Savagery In Lord Of The Flies

Under the supervision of adults, children act civilized, following the rules that were carefully taught to them by their parents. However, without the close watch of any adults, children feel relieved of the pressure to behave and become errant, allowing themselves to tease each other and act crudely. These children show their true nature, since the lack of guidance gives them the freedom to do whatever they please. The boys on the island experience a similar sensation of independence, which ultimately leads to anarchy and the revealing of man’s nature. In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, Jack, the conch, and Ralph demonstrate the true contents of man’s core: savagery and mercilessness. Golding uses violent diction and selection of detail

The boys are reciting this satanic phrase, advocating violence and killing when they were hunting primarily for the sake of their survival and not their enjoyment. Then, the boys proceed to compare the satisfaction of taking a life to a “long satisfying drink” (70). This greatly contradicts Jack’s previous feelings of remorse during his encounter with the pig in Chapter One. Earlier, Jack was unable to kill a pig due to the thought that he would be taking the life of an innocent creature. Now, he can kill more easily and comfortably without the feeling of uncertainty and shame. Jack no longer feels guilt in killing, but instead feels pride and amusement. This shows Jack’s progression away from civility and towards savagery. The longer that Jack remains on the island, the more he abandons the morals constructed for him by society, and the more his true savage nature shows. Eventually, towards the end of the text, Jack and the other hunters graduate from hunting animals to savagely hunting and murdering human beings. In Chapter Twelve after Piggy’s violent death, Ralph is in extreme fear due to the fact that Jack and the hunters are hunting Ralph like an animal. The hunters are ordered by Jack

When Piggy and Ralph first arrive on the island, they find a conch that is “ever so valuable” (15), showing that the conch represents an important and priceless symbol. Then Ralph thinks to use the conch to call the others and blows the shell, producing a “deep, harsh note” (17) that attracts others to the area. In this instance, the conch is a strong, unifying force, bringing children from all over the island to one centralized area. Thus, the conch symbolizes order, since the conch brought everyone together to one place after they were all scattered throughout the island. Later on, Ralph gets elected as chief due to his control of the conch. Despite Jack being the “most obvious leader” (22) and the Piggy being the most intelligent, Ralph gets chosen because the other boys were drawn to Ralph after he dominantly blew the conch. The shell granted Ralph authority, and therefore is a representation of leadership and control. Furthermore, when the boys began to talk loudly and get into disarray, Ralph “held up the conch for silence” (23). The conch symbolizes order, since the moment that Ralph holds it up, the boys pay attention to him and stop messing around. Moreover, in Chapter Two, Ralph calls an assembly using the conch, and Piggy suggests a system in which only the person holding the conch could speak. This recommendation gets everyone in line