Savagery In 'Lord Of The Flies'

Mackendra Medley

Mrs. McGhee/Padgett

Honors English 9

18 January 2023

Literary Analysis Essay

At first, savagery may not be seen as an evident trait in someone. It may be deep down, hidden underneath. But, just as everything does, it will come out. It will make an appearance and once it does become known, it can be the motivation to cause extreme hurt. William Golding does an exceptional job of revealing the development of savagery in his novel, Lord of the Flies. In his book, Golding uses Jack Merridew’s appearance, actions, and speech to reveal the character’s savage attitude throughout the story.

In the beginning, Jack’s character is initially civilized and proper. He is the head of the choir and possesses the same civilization

We see this in his appearance in the quotes below. Golding writes, “…a party of boys, marching approximately in step in two parallel lines and dressed in strangely eccentric clothing. Shorts, shirts, and different garments they carried in their hands; but each boy wore a square black cap with a silver badge on it. Their bodies, from throat to ankle, were hidden by black cloaks which bore a long silver cross on the left breast and each neck was finished off with a ham-bone frill” (19). From this moment in the novel, it is clear from his appearance that Jack shows a more civil attitude along with his choir. The description in the quote in which he is “marching approximately” and is dressed with a “ham-bone frill” gives the image of just how proper they are. They value the civilization of looking precise. It gives readers a true sense of his courteous attitude. Again, Golding shows his attitude with appearance when he says, “… and the freckles on Jack’s face disappeared

Golding states, “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” (31). Golding wrote this excerpt of the book to show that originally Jack was not capable of killing a pig. “They”, or the other boys that were hunting with Jack, knew that he still valued civilization. He could not bare to deal with the blood and horror of killing a living thing. Quickly, this element of Jack changes. Golding writes, “Jack was bent double. He was down like a sprinter, his nose only a few inches from the humid earth. … Then dog-like, uncomfortably on all fours…” (48). The words of “bent double” and “dog-like” give the connotation that Jack no longer values proper manners. He is down on all fours, savagely hunting. Golding wrote this for the readers to understand how Jack’s attitude slowly morphs from respectable to