Savagery In Lord Of The Flies

“There are too many people, and too few human beings.” (Robert Zend) Even though there are many people on this planet, there are very few civilized people. Most of them are naturally savaged. In the book, Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, boys are stranded on an island far away, with no connections to the adult world. These children, having no rules, or civilization, have their true nature exposed. Not surprisingly, these children’s nature happens to be savagery. Savagery can clearly be identified in humans when there are no rules, when the right situation arouses, and finally when there is no civilization around us.

The struggle between humanity and savagery portrayed through the events of William Golding’s Lord of the Flies demonstrates how simple it is for one to succumb to the mannerisms of depravity. This is impossible with the implementation of structure and order, as such concepts provide boundaries and keep man sane and behaved. Once the boys arrive on the island, isolated and expelled from society, they look to a shell to relieve them of this hardship, and to institute a form of government that will keep them from acting out. Despite the trust they put in the shell, it fails to hold them from corruption, only adding to the growing tension between all of the boys inhabiting the mysterious island. Through the escalating tension surrounding the

Men, without rules, can be led towards destruction. Lord of the Flies depicts at first a group of boys trying to maintain order, and a later descent into savagery. One of the most direct, apparent examples of this is through Roger. Through the contrast of the self-restraint Roger has at the beginning of the novel and the murder he absentmindedly commits at the end, Golding illustrates how man’s desire for savagery is restrained only by the enforced civilization of society.

This begins to explain one of the main themes throughout the novel Lord of the Flies. For one to be uncivilized is to be barbaric and inhuman, without having a sense of culture and social development. When innocence or civilization is lost, levels of economic, social, technological, political, and cultural evolution differentiates from that of the normal, because ideas, values, institutions, and achievements of a particular society is changed. The boys in Lord of the Flies find themselves in a situation where their only option was to learn to grow up and learn to do it fast on their own. They have to learn how to survive and fend for themselves without the presence of any adult figures, and create a prosperous society for their own. They

In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, Ralph and Jack’s power struggle is observed throughout the book. Ralph’s democratic leadership sharply contrasts Jack’s tyrannical and uncivilized rule. Ralph is stripped of everything and the line between him and Jack is blurred near the end because he gives in to savagery. Though all men will ultimately revert back to animalistic instinct and savagery in the absence of civilization, Ralph only succumbs to this when he loses his friends and when he is hunted; Jack succumbs all on his own.

In the world, one's will to hunt and kill for survival has the most compelling impact on society, it is a behavior that destroys civilization. Barbaric behavior can stem from any situation and if it is just right, one might be willing to do the unthinkable and unforgivable if it means they will live on. In the novel Lord of the Flies the author Sir William Golding uses the boy's yearning to have dominance as to what causes savage behavior and the reason for what destroys the groups attempt to remain civilized.

Therefore, illustrating the insignificance of intellect in their new society, and foreshadowing the string of poor decisions that plunge them deeper into savagery. In contrast, Simon’s interaction with the Lord of the Flies depicts his understanding of the innate savagery in humans. Golding writes, “Fancy thinking the Beast was something you could hunt and kill!” Said the head. For a moment or two the forest and all the other dimly appreciated places echoed with the parody of laughter.

Though all other boys ignore and discard and laugh off what Simon had said his words are truly important to the authors message that deep-seated evil in humans exists. Simon in the novel from the beginning realizes the beast as a possible internal happening and not as an external one but as a part of human weakness. Simon doesn’t understand his own idea fully, but it becomes apparent to him later on in the novel when he has a perception in the clearing and meets and encounters the Lord of the Flies.The lord of the flies speaks to him.“There isn’t anyone to help you. Only me. And I’m the Beast. . . . Fancy thinking the Beast was something you could hunt and kill! . . . You knew, didn’t you? I’m part of you? Close, close, close! I’m the reason why it’s no go? Why things are the way they are?” (Golding,61). When The Lord of the Flies says this to Simon it shows that what he initially thought was true.That the monster is inside the youth upon the island. The ideal of savage, evil on the island being in the boys is critical to the novel’s ideas of human savagery. The decrepit Lord of the Flies acknowledges itself as a beast and mentions to Simon that the beast,the savagery is truly within the boys .The real battle was the internal struggle of the characters, it is not something outside of themselves forcing this upon them, forcing their fear, and reaping their actions, but their

The novel, Lord of the Flies, by William Golding reveals that the true nature of man is savagery. Golding uses a group of young boys, who are stranded on an island, to show the collapse of society. The boys assemble together and initially establish a democratic system of “government.” Ralph, a twelve year old responsible for calling the boys together, is elected as the “chief” of the island over Jack, who is the leader of a group of older boys. Ralph’s role as chief is to implement rules and assign task to each boy on the island. Ralph becomes the face of the government and upholds law and order. However, order begins to crumble as Jack and his choir boys neglect the rules and eventually leave to start a new tribe. Ralph quickly loses his power and leadership ability as all the boys slowly migrate to Jack’s tribe.

Meanwhile Simon stumbles upon the pigs head that the hunters left outside of his secluded hideout. He refers to it as The Lord of the Flies because the insects that swarms around the grotesque lump of rotting meat. He believes that it speaks to him telling him how foolish he is and that the other boys think he’s insane. The Lord of the Flies claims many horrific truths, such as being an undying beast lurking deep within each of them. Simon comes crashing to the ground in a fit much like a seizure and ultimately loses all consciousness. After he regains his senses, he wanders amongst the jungle finding himself at the peak of the mountain where he spots the dead pilot that the boys first concluded to be the retched beast and realizes the truth. Next Simon hurries down the mountain to detail the other boys in his findings on the reality of their tormenter, the supposed beast. Simon rushes from the forest babbling about the dead body on the mountain. Under the impression that he is the beast the boys trap Simon

The beast may not be something that can be hunted and killed, and misconceptions regarding what is being hunted and killed actually lead to Simon's own death. The ritualization of the slaughter of the pig that the boys are eating prior to Simon's death is a kind of drama in which humans and animals change places. This act evidenced the boys’ ever increasing truculent natures. Where the symbolic "victim" of the ritual, the beast--now with a lowercase letter at its head--is manifested in the form of a human pretending to be a pig. Additionally, the chant attempts to regularize the violent act. Eventually, the ceremony extends beyond the boundaries of celebration or performance and veers out of control. Simon is explicitly conflated with "the beast" in the minds of the hunters and participants in the ritual as Golding writes, “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” (Golding 218). The beast, of course, is Simon himself, just as foretold by the Lord of the Flies, but the beast, the thing to be feared, is also in the boys themselves as they kill him and give themselves over to the frenzy of violence. The Lord of the Flies is both correct and wrong: the beast is everywhere, but it

As individuals in an organized society it is expected to follow rules and behave a certain way. However, when one is forced and placed into a situation to survive they will risk anything to remain alive. In William Golding’s Lord Of The Flies, the boys leave behind the world that they once knew. They fail to sustain a proper community and savagery becomes inevitable. Irresponsible authority, fear of the beast and desire for power on the island has revealed the true sickness of human nature.

“‘What are we? Humans? Or animals? Or savages?’ (Golding 101)” the answer to this question constantly changes over the course of William Golding’s suspenseful tale, Lord of the Flies (1954). Throughout the novel, Golding paints a vivid picture of how the once civilized boys on the island begin to embrace their wild nature over time. The true theme of the story is shown as the boys, left without supervision, forget their civilized ways and due to the natural inclination of man, are reverted into savages. Lord of the Flies clearly describes how the natural savagery within most people leads them to abandon civilization when alone, abandoned, and afraid.

Every child on this planet right now, despite how caring or considerate they may seem while young, possesses the capability of developing into an inhumane and cruel individual. Their growth is fully dependant on how they are raised. Children that are left to fend for themselves and make their own decisions will consequently resort to savagery. This is the point that William Golding is trying to convey to the reader in both his comprehensive novel, Lord of the Flies, and “Why Boys Become Vicious”, an article written for the San Francisco Examiner in 1993 after two ten-year-old Liverpool boys are charged with offenses of kidnap and murder of two-year-old James Bulger. Many different factors coincide to influence someone to act cruelly, but the

Simon represents a very caring, affectionate, and skeptical character in Lord of the Flies. His open imagination leads him outside of the beach and leads him to a tranquil clearing that offers an escape from the overwhelming disputes and thought of dying on the island. This clearing puts Simon’s mind at ease as it releases all of his problems. Simon has very bright eyes which resemble his vision, truth, and certainty. While everyone on the island acts paranoid about the “beasty”, Simon realizes the real truth regarding the so-called-beast. Simon’s skepticism leads to finding the truth about the beast and eventually leads to his own demise because no one else was ready for the truth.