, then he rubbed red across the other half of his face and slashed a black bar of charchol from right ear to left jaw.” (Golding 63). Jack was a huge fan of painting his face. It seemed that by covering his face from the pigs, he managed to hide his past. Gone was the head choir boy, and in his place a king of chaos. Even from the beginning, we see how Jack was a fan of chaos. “The dark sky was shattered by a blue-white scar. An instant later the noise was on them like the blow of a gigantic whip. The chant rose a tone in agony. “Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood!” Now out of the terror rose another desire, thick, urgent, blind. “Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood!” Again the blue-white scar jagged above them and the sulphurous explosion beat down. The littluns screamed and blundered about, fleeing from the edge of the forest, and one of them broke the ring of biguns in his terror. “Him! Him!” The circle became a horseshoe. A thing was crawling out of the forest. Home Page Title Page Contents !! "" ! " Page 219 of 290 Go Back Full Screen Close Quit It came darkly, uncertainly. The shrill screaming that rose before the beast was like a pain. The beast stumbled into the horseshoe. “Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood!” The blue-white scar was constant, the noise unendurable.” (Golding 152) To him, Chaos and fun were two things that went together, and just like that his bad influence began to extend too many of the boy. “Negative role models, however, may also influence children. Sometimes widely admired public figures can make poor personal choices. Young children may assume that the behaviors of negative role models are typical, safe and acceptable.” (Children and role models). Many of the young children present on the island viewed his behavior as something that they too could do. His influence was so extreme that it even began to extend to Ralph and Piggy. They were both facing the internal struggle between Humanity and Savagery. It was in this moment that many of the boys crossed the line becoming savages. In playing Jacks game, they had become savages, people lost to humanity. Also, Jack is constantly fighting Ralph for power. Even in the beginning, Jack wanted to be chief. He presented himself to be chief, but was shot down by those in favor of Ralph. “The circle of boys broke into applause. Even the choir applauded; and the freckles on Jacks face disappeared under a blush of mortification” (Golding 23). Once Ralph won the vote to become chief, Jack was absolutely agitated. Not only did Jack face rejection from the majority of the boys, he watched as his choir boys accepted the decision granting Ralph the position of chief. It would seem that Jack lost the honor he held, and the support from several of his choir members. While this could be brushed off as something simple, like the pressures of society, it is more likely that Jack had some jealousy issues. Jack while jealous of Ralph wanted to usurp Ralph’s power. ““Who thinks Ralph oughtn’t to be chief?” He looked expectantly at the boys ranged round, who had frozen. Under the palms there was deadly silence. “Hands up,” said Jack strongly, “whoever wants Ralph not to be chief?”” (Golding 127) Eventually, Jack reached his breaking point, at which he started his own tribe. As Jack fought for control, others joined him, and they became lost to any humanity they had once known. In addition, the characters in Lord of the Flies commit several horrible crimes against each other.
Throughout this time, we see the boys acting as savages, or “being primitive or uncivilized.” The days of playing and innocence are over, as the island slowly gets corrupted by Jacks savagery. One of the first crimes that took place in Lord of the Flies is when the group of boys kills Simon. Everyone was so focused on the Hunters reenacting the pig hunt that they didn’t notice a dark shadow until it was close to them. Being in a crazed frenzy, Simon was not recognized, and killed as if he were the beast. “The sticks fell and the mouth of the new circle crunched and screamed. The beast was on its knees in the center, its arms folded over its face. It was crying out against the abominable noise something about a body on the hill. The beast struggled forward, broke the ring and fell over the steep edge of the rock to the sand by the water. At once the crowd surged after it, poured down the rock, leapt on to the beast, screamed, struck, bit, tore. There were no words, and no movements but the tearing of teeth and claws.” (Golding,152-153) Multiple arguments could be made in defense of the group, but it was a spur of the moment action. The vast majority of the boys were most likely scared out of their wits, thinking that the beast was coming to get them. The next unforgettable crime was Piggy’s death, or murder. In events leading up to Piggy’s demise, Jack’s tribe ambushes Piggy in order to steal his ‘specs.’ “ ’I got the conch. I’m going to that Jack Merridew an’ tell him I am.’ “ (Golding 171) But what none of the boys realized is that in confronting Jack, something far worse could occur. Piggy was a brave soul to have stood up for what he believed, but surely he did not expect to die that way. Piggy was murdered gruesomely; hit off of a cliff with a boulder. What could cause a child to become so savage that he murdered his fellow peers? Although it was a horrible
deed, it went unpunished, allowing the boys to believe that similar behaviors were acceptable. And because of this, they lost the last of the humanity that they had once had. In conclusion, many of the characters can be seen giving into the impulse to shirk humanity as they act like savage hunters, constantly fighting for control, and committing great crimes against each other. Many characters seen in Lord of the Flies by William Golding represent the internal struggle between savagery and civilization. The average American population will probably never have to battle with similar situations in which humanity is tested, and we will be tempted to become savages. But the question is, which character will you be? Will you be Ralph who stood for society and humanity, or Jack, who symbolized chaos and savagery? The choice is yours.
eye socket white, then he rubbed red across the other half of his face and slashed a black bar of charchol from right ear to left jaw.” (Golding 63). Jack was a huge fan of painting his face. It seemed that by covering his face from the pigs, he managed to hide his past. Gone was the head choir boy, and in his place a king of chaos. Even from the beginning, we see how Jack was a fan of chaos. “The dark sky was shattered by a blue-white scar. An instant later the noise was on them like the blow of a gigantic whip. The chant rose a tone in agony. “Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood!” Now out of the terror rose another desire, thick, urgent, blind. “Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood!” Again the blue-white scar jagged above them and the sulphurous explosion beat down. The littluns screamed and blundered about, fleeing from the edge of the forest, and one of them broke the ring of biguns in his terror. “Him! Him!” The circle became a horseshoe. A thing was crawling out of the forest. Home Page Title Page Contents !! "" ! " Page 219 of 290 Go Back Full Screen Close Quit It came darkly, uncertainly. The shrill screaming that rose before the beast was like a pain. The beast stumbled into the horseshoe. “Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood!” The blue-white scar was constant, the noise unendurable.” (Golding 152) To him, Chaos and fun were two things that went together, and just like that his bad influence began to extend too many of the boy. “Negative role models, however, may also influence children. Sometimes widely admired public figures can make poor personal choices. Young children may assume that the behaviors of negative role models are typical, safe and acceptable.” (Children and role models). Many of the young children present on the island viewed his behavior as something that they too could do. His influence was so extreme that it even began to extend to Ralph and Piggy. They were both facing the internal struggle between Humanity and Savagery. It was in this moment that many of the boys crossed the line becoming savages. In playing Jacks game, they had become savages, people lost to humanity. Also, Jack is constantly fighting Ralph for power. Even in the beginning, Jack wanted to be chief. He presented himself to be chief, but was shot down by those in favor of Ralph. “The circle of boys broke into applause. Even the choir applauded; and the freckles on Jacks face disappeared under a blush of mortification” (Golding 23). Once Ralph won the vote to become chief, Jack was absolutely agitated. Not only did Jack face rejection from the majority of the boys, he watched as his choir boys accepted the decision granting Ralph the position of chief. It would seem that Jack lost the honor he held, and the support from several of his choir members. While this could be brushed off as something simple, like the pressures of society, it is more likely that Jack had some jealousy issues. Jack while jealous of Ralph wanted to usurp Ralph’s power. ““Who thinks Ralph oughtn’t to be chief?” He looked expectantly at the boys ranged round, who had frozen. Under the palms there was deadly silence. “Hands up,” said Jack strongly, “whoever wants Ralph not to be chief?”” (Golding 127) Eventually, Jack reached his breaking point, at which he started his own tribe. As Jack fought for control, others joined him, and they became lost to any humanity they had once known. In addition, the characters in Lord of the Flies commit several horrible crimes against each other.
Throughout this time, we see the boys acting as savages, or “being primitive or uncivilized.” The days of playing and innocence are over, as the island slowly gets corrupted by Jacks savagery. One of the first crimes that took place in Lord of the Flies is when the group of boys kills Simon. Everyone was so focused on the Hunters reenacting the pig hunt that they didn’t notice a dark shadow until it was close to them. Being in a crazed frenzy, Simon was not recognized, and killed as if he were the beast. “The sticks fell and the mouth of the new circle crunched and screamed. The beast was on its knees in the center, its arms folded over its face. It was crying out against the abominable noise something about a body on the hill. The beast struggled forward, broke the ring and fell over the steep edge of the rock to the sand by the water. At once the crowd surged after it, poured down the rock, leapt on to the beast, screamed, struck, bit, tore. There were no words, and no movements but the tearing of teeth and claws.” (Golding,152-153) Multiple arguments could be made in defense of the group, but it was a spur of the moment action. The vast majority of the boys were most likely scared out of their wits, thinking that the beast was coming to get them. The next unforgettable crime was Piggy’s death, or murder. In events leading up to Piggy’s demise, Jack’s tribe ambushes Piggy in order to steal his ‘specs.’ “ ’I got the conch. I’m going to that Jack Merridew an’ tell him I am.’ “ (Golding 171) But what none of the boys realized is that in confronting Jack, something far worse could occur. Piggy was a brave soul to have stood up for what he believed, but surely he did not expect to die that way. Piggy was murdered gruesomely; hit off of a cliff with a boulder. What could cause a child to become so savage that he murdered his fellow peers? Although it was a horrible
deed, it went unpunished, allowing the boys to believe that similar behaviors were acceptable. And because of this, they lost the last of the humanity that they had once had. In conclusion, many of the characters can be seen giving into the impulse to shirk humanity as they act like savage hunters, constantly fighting for control, and committing great crimes against each other. Many characters seen in Lord of the Flies by William Golding represent the internal struggle between savagery and civilization. The average American population will probably never have to battle with similar situations in which humanity is tested, and we will be tempted to become savages. But the question is, which character will you be? Will you be Ralph who stood for society and humanity, or Jack, who symbolized chaos and savagery? The choice is yours.