From Civilized to Savage In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies The exterior of the boys is used to reflect their transition from civilized to savage throughout William Golding’s Lord of the Flies. As the boys strip their clothing, they strip away their civilized lives that no longer have any meaning on the island. The clothes they were wearing once made a statement about where they came from and how they behaved, but once they throw them away the boys disregard that statement. The changes in the boys’ appearances mimics the changes in their behavior. As their appearance deteriorates, so does the way they act. From the moment Ralph takes off his school sweater is when his journey begins. Slowly, as the other boys start removing their belongings from home they are losing the civilization that they left and day by day their savagery grows. The way that the boys shed the indicators of civilization displays a pessimistic statement about the fragility of human society. By the end of the novel, all but one will transition from civilized to savage. The very first time this is seen is when the reader is first introduced to the main character in the novel, Ralph. At the very beginning of the book, it says “Though he had taken off his school sweater and trailed it now from one hand, his grey shirt stuck …show more content…
Throughout the novel, Jack displays a drastic change in appearance. He goes from a civilized choir boy to the leader of a savage army. Jack’s first major physical change occurs after his first attempt at killing the pig: Jack planned his new face. He made one cheek and one eye-socket white, then he rubbed red over the other half of his face and slashed a black bar of charcoal across from right ear to left jaw … He looked in astonishment, no longer at himself but at an awesome stranger. He spilt the water and leapt to his feet, laughing excitedly