ipl-logo

Lord Of The Flies Literary Analysis Essay

854 Words4 Pages

Lord of the Flies Literary Analysis William Golding's book Lord of the Flies centers on a group of young boys who become trapped on a desolate island and examines the barbaric side of human nature. Being without adults, the boys begin to descend into savagery and violence. And since there were no laws, some of the boys just did whatever they pleased. The story is meant to represent that without laws and social stability, society would fall into chaos, and it is shown through symbolism, plot structure, and setting. One way that the main theme is represented is through symbolism. When Jack failed to kill the pig for the second time, he came up with another idea, and he “made one cheek and one eye-socket white, then he rubbed red over the other …show more content…

Jack made his third attempt to kill the pig, and was finally successful. The boys celebrated by marching and chanting, “Kill the pig. Cut her throat. Spill her blood.” (69). The blood was still on Jack’s hands as he danced. This shows the continuation of Jack’s descension into brutality. ““There was lashings of blood,” said Jack, laughing…“you should have seen it!”” (69). Jack tries to get his point across to Ralph, but it only succeeds in coming across as violent, especially since he was still covered in paint and blood. Later on in the story, the boys were all in a circle, once again doing their chant, which has become somewhat normal for them now. All the boys had been afraid of a so-called beast that was on the island, but Simon knew the truth. “Simon was crying out something about a dead man on a hill,” (152), however the boys didn't listen. “The sticks fell and the mouth of the new circle crunched and screamed. The beast was on its knees in the center, its arms folded over its face. It was crying out…something about a body on the hill.” (153). The boys in the circle had made themselves believe that Simon was the beast, and they beat him to death with their sticks. This conveys the path that the boys were taking towards insanity, as they had fooled themselves so deeply that they had murdered one of their

Show More
Related
486 Words | 2 Pages

Once they kill Simon it explains deeply about how they kill him and how cruel and brutal it was. They kill him by biting and clawing and acting like savages. Simon says that it's themselves that is the beast and it shows in the part of the story how they act savage and

Read More
719 Words | 3 Pages

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.

Read More
529 Words | 3 Pages

There came a pause, a hiatus” (Golding 31). As you can see in the quote he hesitated and couldn’t kill the pig becasue in the begging the evil in the boys hadn’t been uncovered yet. Later on he progressed to loving killing the pigs and when he got his first kill he was ecstatic “Jack held up the head and jammed the soft throat down on the pointed end of the stick … a little blood dribbling down the stick” (Golding 136-137). He almost enjoyed killing the pig and after the quote it talks about

Read More
577 Words | 3 Pages

Jack pauses before stabbing the pig and the boys realize what is really going to happen if they continue, and that they will be responsible for the death of a living thing. Later on they lose this naivety and that is evident in the quote “ Then Jack found the throat and the hot blood spouted over his hands” (pg 135). Here it is shown how savage to boys have really become, and how much

Read More
235 Words | 1 Pages

Beginning his new job as a hunter Jack was unable to kill a pig because of the thoughts that ran through his mind. “‘Why didn’t you-?’ They knew very well why he hadn’t: because of the enormity of the knife descending and cutting into living flesh; because of the unbearable blood” (Page 31). As a result

Read More
834 Words | 4 Pages

Jack and his hunters had split away from Ralph and the others and starts to become more and more savage. After chopping the head off a pig jack says “This head is for the beast. It’s a gift” (156). It is difficult to cut off the head of a pig and it's extremely gruesome, Jack made the boys put the pig's head on a stick as an offering to some beast they think is on the island. Finally at the end of the book Jack has gone completely insane and has lost all off his innocence he says, “See?

Read More
691 Words | 3 Pages

That started to turn Jack more insane, later this bad influence started to rub off on the boys, and they became involved with violent games and retrial chants. “‘Kill the pig. cut her throat. Spill her blood’... Jack, his face smeared with clay, reached the top first and hailed Ralph excitedly, with lifted spear.

Read More
719 Words | 3 Pages

Jack’s group lost their innocence. They began shouting “Kill the pig! Cut his Throat! Kill the pig! Bash him in!”

Read More
897 Words | 4 Pages

Following the desperate chase after the sow, “Jack was on top of the sow, stabbing downward with his knife. Roger found a lodgment for his point and began to push...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” (Golding 135). Unlike before, this scene conveys that Jack and the boys in his tribe are capable of killing and committing brutal acts. While Jack hesitates to kill a pig at the beginning of the book because of his fears of blood and death, he eventually becomes obsessed with hunting and violence, killing a sow by vigorously “stabbing downward with his knife” and slitting the sow’s throat.

Read More
616 Words | 3 Pages

The boys think that he is the beast and engulf him. Their chant becomes, “Thick urgent and blind” pg. 152 Simon tries to escape the mass of people but they chase him, and, “there were no words, and no movements but the tearing of teeth and claws.” Pg.

Read More
709 Words | 3 Pages

In Lord of the Flies by William Golding, young boys get stranded on an island with no adults in the midst of a war. The boys were orderly and civilized in the beginning but then as they began killing pigs they slowly became savages and lost their civilization. The boys began turning on each other and the evil within them became present. Golding uses a variety of literary devices including personification, symbols, metaphors, and irony, to project the theme that pure and realistic people in the world can be unheard and destroyed by evil.

Read More
767 Words | 4 Pages

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.

Read More
903 Words | 4 Pages

Finally, Jack’s transformation of personality completes when Jack is able to kill at will. Jack loses his grasp of humanity when “Kill the pig! Cut his throat! Kill the pig! Bash him in!”

Read More
922 Words | 4 Pages

We've killed a pig we stole upon them and we got in a circle”(69 Golding). Again we can see Jack's Id taking over more of his personality. He is explaining excitedly to Ralph how he brutally killed the pig. Killing the pig was a symbol

Read More
913 Words | 4 Pages

Jack was directly involved in Simon’s death, and was completely aware that he and the boys were killing something when they were in the circle. Jack had rallied the boys in a savage way at the feast, singing their chant, and dancing:“Do our dance! Come on! Dance!” (151, Golding).

Read More

More about Lord Of The Flies Literary Analysis Essay

Related Topics

Open Document