Savagery In Othello And Lord Of The Flies

Savagery in Othello and Lord of The Flies

In all of us lies savagery; vile and animalistic impulses, typically brought out by extreme circumstance. This truth is the essence of Othello by William Shakespeare and Lord Of The Flies by William Golding.

Othello focuses on the character Iago’s manipulation of Othello, a Venetian general. He believes that Othello had an affair with his wife Emilia, and feels resentful toward him for choosing Cassio instead of him as lieutenant, when he is clearly more experienced. As a result of these perceived injustices, Iago sets out to ruin Othello.

Once Iago convinces Othello of his wife Desdemona’s infidelity, Othello swears, “I will chop her into messes” (Shakespeare 4.1.185). Distraught by her supposed

He tells her: “Out of my sight” (Shakespeare 4.1.189). His brutal violence toward her is apparent. His demeanour has changed overall; he’d previously acted loving toward Desdemona as her husband, but in his rage, has become completely savage.

Lord of The Flies focuses on Jack & Ralph, respectively the symbols of chaos and order. Ralph desires to save everyone from the island and to get back home, while Jack desires to become the leader of all of them. Jack is shown to be ambitious, and ruthless in working toward his goals. Ralph is shown to care for others, and to not particularly care for the role of leader.

After Jack finds the other kids who were deserted on the island, he decides he will hunt. WHen his conscience stops him, he stabs a tree trunk and yells, “Next time” (Golding 31). His desperation to be a strong leader for the other kids spikes his violent, “dark” side, and he wants to prove his strength by killing a pig. Later on, he says to Roger, one of the other kids on the island, “They see me” (Golding 63). ‘They’ is the animals he hunts. To purely become a hunter, he smears clay on his face. This represents the loss of his