Boys Behavior In Lord Of The Flies

Most British schoolboys are very proper. They hold their heads high and have fantastic manners and etiquette. They are taught to always act with poise, no matter the situation. However, William Golding proved how quickly the behavior of British schoolboys can decline in the wild. The novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding shows an obvious degeneration of the boys’ behavior on the island. First, at the beginning of the novel, the boys continue to live their lives as proper British schoolboys. To begin, everyone is unified and working together by creating rules and selecting chores. The first two characters we are introduced to once they are abandoned on the island are Ralph and Piggy. Ralph, who is the most responsible and the first chosen

One example of them becoming more and more savage is Jack going from not being able to hunt to becoming hunting-obsessed. Towards the start of the boys' experience on the island, Jack could not fathom killing another living thing. After his first kill, he could not stop. Jack is willing to break the rules and put others in danger if it means he will be able to hunt. Hunting starts to be all Jack talks and thinks about and quickly turns into the only thing he wants to do. Another example of their savagery is the boys begin to go against authority and not follow the rules. Jack and his hunters are constantly causing problems on the island. The group gets so caught up in hunting that they continue to break the rules. The hunter's job was to make sure they kept the signal fire going, in hopes of being rescued, but they let it go out because they were too busy hunting. The hunters then argue with Ralph to try and achieve more hunting time. None of the hunters help with building the shelters but they complain about the quality of the shelter. A final example of their degeneration is the hunters wearing face paint to hide their shame of savagery. Jack is the first to use the face paint. At first, the boys question him but soon follow suit after Jack explains how face paint is used in wars. Although, deep down, Jack is shameful of his developing savagery and will try his best to hide himself from his own identity. The author explains, “He capered toward Bill, and the mask was a thing on its own, behind which Jack hid, liberated from shame and self-consciousness” (64). This shows that Jack and the rest of the hunters use face paint to hide from their shame. They start to realize how much they have changed and will do anything to ignore