Preview

William Golding's Lord Of The Flies

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
2745 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
William Golding's Lord Of The Flies
Lord of the Flies is a thought-provoking novel about a group of English school boys who are stranded on a desert island. The book follows the striking change from civilisation to savagery, to illustrate the need for law and order in a society. Without this, the malicious nature of humanity can be revealed and the morality and values of life will be lost.
Symbolism and imagery play an important role in the novel and through this, many themes are revealed. Throughout the book, the different characters and their roles are portrayed by a strong contrast in writing style and language chosen to describe them and their actions. A good example of this is Jack, described in the forest at the beginning of Chapter three, and Simon, described also in
…show more content…

Jack is said to be, "dog-like, uncomfortable on all fours yet unheeding his discomfort". He closes his eyes and raises his head, breathing in "gently with flared nostrils, assessing the current of warm air for information." I believe that Golding is trying to create an image of a character which is ruled by instinct and brutality. Jack is learning to hunt similar to an animal through relying on his senses of smell, sight, sound and movement. He sniffs at the warm, steamy pig droppings, hoping to gain a clue to the whereabouts of his prey. Jack is in fact dismissing his human inclinations and becoming more barbarian. Any form of civilisation which is left in his character is being discarded and Jack is becoming a savage. Later in the novel, in Chapter four, we see Jack putting on a mask to enable him to reveal his true personality. The island allows him to break free from civilisation as there is nothing holding him back any longer. The savage traits within Jack's personality which are shown when he is in the forest are taking over his soul, and when Jack puts on his mask, he feels as though he is given a new identity. He is no longer the Jack Merridew, the lead choir boy, but a barbarian hunter. When Jack is in the forest he does not think of his prey as a living creature. It is merely described as, "the promise of meat".
Similar to Jack's previous hunting session at the end of Chapter one, Jack fails to kill his prey when he is in the forest. However, this simply serves to fuel his determination. When we learn about Jack advancing on his victim, the language suggests that it is not just the pig being hunted. There is a feeling that something is preying on Jack, though we do not learn what it


You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • 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

    Lord of the Flies by William Golding tells the story about a group of English boys who are stranded on an island after a plane that they were on was shot down. On this island the boys have the freedom of living without adults. They must find a way to set up a society that is livable in and that maintains order. However as time passes the characters see that those tasks are easier said than done. In Lord of the Flies, there are many different characters that show development and growth. Characters like Piggy, Ralph, and Jack all show signs of maturing and growth near the end of the book. Some of the characters were humane and try to maintain order, but other characters fall into the savagery that is within everyone. This statement is best depicted…

    • 689 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In William Golding's 'Lord of the Flies', a group of schoolboys find themselves on a deserted island alone after a plane crash. They attempt to form a society and elect a 'chief', however this fades and the boys begin to destroy the island and each other. Ralph, the main character and 'chief' of the society the boys initially form, is a character who drastically changes throughout the narrative.…

    • 926 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Lord of the Flies tells the story of a group of British boys stranded on an uninhabited island. Throughout the book the group of civilized boys try to govern themselves with tragic results.…

    • 720 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Jack as an Animal

    • 266 Words
    • 2 Pages

    When Jack is getting frustrated from not catching the pig the narrator describes Jack with a metaphor. “Eyes that in this frustration seemed bolting and nearly mad.” (48) This shows Jack being viewed as an animal because it shows that his bolting eyes are looking for something to hunt like an animal would when they are looking for prey. This shows his evil side coming out and his desperation to kill.…

    • 266 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The character of Jack Merridew is the prime example of how easily human nature turning back to its animalistic behavior. Jack makes his first appearance as a harmless chorus boy claiming he should be chief due to the fact that “[he is] chapter chorister and head boy” he is also the only one “who can sing C sharp” (22). Jack appears first as a little boy with a pure heart and has not encountered any circumstances where he can display and nurture his uncivilized nature. In the beginning of the book. Jack only wants to hunt for fun and possibly some meat, but as the book progresses the fun and games of hunting turn to bloodlust and unstoppable hunger for blood. Jack is ecstatic when he kills the pig proudly exclaiming “[he] cut the pig’s throat” (69). All the boys are very happy reliving the horrifying killing of the pig while telling their hunt to Ralph. This shows that they are truly turning into savages because they take joy in how they killed something whereas before they would be ashamed and frightened by their behavior.…

    • 644 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    For ages, humans have been trying to maintain order through strict rules and regulations formed by the government. Most people follow these rules everyday without question as breaking them would surely cause some sort of punishment if caught. But what if there are no penalties for doing what is considered wrong? Will everyone naturally give in to their darkest desires? In Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, two of the oldest boys by the names of Ralph and Jack fight for power as they try to lead a group of boys after crash landing on a stray island. Due to major disagreements between the two, Jack, who is violent and obsessed with hunting, creates his own large tribe and loses the organized system Ralph enforces. In Lord of the Flies, Golding…

    • 950 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    A conflict I found it William Golding’s book Lord of the Flies is the boy's fear of the beast. Jack keeps telling the everyone the beast is isn’t real to make the boys less scared and more willing to make Jack the leader. On page 110 Jack is talking about the Beast not being real. Some boys believe in the beast while the hunters do not. On page 114 a little one is talking about how he saw a monster in the bushes in the middle of the night. This divides the group because the little ones are more scared than the older kids. Finally, Jack makes fun of people who believe in the beast. On page 118 Piggy is talking about how the beast could be hiding but Jack just denies it. This shows he wants people to think he would be a brave leader. In conclusion…

    • 168 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Golding’s work begins with a plane full of boys heading away from England to escape a war going on back home. Their plane is shot down and it lands on an island in the Pacific, killing everyone on board except for the boys. Ralph finds a conch shell and calls all of the boys from the wilderness to meet on the beach. Ralph, the largest and oldest, is chosen as leader and he assigns Jack to lead hunters. After the discovery that they are on an island, the boys energetically light a signal fire and kill one of the younger boys. Ralph and Jack handle the brunt of responsibility until they get in a heated argument over the signal fire. The boys become convinced of a beast on the island and two encounter a dead body. The hunt for the beast leads…

    • 198 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Jack's acts of savagery gradually worsen, and his innocence is slowly lost as days on the island pass. The first act of savagery is when Jack finds pleasure in killing a living creature. This is shown when the narrator says, “His mind was crowded with memories; memories of the knowledge that had come to them when they closed in on the struggling pig, knowledge that they had outwitted an living thing, imposed their will upon it, taken away its life like a long satisfying drink " (74). This quote reveals that Jack has a lust for blood, and it reveals how savaged he is. When Jack kills the pig it gives him a feeling of power. The death of a once living thing gave him courage and made him feel more self- confident. It is obvious that Jack is blinded by power and mad with blood lust. Later on, Jack shows a sick and heartless side of him, a side where he repulsively attacks a sow…

    • 1862 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Lord of the Flies is an allegorical and fiction novel written by William Golding. According to the Shmoop editorial team, when a novel is allegorical it means that it is a double story; it takes place on a literal level, like the island, and under the surface, as in the characters,events, things that represent abstract ideas. This story is about a group of boys that crash onto a deserted island during World War II. They need to learn how to survive on their own and form a system of order until they can be rescued, but there are many complications leading to multiple deaths. Golding gives many underlying tones and symbols. “Symbols,…

    • 836 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Born in 1911 Saint Columb Minor in Cornwall, England, Sir William Gerald Golding was educated at the Marlborough Grammar School, where his father taught, and later at Brasenose College, Oxford. Although educated to be a scientist at the wishes of his father, he soon developed a great interest in literature, becoming first devoted to Anglo-Saxon and then writing poetry. At Oxford he studied English literature and philosophy. Following a short period of time in which he worked at a settlement house and in small theater companies as both an actor and a writer, Golding became a schoolmaster at Bishop Wordsworth's School in Salisbury. During the second world war he joined the Royal Navy and was involved in the sinking of the German battleship Bismarck, but following the war he returned to…

    • 521 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The novel shows how fragile is the humanity of people, how easy we can fall back to primitives and we can see the struggle between rationality and order (represented by Piggy and Ralph) and the will to power and dominance (Jack making his own tribe with…

    • 850 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    After they return with the dead pig, Jack claims excitedly that “[he] cut the pig’s throat” (Golding 69). This statement is true but unconvincing since Jack lacks the sense of responsibility needed for a chief. The fact that Jack contributes a lot for the tribe is undeniable, but so is his escape from his responsibilities. During the assembly, Ralph assigns the hunters to the fire, and they are to keep the fire burning to send smoke signals. However, all of them run off to hunt and disobey the chief’s orders. As a result, a ship passes by the island but cannot find the exact location because of the lack of smoke. This is the evidence that Jack should not be a leader: he fails to see priorities clearly, which in this case is getting rescued. In addition to this, others still believe that Jack is a better leader because of his supposed bravery. He looks like the bravest of the group, being the only one that suggests hunting down the beast. After the little boy talk about the beast, Jack snatchs the conch and promises that “if there’s a beast, [they]’ll hunt it down” (Golding 91). Although he suggests a likely solution for the spreading fear, he gets scared himself and runs off at the sight of the “beast”. His actions can’t back up his words, which makes him incapable of being a successful leader for the…

    • 958 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Lord of the Flies

    • 725 Words
    • 3 Pages

    ‘Lord of the flies’ is an adventure story however it portrays a complicated and detailed storyline. William Golding utilises dialogue, in depth description of characters, illustrates a relationship between the novel and the bible and highlights the theme of good versus evil.…

    • 725 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays