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Savagery In Lord Of The Flies

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The civilization vs savagery in a man is not determined by past experiences, but the person that has always been deep within them. In William Golding's novel Lord of the Flies, the true nature of humans is noticed through a group of British boys. The boys are on a plane together that crashes on a deserted island, where the boys attempt to figure out a way of surviving and getting rescued. Although, at first the boys are excited that they have a chance with no adults, so they are able to act the way they desire. Eventually, the boys get used to acting out in ways that they wouldn’t have in the past, which causes them to become very violent. Ultimately, the violent actions in the boys show how humans tend to have true aggressive behavior, which …show more content…

For example when the boys are hunting a pig, Jack finds much joy in the murder. The imagery in this scene is clearly showing the rape of the mother pig, “Jack was on top of the sow, stabbing downward with his knife… Then Jack found the throat and the hot blood spouted over his hands” (Goldings 135). This clearly demonstrates the violent behavior of Jack is revealed, during his time on the island, because he doesn’t have much of a reaction to the blood spurting all over himself. More specifically, Jack kills the pig very casually, although at the beginning of the novel he is scared of the topic. This transition is also distinctly demonstrated when Jack burns the entire island, looking to hunt Ralph. The fire causes total destruction of the island, “Smoke was seeping through the branches in white and yellow wisps, the patch of blue sky overhead turned to the color of a storm cloud, then the smoke billowed round him”(Golding 195). It is proven that Jack is truly evil because his only motive for making the fire is to hunt and kill Ralph. Also, the allegorical meaning of this fire is hell because all of the boys would have ended up dying, they are trapped on the island and the fire spreads quickly. In other words, Jack's violent intrusive thoughts take over his mind, which causes him to forget about the other boys on the island, putting them and himself in danger. Overall, the normal innocence of Jack has completely vanished by the end of the story and taken over by his own savage

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Evidence is shown when Jack makes himself a mask. As Jack is putting on the mask, “He looked in astonishment, no longer at himself but an awesome stranger… the mask was a thing on its own, behind which Jack hid, liberated from shame and self-consciousness” (Golding, 63-64). With his mask, Jack feels liberated from shame and self-consciousness as he embraces his savage nature without feeling guilty. Jack uses this mask more often to feel free to behave like a bloodthirsty savage. Likewise, more evidence was seen when Jack had just killed a sow.

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Jack had a sudden and drastic change in mindset when in the beginning, he struggled to find his inner savagery, to at the end, being the most savage character in the story. In the beginning, Jack attempts to kill a pig for food: “He rushed out of the undergrowth and snatched up his spear. The pattering of pig’s trotters died away in the distance,” (Golding 49). Jack couldn’t even kill a pig because a part of him was too scared to do it. He’s struggling between morality and savagery because he wants to kill the pig, but he’s being held back by his morals.

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He is prepared to resort to violence in order to achieve his objectives and keep authority over the other youths on the island. He is also portrayed as selfish and without empathy since he is more concerned with achieving his personal needs than with the group's well-being. Throughout the story, Jack's actions and conduct demonstrate his domineering and manipulative attitude. For example, he used fear and violence in order to keep control over the other males and fulfill his objectives. He also demonstrates his lack of empathy by hunting and killing pigs without guilt.

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Which shows in the book, also how evil he turns out to be later on, killing his friends and commanding his tribe to attack and kill. In the book Jack says “I thought I might kill. ”(Golding 3) This is talking about the time Jack went off and tried to kill a pig for meat and disobeyed the rules set up by Ralph which then Jack's motivation switched on the island. Also another example from the book quotes “Bollocks to the rules!

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This is an idea prevalent in Jack throughout the entire novel, but it comes into conflict with some of Jack’s other desires, leading to an internal

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He fears confronting his emotions specifically with the beast and masks it by spewing his authoritative demeanor on the island. Jack embodies the hunter archetype, only focusing on his

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What causes savagery behavior ? Biology can make people do bad things. It can cause savage and immoral behavior. Just like in the novel The Lord of the Flies. In the book, The Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, he writes about character who are kids whose plane has crashed on an island.

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After a few days of hunting Jack became obsessed with this activity, and it was all he ever wanted to do. This fixation on hunting caused Jack to turn into a savage. He turned into a barbarian and didn’t show mercy to anyone, especially the animals. Goldings writes, "He [Jack] began to dance and his laughter became a bloodthirsty snarling" (pg. 58). This shows, Jack losing the civility he once had, his laughing uncontrollably becoming snarling.

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(Golding 70). When Ralph finds out that Jack leaves the fire unattended which leads to the fire going out he finds Jack and confronts him. What Jack does not know is that while he is out hunting the fire goes out and a boat sails by, eliminating a possible chance of rescue for the boys. Impulsiveness is a main reason why the boys have multiple tragedies occurring on the island because of multiple impulsive actions that the boys take which turn into multiple

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Jack is harming many people with his attitude and how “He [becomes] absorbed beyond mere happiness as he felt himself exercising control over living things. He talked to them, urging them, ordering them. Driven back by the tide, his footprints became bays in which they were trapped and gave him the illusion of mastery” (Golding 51). This quote illustrates Jack's desire for power and control, as he becomes obsessed with hunting and dominating the natural world on the island. His desire for control over living things is a precursor to his desire for control over the other boys, and it highlights his growing obsession with power and domination.

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How Savagery Takes Over George R.R. Martin once said, “There is a savage beast in every man, and when you hand that man a sword or spear and send him forth to war, the beast stirs.” William Golding demonstrates that every person has savagery inside of him in his novel, Lord of the Flies. In this novel, Golding shows us that civilization is lost and savagery begins when the urge to kill takes hold of us. William Golding’s character development of Jack and motif of weapons help develop his point.

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The want for power strengthens and his hunger increases, but what he was unaware of was the fact that he was destroying his own mind. He was brainwashed by his surroundings to think that in that situation, it was acceptable. Jack’s evilness has officially broken everyone's norms on the island. These young boys have been exposed to the wild and this has destroyed the minds’ of these kids and has turned the kids into

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”14 Jack's history with his abusive father and his own problems causes him to become a danger. Hutz also states that the transformation of Jack shows how a “child victim” transforms “into the adult abuser. ”15This makes him a source of horror as it is a realistic, seemingly uncontrollable

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Lastly, Jack is known as the rebel of the story who disagrees with the leaders, and is pure evil from middle to end. Although Jack is evil, his bad character trait ensures his survival and alliance with the boys. The first example of when Jack’s evilness is shown in the story is when Jack hunts the pig and puts its head on a stick, the line says “ Jack held the head up and jammed the soft throat down on the pointed end of the stick which pierced through into the mouth. He stood back and the head hung there, a little blood dribbling down the stick” ( Golding, 150). This shows Jack’s evilness because instead of fearing the beast he is offering him the head of the pig that he just brutally murdered.

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A question my coaches often ask me is “What is my why?” Why do I play the game? Why do I dedicate so much of my time and energy to the team? The answer to those questions is more complicated than a simple “I love the game” or “It keeps me in shape.” Being an athlete allows me to give back to the community as I continue to discover myself through the game.

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