Savagery In The Novel 'Lord Of The Flies' By William Golding

In William Golding’s novel, “The Lord of the Flies”, he displays human nature in an animalistic viewpoint that is not seen in “normal” people. He describes the unknown savagery of human beings, without missing the good nature found within us, which allows us to work as a well-organized group. World War Two is also used effectively as a backdrop, since it shows that the violence is found in everyone.

In Lord of the Flies, William Golding writes the events of the plot in chronological order. It spans from the time the boys land onto the island, until the officer finds them and takes them off the island. A common motif is consistently found throughout the novel when the boys participate in pig hunts and shout their chant. As soon as the boys first land upon the island, they begin a spiritual journey, their descent into savagery. At the beginning of the novel, the boys are extremely civilized and orderly, however, as the plot continues, they slowly begin to transition into savages.

In the novel “Lord of the Flies” written by William Golding the novels main theme was civility versus savagery. The novel is about school boys who get stranded in an island because the airplane the boys were in was shot down. The only adult who was the pilot died so the boys had to learn how to survive without any adults. The schoolboys were aged ranged from 6 to 12 and since there is no adult supervision the boys vote for a leader which causes conflict with two boys. Things begin to get out of hand because they are free from any rules resulting in them acting like savages and forgetting about civilization. The conflict between the two boys named Ralph and Jack represents civility versus savagery because Ralph becomes leader and uses his

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 Lord Of The Flies, William Golding uses a fictional being in the young boys minds to introduce the idea of savagery within human beings. For example in chapter 5 Simon states his opinion on the beast that everyone on the island fears, Simon says, “ maybe there is a beast...maybe it’s only us.” Through this statement Golding displays the idea that evil resonates within them all. Thus showing the reader that the fear that was among the boys all along was soli created by their evil acts and intentions. This fear can be seen, when the idea of a “beast” was first introduced to the novel in chapter 5, Ralph “remembering the beast, the snake…the talk of fear.” brings up the beast but the idea is quickly counter attacked by Jack saying, “...as

Fierce, violent, uncontrolled all define one word, that word would be savage. In William Golding’s novel Lord of the flies the boys that have been trapped on an island due to a plane crash began to turn savage, driving them to do things they would have never done back home in England. William Golding wants to show to the readers how savagery had a massive escalation, how the children have been impacted by savagery and the emotions of the children throughout this book.

Sensory input determines behavior. When boys crash land on an island in William Golding's Lord of the Flies, they rely on their senses for guidance. While living on and exploring the island, the boys senses make observations causing them to lose rationality. Powerful senses such as overwhelming heat drives the the boys towards viciousness. The tantalizing possibility of eating pig, and the fear caused by an island storm motivates the boys to embrace savagery.

Golding stresses on the negative consequences of savagery are clearly stated throughout the story. In the early chapters of the novel, he proposes that one of the important roles of a society is to provide an outlet for human impulses. Jack's initial desire to kill pigs to demonstrate his bravery, for example, is channeled into the hunt, which provides needed food for the entire group. As long as he lives under Ralph‘s regulations, Jack’s impulses are being re-directed into a productive task. Rather, it is when Jack refuses to live under Ralph's authority. The dangerous aspects of his character truly emerge.

Society holds everyone together, and without these conditions, our idea, values, and the basics of right and wrong are lost. Without society's rigid rules, anarachy and savagery can come to light. In Lord of the Flies, the loss of enforced rules changed the most of the boys into savage tribals. There were several places in the film that showed the truth of having society as a strong base to a group wil keep people in check. But lossing this anarchy sets in with no thought of what's right or wrong. Examples from this story proving these staments are when the boys lost an adult figure in control, the creating of a new tribe that had little to no rules and the murdering of kids and hunting for others.

In the book, Lord of the Flies, William Golding writes of the beast as a symbol that represents the savage-like urges that lie within all souls of humans. The civilization among the community of boys continues to stifle the beast. Savagery emerges when the suppressing of the beast comes to a halt, and the beast is set free. The savages worship the beast. As Jack’s clan convert to such a creature, they live for the beast and leave sacrifices for it to assure their safety. The Lord of the Flies, contains the theme of savagery and the beast, and is shown through the characters’ actions and words.

As long as Man has existed, so have the cruel evils that only humans are capable of inflicting. William Golding’s Lord of the Flies tears the façade of order from the shell of humanity to reveal the hidden, shadowy nature that lurks beneath. When the darkest depths of human nature are revealed, a primal fight for survival erupts on this tropical island, and not everyone survives.

What’s the thing holding society back from anarchy and chaos? The novel Lord of The Flies written by William Golding introduces the topic of society versus savagery and how humans naturally drive towards the latter. Social constructs are the foundation of which savagery is contained. The theme of Lord of the Flies is that all forms of civilization have a constant never ending drive towards savagery. Golding conveys this with his use of characters, setting, and symbolism throughout the novel.

The most immanent form of savagery is coded into human genetics. In 1954, when Lord of The Flies was released, Golding stated the theme of the story as, “an attempt to trace the defects of society back to the defects of human nature,”. This implicitly states how the defect of barbarism isn’t learned but rather innate in all beings. Simon also realizes this when discussing the true meaning of the beast. The novel states, “What I mean is… maybe it’s only us.” Simon became inarticulate in his effort to express mankind’s essential illness” (Golding, 96). This quote suggests that Simon is comprehending what is going on and foresees the consequences, which is the dominance of savagery. He refers to savagery as “mankind’s essential illness”. Although savagery is associated with negative aspects, the sole purpose in human genetics is for protection. However, as humans evolved and became civilized, this instinct was cut out from life. Despite this, savagery still exists within humans. In Lord of The Flies, a group of boys are stranded on a desolate island that forces them to behave abnormally and they