What Is Jack's Descent Into Savagery In Lord Of The Flies

In The Lord of the Flies by William Golding, Jack’s descent into savagery is prevalent throughout the novel. Jack was a proper schoolboy who led the choir boys. He begins to desire hunting and killing, becoming more savage. Golding illustrates Jack’s barbaric tendencies with a mask and animalistic qualities. Jack’s steady decline into a killer occurs slowly throughout the novel. Jack begins as the leader of the choir boys. He is seen as“the most obvious leader” (19) since the beginning. Though he is not chosen as the chief, he is able to lead the hunters. On his first hunt, he realizes the “enormity the downward stroke would be… cutting into living flesh… the unbearable blood” (28-29). He is unable to kill the pig because he had humanity inside of him. He is able to reason with himself about the brutalism of killing the pig. Jack being unable to kill the pig the first time, motivates him to kill a sow the next.

He is “ape-like” (49) as he hunts, and “his laughter turns to bloodthirsty snarling” (66). He begins to lose himself, and his decline into a killer becomes prominent. He creates a mask and he becomes unrecognizable to himself. He sees himself as an “awesome stranger” (66) it changes him, he “hid, liberated from shame and self-consciousness” (66). The mask allows Jack to transform himself into a different person. He begins to develop barbaric tendencies. When killing the sow, his bloodthirst is evident. He “giggled… at his reeking palms” (148) covered in the sow's blood. His humanity has left him and he has now descended into a