Cruelty In Lord Of The Flies Analysis

William Golding’s book Lord of the Flies focuses mainly on a group of boys’ who have been stranded on an uninhabited island where they face many problems with themselves and others. One of the many dilemma’s within this story was the division of power between Ralph and Jack. They both had qualities of a leader, but they had different intentions with where they wanted to go; Jack was primarily the villain in this story showing savagery, while Ralph was civilized. So, why do the boys’ join someone who is cruel? Jack knows that he can manipulate their fears and use activities that are relatable to them because they are still little kids. Although it might seem devious, Jack is intelligent by using these tactics because they prove to be

“We are all ready to be savage in some cause. The difference between a good man and a bad one is the choice of the cause.” -William James (https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/w/williamjam157170.html?src=t_savage)

In many parts of the world, humans live in a civilized society where law and order are organized and enforced. But within a lawless society, savagery surfaces in an ungoverned setting of bloodshed and harm. In Lord of the Flies by William Golding, Civility and Savagery are differentiated with Ralph and Jack, Ralph establishes a community compared to Jack who damage and divide civilization. Because of how Jack and Ralph use their democratic and dictatorial authority, through the examples of the declined civilization, the increase of savagery and the different ways of power by Ralph and Jack.

The influence of a corrupted power seeking leader is all it can take for any innocent person to begin to perform savage like behaviors. The author William Golding demonstrates in, The Lord of the Flies, through a group of British boys that become stranded on a deserted island where they are forced to fend for themselves and try to create a stable self-governing system. In specific, Roger illustrates changes on the island; by becoming more violent, as his evil motives turn from innocent to dealthy. Which is shown, as he picks on the younger boys, showing overly-aggressive behavior while hunting, and his final push towards the dark side when he kills piggy.

Lord of the Flies by William Golding is an allegory in regards to the generalization that when man wants power, man loses empathy. When empathy is lost, humanity is also lost and hopes for civilization vanish. Jack’s hunt for power and his willingness to take control any way he can shows the lack of humanity within him. Roger starts off as an innocent boy, but when no consequences are displayed for his actions his inner sadist reveals itself. Jack and Roger’s decline of empathy during their hunts reveals the inner savagery of man when power becomes the priority over a return to civilization.

“Kill the pig. Cut her throat. Bash her in (Golding 75).” Taking a guess on who is saying this quote, one would not imagine a group of little boys chanting it. William Golding’s goal in writing Lord of the Flies was to show that there is barbarity in everyone, and the quote is showing the beginning of the boys falling victim to it. The fight between creating and maintaining civilization, and the savagery deep down in all the boys was prevalent, especially between Jack, Roger, Piggy, and Ralph.

There is no given reason as to why, so, the boys believe that Jack is doing it simply because he can. Jack is able to show his authority as a chief and does this to fulfil his cruel needs. In chapters ten and eleven, Ralph and his boys go to the Reds, Jack and the hunters, side of the island. Limping along the edge of the water, the boys arrive to face the Reds. Once Piggy is dead, he and the other tell him that is what he will be looking forward to by yelling, “thats what youll get”, while showing no remorse he hurling a spear at Ralph. Once Ralph leaves, Jack tells the twins, “You have got to join my tribe.” Refusing, Sam and Eric say, “You lemme go..and me.” Jack responds with, “What d’you mean by not joining my tribe?” Eventually, they twins give in, knowing what would happen to them if they had not agreed. Jack and the majority of his boys, show their power to Ralph and the others in a cruel way. By doing this, it means that by using their power to their advantage, they can do anything by making the others fearful. While the twins are on guard duty, Ralph finds them, asking them to leave. However, the twins tell him, “You don’t know Roger. He’s a terror...And the chief...they’re both terrors.” The boys reveal that they are not only

William Golding’s Lord of the Flies presents a story of a group of boys who become stranded on an island together, and in their struggle to survive; some begin to fight for power. Having power makes them feel in control of their situation; however, this power struggle quickly begins to consume them. Golding uses the power struggle between Ralph and Jack, the two main characters, to illustrate the power struggle between good and evil.

Lord of the Flies, an allegorical novel by William Golding, holds truths about mankind’s true nature of existence. The novel explores the savagery in all men that lies dormant, yet when society’s rules cease to exist, the boy’s innocence perishes along with it. The boys attempt to band together and mock the society that they came from, but not understanding the complexity of the situation, results in their society falling into ruins. On the island the boys are returned to man’s primitive nature, without rules or discipline, and they slowly drift into anarchy. Without proper guidance, the boys resort to cloaking their innocence with body paint to survive. With the body paint coating their skin, the boys bury their old personas within and allow themselves to commit acts that society would frown upon. When Jack’s tribe uses the facade of body paint to dissociate themselves from civilization’s morals, they denote that hiding one’s true identity liberates them from the constraints of society.

The need for civilization, innocence and loss of power is shown through the impaled pig's head. In order for the group to survive, animals must be killed in order for the boys to eat. Jack takes on the role of hunter because he enjoys killing living things, as seen when he states, “Kill the pig! Cut his throat! Kill the pig! Bash him in!” (104) Ralph is a more calm person and does not enjoy killing as much as Jack, although he takes a small part in killing the pig. However, in the end, Jack gains all the power because everyone looks up to him as leader because he attempts to hunt the pig throughout the novel and is successful in the end. “We’ll take the meat along the beach.” “Pick up the pig,” Jack said. (150) Meanwhile, Ralph doubts Jack's abilities to kill the pig, and constantly mocks him about being successful. “He tried to convey the compulsion to track down and kill that was swallowing him up.”(51) Jack proves Ralph wrong and kills the pig. “Jack begins to dance and his laughter became a bloodthirsty snarling."(58) He celebrates

Throughout many parts of the United States, there is a time of the year known as “fire season.” Because of a lack of water during this time, dead plant matter littered across the forest floor start to shrivel up, until they’re practically begging to be lit on fire. During this season, a single ember can ignite a wildfire capable of searing through hundreds of acres of forest. Just like this powerful, heat-ridden ember, a single act of cruelty can ignite even worse, more pitiless acts. In Lord of the Flies, William Golding demonstrates how cruelty gives power to perpetrators and victimizes the weak, He shows that cruelty lies in the heart of every person and child and that it is most prevalent in a society that lacks a penalty system.

Cruelty can be defined as pleasure in causing pain and suffering to others. Synonyms include, savagery, inhumanity, barbarity, and sadism all of which were mentioned on the test or websites pertaining to the novel Lord of the Flies. Throughout this book William Golding uses cruelty to support the themes of fear and the loss of innocence.

Throughout Lord of the Flies, we see savagery growing inside the boys making them lose their civil state of mind and afterward, their humanity. William Golding represents the transformation from human to savagery between the two main characters Ralph who represents law and Jack who is willing to keep representing barbarism. Some examples that show that savagery wins include the cannibalization of Simon, the rapings of their friends, and the cruel deaths of Simon and Piggy, as well as the Birthmark Kid who went missing in action.

The fear of crashing on a deserted island becomes a reality for a group of young boys in William Golding’s Lord of the Flies. Without the presence of an adult figure, Jack and Ralph begin to battle for power as the boys deal with getting off the island and fearing the unknown beast. As the hopes of being rescued start to subside, many boys slip into inevitable savagery, commiting devilish acts. Man’s state of evil is most apparent within Jack, yet Ralph, who seems to remain uncorrupted, still participates in savage acts, proving that man is ultimately evil.

Civilization is the desire for less pain, less chaos, and less malevolence to exist on Earth (metaphor). Without the law and order of civilization, the inherent evil that exists in all humans challenges the systems of society. In Lord of the Flies, William Golding explores the pessimistic side of a group of British boys, who in the depths of World War II, crash onto a deserted tropical island, where without civilization, the downfall to savagery is unmistakable. Ralph, who the boys elect as their leader, establishes rules and emphasizes the importance of the signal fire, but Jack, who wants to preside over the boys, neglects the rules Ralph sets in place and coerces Samneric to do away with the upkeep of the fire and hunt instead. The boys miss an opportunity for rescue when the fire burns out, but Jack, remorseless due to his pursuit for power, arranges a new tribe, in which he uses the fear of the “beast” to gain followers. In a world without enforced rules and consequences, Jack leads his group into a complete state of savagery as they kill Simon, and later on, Roger, a member of his tribe, kills Piggy. Unrestrained evil continues to spread as the tribe sets the island on fire in an attempt to kill Ralph, but fails to completely take over the island as a naval officer rescues them. William Golding utilizes the symbol of the conch shell, which represents law and order, throughout Lord of the Flies to reveal that without the rules of