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How Does Golding Use Masks In Lord Of The Flies

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Recommended: Savagery in Lord Of the Flies

In Golding’s novel, Lord of the Flies, a group of boys’ are forced to live on an island without law and order. Therefore, many of the boys experience a savagery phase on the island, causing them to constantly resort to violence over an issue. These boys primarily consist of Jack’s tribe in the novel. Through the boys’ use of face paint and Jack’s tribe killing people and animals, the reader learns that masks are used to disguise people who aspire to commit evil acts and become savages.
The boys adopt face paint to disguise themselves whilst committing destructive acts and become savages through masks. During the boys’ conversations about how to obtain fire, Jack states, “We’ll raid them and take fire. There must be four of you; Henry and you, …show more content…

After he kills his first pig, Jack, “... his face smeared with clays, [reaches] the top first and [hails] Ralph excitedly, with lifted spear. ‘Look! We’ve killed a pig-’” (69). Jack did not have the courage to originally kill a pig, but is ecstatic when he executes his first pig. The mask that Jack wore allows him to not feel guilty about killing a living creature. It has the ability to turn him into a savage. Furthermore, when the hunters attempt to recreate the pig killing scene, they overemphasize, “All at once, Robert was screaming and struggling with the strength of frenzy. Jack [has] him by the hair and was brandishing his knife” (114). All the boys participate in assaulting Robert because they believe it is just a game and that nothing will go wrong, but this is not true. The mask plays a part in this as it disguises the boys from their civilized sides, and brings out their savagery causing them to brutally beat Robert even when not wearing it. Moreover, as Simon attempts to inform the boys about how the beast is actually a dead parachutist, they mistake him for the beast and , “The sticks [fall] and the mouth of the new circle [crunches] and [screams]. The beast was on its knees in the center, its arms folded over its face. It was crying out against the abdominal noise…”(152). The mask here is used to hide the

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When Jack puts on the mask, it gives him the boldness and eagerness to act as a new person. This allows him to make unethical choices further along in the book, becoming a threat to his peers. Shortly after the ship had past the island, the hunters return to find Ralph overwhelmed with anger. Jack and Ralph convey, “‘you let the fire go out… I

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Jack has this strange determination to kill a pig. At first he struggles, since his inner self was slowly becoming apparent. But eventually this becomes an obsession, and he won't stop until he kills the animal. Finally when Jack kills the pig he becomes savage. In fact, a quote from the text describing his hunt says “Jack transferred the knife to his left and smudged the blood over his forehead as he pushed down the plastered hair” (67).

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(153) The boys don’t think or scream when they see the “beast” emerge from the jungle. They all grab their sticks and start attacking Simon, and they even realize that it is Simon but they keep killing him because fear has

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466 Words | 2 Pages

I was just waiting for the right moment to stab him” ( Golding 29). Jack's actions state that he is a complete coward and is afraid of the killing of the pig. Also, Jack's attempt to convince the boys with his excuses did not work effectively because the boys knew why he hadn't killed the pig and Jack's attempt to appear brave became a huge disaster because he let his fear appear on his face proving he is truly a coward. Thirdly, jack uses face paint to hide fear from the rest of the boys, William Golding explains, “ .. the mask was a thing on its own, behind which jack hid liberated from shame and self-consciousness” ( Golding 66). Jack's actions defines that he is trying to cover up his fear because he is ashamed and afraid of being laughed at for not being able to kill the pig in his first attempt and by using face paint he uses mankind’s essential illness to make the boys fear him and make them do what he wants them to do, William Golding explains, “..come

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705 Words | 3 Pages

(181) This quote displays that Jack has no sympathy for Piggy when he is killed. He let his inner evil show and hurt many others because of his desire for meat and

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794 Words | 4 Pages

In the book the Lord of the Flies the masks that Jack’s group uses helps them overcome their fear of killing the pig by hiding their true feelings. When Jack volunteers himself as the leader of hunting he doesn’t realize that he would have to overcome new challenges. Masculinity “masks” and the clay masks they wear in the Lord of the Flies are basically just “things trying to look like something else” (Golding 63). Jack explains to his group of hunters that the masks they were going to wear are so they can look like something they are not or to hide what is keeping them from killing a pig. This shows that they are trying to push away their true selves and by looking like something else they can make a character of who they choose to be based on the reason they put the “mask” on.

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582 Words | 3 Pages

Killing their first pig was a start to the end of jack and the boys innocence. Jack and his group were in the woods hunting for food. “the spear moved forward inch by inch and the terrified squealing became a high-pitched scream. Then Jack found the throat and the hot blood spouted over his hands. The sow collapsed under them” (pg 192) this quote from the book was depicted as a very gruesome killing.

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1156 Words | 5 Pages

As Jack and his tribe are preparing to go out and hunt they put paint on their faces creating “The mask … [which] liberated them from shame and self-consciousness…the mask compelled them”(64). The boys wearing the mask marks the start of savagery because the mask offers them an opportunity to act on their savage impulses. The idea that they are compelled by the mask displays the influence that the mask carries as they are driven by a force to do this all as one. The mask liberates the boys from the restraints of societal boundaries transitioning the boys toward savagery.

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922 Words | 4 Pages

The hidden savagery of humans that is dormant because of civilization is presented in Lord of the Flies through its symbolism, repetition and diction. The struggle for power and control on the island led to the exposure of savage nature that is present in the boys who were forced into a lawless place. Throughout the novel reason and logic are abandoned, causing the boys to act on whims and be controlled by their instincts rather than control themselves. Civilization has dampened human’s savage ways, but believing that there are no consequences could lead to the downfall of humanity and the return of the primitive ways society believes it has abandoned. Golding wrote Lord of the Flies to expose the hidden savagery that humans possess and how if humans aren’t careful they will become the savages

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William Golding’s novel Lord of the Flies is about a group of young boys, aged around 6-12, that crash land on an uninhabited island, and without adults, they fail miserably. In E.L Epstein’s article “NOTES ON LORD OF THE FLIES” Golding reveals in his novel that the flaws in human nature lead to a flawed society; which is seen in society (Epstein par. 3). Lord of the Flies provides an example of how imperfections in human nature start to surface when people are in a groups. One imperfection is their tendency to do violent and demeaning things as a mob.

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He goes to share his hunting story to Ralph and a boy named Piggy. On page 69, the narrator shares, “I cut the pig’s throat,’ said Jack, proudly, and yet twitched as he said it.” This quotation shows us that civilization is lost when the urge to kill takes over because it shows the stage where Jack is proudly killing animals, but still feeling a little bit uncomfortable with it. In this example, Jack proudly shares that he has killed, but still twitches after saying he did. Jack is still hanging onto the little bit of civilization that is left on their island.

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Thesis Statement: In Lord of the Flies William Golding throughout the book is trying to show you that society should recognize man is evil. Introduction Paragraph: In the book Lord of the Flies the author William Golding shows a group of boys losing their innocence throughout their life stuck on this inhabited island in the pacific ocean. These boys go from being quiet and shy to violent and dangerous young little boys. Golding uses the pigs, hunting, and the boys face painting to show their lose of innocence throughout the story. There 's no rules of any sort on this island these boys landed on they are free to do whatever they want whenever they want.

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1257 Words | 6 Pages

Jack brainwashes the boys into thinking that hunting and killing are the most important priorities in their society. Eventually, the boys become crazed and obsessed with this idea. After the boys kill a pig or become excited, they begin to chant “Kill the pig. Cut her throat. Spill her blood!”

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William Golding’s novel Lord of the Flies does not simply describe the life of a group of children stranded on an island, but rather it is a representation of the qualities of human nature. As the novel progresses, the children grow deeper into savagery, performing actions that would be often criticised in society. The absence of law and order devolves even those that attempt to recreate it, like Ralph and Piggy. In this novel, Golding uses children to answer the question whether or not humans are born inanimately good or truly evil. Golding answers this question by symbolising the main characters and their descent into savagery.

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Throughout the novel of Lord of the Flies, William Golding provides a profound insight into human nature. Golding builds on a message that all human beings have natural evil inside them. To emphasize, the innate evil is revealed when there’s lack of civilization. The boys are constantly faced with numerous fears and eventually break up into two different groups. Although the boys believe the beast lives in the jungle, Golding makes it clear that it lurks in their hearts.

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