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Lord Of The Flies Morality

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“ ‘Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood!’ ”(Golding 152). In William Golding’s novel Lord of the Flies, a group of boys unfortunately crash land on an island with nothing but the clothes on their backs; they are compelled to draw out any survival instincts in order to endure the harsh environment and events that will soon take place over time. What the group of boys did not know was how the island would affect their behaviors and sense of identifying what was right from wrong. This incantation performed by the boys was the result of being inhabited on the island for a short amount of time, the boys’ sense of morality begins to deteriorate and fade as the island brings forth the buried nature within themselves. Soon enough, the civilization …show more content…

In this case, fear is incorporated through the boys’ eyes as a “beast” that appears over the course of the story. “To Ralph, seated, this seemed the breaking up of sanity. Fear, beasts, no general agreement...the argument sheered off, bringing up fresh, unpleasant matter” (Golding 88). Ralph, who is the chief of the boys, realizes that the entire perception of the beast had been penetrated into each of the boys’ mind; ever since the boys became aware of the beast’s “existence”, it caused a drastic effect against their civilization. They begin to be seen as savages and it slowly causes a conflict among one another in the group leading to quarrels and disputes. As the boys assume that they are not alone on the island, precautions and conflict among one another develop and they begin to slowly break up their once unified group which signifies how the fear of an imagined character influenced the deterioration of morality. With the idea of the beast already implemented into each and every one of the …show more content…

One of the main contributors to the influence of the downfall among the boys would be Jack, the opposing chief of Ralph’s group, who is always trying to be on top. “ Jack was standing before a small group of boys….‘We’ll hunt. I’m going to be chief ’ ” (Golding 133). This quote comes from Jack’s mouth spouting what he thinks should be done around the island and at the same time declaring himself chief. The majority of the boys had already voted for Ralph as chief but now it was Jack’s turn to forcefully strip the position from him as the greed and selfishness begins to overwhelm him. As Jack’s personality begins to show barbaric traits after experiencing hunting, he is consumed with power desiring the role of the sole leader on the island and even going to the drastic measures of murder to accomplish his goal. The island is then broken into two groups leading to much chaos and havoc between the two communities that cause severe consequences that affect the civilization on the island. Even in this situation, Jack was still in a state where all he desired was the role of the chief among the boys. “ ‘See? See? That’s what you’ll get! I mean that! There isn’t a tribe for you anymore! The conch is gone-’ ” (Golding 181). Even after witnessing Piggy’s recent death, Jack still has the

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