What Is The Savagery In Lord Of The Flies

There are many examples of savagery on the island that take place in the novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding. The boys on the island display evil characteristics such as trying to kill each other, bullying and manipulation, and corruption. The savagery in the hearts of the boys on the island show the savage characteristics that can also displayed in today’s civil society.

The savagery in Lord of the Flies contrasts to modern society in that the boys largely choose savagery over society. When the boys try to make a stable society, it instead turns into savagery. Initially, they divide into classes that they picked based on who is the most violent and who is the most physically fit. Some built fires and shelter, others became hunters

“’You’re talking too much,’ said Jack. ‘Shut up, Fatty’” (pg 21). This cruelty that is being displayed by Jack can be compared to modern society in that Piggy is smarter than Jack and that he is jealous because of this. Just like in the book, this frequently happens today in society. Piggy is smarter than Jack and gets made fun of for it. Jack tries to show Piggies weaknesses so that is will dull his strengths. He gets made fun of for being fat, wearing glasses, and having asthma. If Jack can make Piggy look weaker, he is making himself look stronger relatively. This is also present today in schools in relation to bullying. Kids who are smarter and different, but are lacking physically are made fun of by bigger more physically intimidating kids. When people are different they get picked on. They are not accepted for their differences and discriminated against. Jack uses fear and manipulation to gain power over the rest of the group. "Ralph 's right of course. There isn 't a snake-thing. But if there was a snake we 'd hunt it and kill it. We 're going to hunt pigs to get meat for everybody. And we 'll look for the snake too--" said Jack. He’s promising to kill something that does not exist so that he can calm the other

When morals no longer apply, the savage heart appears. When the boys are in their enraged frenzy they chant ‘Kill the beast, slice his throat, spill his blood’. When they hear a rustling in the woods they quickly attack the being by tearing it apart with their bear hands and biting at it with their mouths. They did not realize that this was actually Simon and during the comotion Simon accidentally trips and falls over a cliff to his death. This leads to anarchy and can relate to our society as war, greed and fear. Much like in today’s society, its a sad commentary to explain how people’s choices to survive devolve into violence and murder. When there is no order, chaos reigns. And in society when riots occur, people ignore what is right from wrong and believe they can get away with stealing and hurting others since they outnumber the police.

Without law and order, the boys on the island were forced to live in a reality without adults and authority and had to think and survive for themselves. In Lord of the Flies savagery is shown many times throughout the book, most of the savage acts that take place in the novel are very similar to the way they would unfold in modern society under proper circumstances. In the book social imbalance seems to be the clear victor. It is clear that in this book, savagery is