Savagery and primitivism: concepts that date back centuries upon centuries. Concepts that have evolved into something new now. Concepts that are pulled out from the shadows in Lord of the Flies by William Golding. Lord of the Flies follows the story of a group of sophisticated boys that drastically change over the course of their time being stranded on a deserted island. When their plane is shot out of the sky, and they are the only survivors, the seven boys are forced to learn the ropes of keeping order throughout themselves. Of course, though, they soon realize that this isn’t as simple as it sounds, and end up causing chaos. From sabotaging each other to killing each other, these once civil boys go to disastrous lengths to protect themselves …show more content…
Jack attacks Ralph and his group including Sam, Eric, and Piggy. Ralph gets mad and calls Jack a “bloody swine”, angering him even more. Jack charges at Ralph with a spear and attempts to stab him. Ralph throws a punch at Jack in return. (Golding 179). The boys turn against each other by the end of the book even though they were in unity in the beginning. This proves that they had a slight evil inside them after all. Jack’s inner villain had already been revealed, but Ralph had stored his evil deep down. It finally came out when his moral and ethical boundaries had been crossed by Jack here. Thus, Golding clarifies that when one’s boundaries are crossed, it unleashes a wild storm from inside of them. The author also conveys this idea through the use of symbolism. Simon, who has been speculating that the beast lies within every one of them, has a vision in which the Lord of the Flies confirms his theory. “There isn't anyone to help you. Only me. And I’m the Beast. . . . Fancy thinking the Beast was something you could hunt and kill!... You knew, didn't you? I’m part of you? Close, close, close! I’m the reason why it’s no go? Why things are the way they are?”(Golding 143). Here, the beast is described as a merciless monster that “is a part of you” and the reason “things are the way they are”. Although the beast symbolizes primitive instinct in all, it’s also proven that the beast symbolizes plain evil. Since the beast lies in the boys representing humanity and also symbolizes evil, it’s proven that everyone has villainy in them. This shows that people are born with evil inside them, some choose to showcase it, and others choose to let it sit inside of them, slowly burning, waiting to explode. All in all, Golding reveals that the root of one’s morals is malevolent and begins with a hidden ill