Savagery In Lord Of The Flies Quote Analysis

Adults and laws: these keep the human race and society running in an orderly fashion, but when these are lost chaos will ensue. In William Golding’s fiction novel, Lord Of The Flies it is quite clear that when adults and laws are lost, chaos and savagery are the result. The scene is World War II, and a group of British boys, including Ralph, Piggy, Jack, Simon, and many more, are on a passenger plane on their way to freedom from the bombings and war of Germany. But, on their flight out they are shot down and land on an island in the middle of the ocean. In the crash, the only adult, the pilot, dies, this is the first step towards the final level of savagery that will ensue by the end of the novel. This will set the first play in motion for

Even before the boys can realize the severity of their situation, they immediately begin to make fun of poor Piggy and treat him almost as a scapegoat. While on the beach the boys find a conch, the conch will eventually represent order but is originally said to be a trumpet, “‘Where’s the man with the trumpet’ Ralph, sensing his sun-blindness, answered him. ‘There’s no man with a trumpet. Only me”(Golding 20). Ralph, one of the island’s newest residents, is the first to find out about Piggy’s nickname. Ralph exclaims, “He’s not fatty. His real name is Piggy!... “Piggy” “Piggy” “Oh, Piggy!” (21). In this moment Ralph realizes he has betrayed Piggy and thrown his trust out the window. This action by Ralph will lead to the nickname of Piggy, spreading like wildfire, and Piggy being known as this. Next, the torture of Piggy escalates to physical. This physical confrontation happens when Jack comes back from hunting the pig while he is supposed to be watching, the now blown out fire. The words said include, “‘You would, would you? Fatty!’ Ralph made a step forward and Jack smacked Piggy’s head. Piggy’s glasses fell off and tinkled on the rocks” (71). This scene will end up being crucial because Piggy’s glasses are a symbol of him and also the only way to start fire. Piggy is a very easy target for the boys, because of his weight and awkwardness. Also, with no adults to

Originally, the boys main priority is to fire and to keep it going for as long as they can to get a ship or plane to rescue them. But, their main priority is now hunting. And, when they got caught up hunting, “The hunter were more silent now, but at this they buzzed again. Ralph flung back his hair. One arm pointed at the empty horizon. His voice was loud and savage, and struck them into silence. ‘There was a ship’” (Golding 70). The boys are so focused on hunting that they allowed the fire to go out. Secondly, the boys then try to explain why they left the island by saying , “We can light the fire again. You should have been with us, Ralph. We had a smashing time”(Golding 69). This quote is very wrong because the fire can not be lit again because of the destruction of Piggy’s glasses. The boys do not realise what they have done because of their drastic change of behavior. The boys even end up changing poor Ralph, “I hit him all right. The spear stuck in. I wounded him!’” (Golding 113). Ralph says this after he hits the boar with the spear. This is a big change for Ralph because before he was focused on fire, now he is hunting instead. The fire is a main priority when the boys originally land on the island but, as time goes on, and they become more savage, the fire becomes second, maybe even third priority. This will lead into some of the most savage things