Lord Of The Flies Compared To The Devil Himself

Lord of the Flies Paper How could a young, proper schoolboy ever be compared to the devil himself? In William Golding’s, Lord of the Flies, a group of British schoolboys crashlands on an island in the middle of the ocean, and with little prior knowledge of how to handle a situation like this, struggle to survive. The lead hunter, Jack, displays his interest in power, violence, and causing havoc among the group of boys. It seems he was not always this way, however, and it is more that his evil demeanor developed over time. As the book progresses, his character develops from a civilized schoolboy to a complete beast, and he acts more and more like the Lord of the Flies - another name for the devil - who enjoys violence and considers it fun.

However, this controlling and manipulative side of him has shone through. As the story progresses and we see Jack more, you can start to see the change in him over time. In the third chapter, there are many examples of him being compared to animals, which describes that his hostile side is coming out. The text states, “Then dog-like, uncomfortably on all fours yet unheedily his discomfort, he stole forward five yards and stopped”(48). From this sentence, it is obvious we see his almost savage-like technique when hunting. Another example of this is, “Jack himself shrank at this cry with a hiss of indrawn breath, and for a minute became less a hunter than a furtive thing, ape-like among the tangle of trees”(49). Animals are usually known to be less civilized and more wild than humans, since they are a completely different species. By being compared to them, this shows he is losing his sense of civility and is initially becoming inhuman, much like the Lord of the Flies himself. Although it was unclear of Jack’s intentions in the beginning, his comparison to animals shows how his hostile side is

He has all control over the tribe of hunters he created, and Ralph’s rules no longer apply to him. He severely becomes obsessed with the idea of power and having a tribe to himself to do whatever violent acts he feels like performing. He reels in his members by convincing them they’ll have fun with him, in contrast to if they were to be under Ralph’s rule. For example, “I said you were hunters. That was your job.” Jack ignored him again. “Who’ll join my tribe and have fun?”(150). Jack’s idea of fun for the boys is conducting strange rituals and killing others. He ultimately wants to be free from Ralph’s grasp to commit violent and evil acts. At the end of chapter nine, Jack and his tribe altogether kill Simon. The way they decide to do so almost seems like a ritual, since they are all chanting and dancing. The text states, “Simon was crying out something about a dead man on a hill. “Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood! Do him in!”...The beast was on its knees in the center, its arms folded over its face. It was crying out against the abominable noise something about a body on the hill”(152). Simon is referred to as the beast during this, even though he was trying to help the others and inform them of what they believe the beast is. In actuality, the real beast here is Jack and he believes the beast can take multiple forms, as in the boys. Jack does not see that what he is doing is