Savagery In Lord Of The Flies: An Analysis

“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.

Civilizations come in many different forms but even the best of them can descend into savagery. The boys being stranded on an island made civilization very hard to keep, thus making it not very difficult for them to descend into savagery. The first time the boys started to show signs of savagery was when Jack and some other boys split off and made a “tribe.” They put on face paint and hunted the pigs religiously not caring for their rescue, as all of them had already assumed they weren’t going to get rescued. Killing Simon and Piggy showed the true evilness in humanity when civilization falls. Jack and his tribe went mad after that going on a rampage and to do whatever pleased them. The tribe did not care for the well being of other and only focused on themselves. Lord of the Flies by William Golding clearly displays the evil in humanity through the loss of civilization to the descent into savagery, showing that even the best of people can fade into savagery.

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.

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.

Lord of the Flies by William Golding shows how the world is man eat man. Golding

Savagery is exceptionally presented throughout Lord of the Flies written by William Golding. Savagery invites fear into a person’s life, making it difficult to navigate on a normal basis, fear controls the actions of the boys in dramatic ways throughout the novel. The three points in this essay that will be discussed will be the de-evolution of the boys as the novel progresses, the adult presence on the island and the effects that ensue afterwards and how different Jack’s tribe and Ralph’s tribe are on an emotional scale.

Stranded on an island with complete strangers. What would you do? Attempt to restore order and rebuild civilization or tap into your natural human instincts and hunt? In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, this fight between civilization and savagery play out. For most boys, they attempt to remain civil, but for Jack Merridew, the antagonist, this decision is simple. Jack hunts and kills anything in his path. Whether it be a pig or human. In Golding’s Lord of the Flies, Jack descent to savagery is tracked to display man is inherently savage.

As Jack began to hunt, savagery took over, and the thought of being rescued disappeared. Ralph realised the fire had died, as a passing ship left without noticing stranded children, “ They let the bloody fire go out” (Golding 68). “We can light the fire again. You should have been with us, Ralph. We had a smashing time. The twins got knocked over” (69). Or “I cut the pig's throat” … “ There was lashings of blood” … “You should have seen it!” (69). As Jack persuaded the others to hunt, the savagery took over causing them to neglect the idea of safety. Savagery began within all of the boys, and it came instinctively while applying war paint, and slaughtering pigs on the island. Throughout Lord of the Flies, savagery grew within each boy, mainly having a large effect on Jack and

In William Golding's Lord of the Flies the central and recurring theme, civilization vs savagery, is very evident and obvious. Throughout the novel, Golding associates civilization with good, while associating savagery with dark and evil. Due to the intense and driving force of the novel, civilization and savagery clash against each other as the novel progresses. Golding also lets the two main characters represent this theme. Ralph, the protagonist, represents leadership and has a civil wellbeing, while Jack, the antagonist, stands for the desire of power and savagery. “We’ve got to have rules and obey them. After all, we’re not savages. We’re English, and the English are best at everything” (Golding 42). Jack agrees with Ralph in this statement about how the boys must obey and follow the rules given, however, as the novel progresses, Jack starts to become a savage and butts heads with Ralph. Nonetheless, the novel moves forward and the boys still retain their civil sides. In Chapter 3 the main conflict intervenes and the first verbal conflict takes place. As Jack and Ralph argue it is apparent on which side each of the boys take and the division of the boys starts to take action. Ralph advocates to build huts, while the bloodthirsty Jack, demands that the boys hunt for food. But because Jack and Ralph are children they are unable to successfully express their feelings and ideas during the debate. Chapter 4 and Chapter 5 present a new challenge that 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.

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

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

Though it is true that Ralph does not escape the darkness festering inside the boys on the island, his savagery is what ultimately saves his life in the end.

In the novel Lord of the Flies, it tells the story of a group of children going against the brutality of nature. Afraid of turning to savagery, the boys try to create a democracy for a more balanced life style. “ Let’s have a vote. Yes! Vote for a chief! Let’s vote.” Pg.22 I can argue that the main challenge that the boys face is savagery. Savagery led to many other factors such as; bloodlust, the need for power, and argument. Unfortunately, their plan to stay civilized is corrupted by Jack’s (Main Protagonist) need for power. “ I ought to be chief, said Jack with a simple arrogance…” I found that this was one of the main sources that led the boys to conflict. For example, when the boys formed a circle and performed a dance, followed

William Golding, author of Lord of the Flies, changed the lives of many. I believe his main purpose was to show his readers the contrast between savagery and civilization. Supporting this hypothesis, Golding has placed the boys on an uncharted island without any trace of society. Most boys quickly become undomesticated while a few fight this feeling. The two sides begin to battle by a largely unequal number. The most civilized boys struggle or perish before the end of the novel while the barbaric flourish..