What Is The Glorification Of Death In Lord Of The Flies

Often people have wondered what is the force that drives the continuous reinforcement of cruel behaviors. Perhaps one explanation is the glorification of death. In the Lord of the Flies, young boys are stranded on a deserted island. They begin to set up a society of their own, but as time goes on they embrace the darkest traits of human nature, which are explored a lot in this dystopian novel. As this occurs some of the characters become infatuated with hunting and killing pigs, and eventually other characters. As a result, these characters gain a large following of younger children, who also come under the spell of these forces. William Golding’s Lord of the Flies depicts how people often view death as either a solemn spiritual passing or

As he lies on the ground he “found he was looking into a vast mouth. There was a blackness within, a blackness that spread” (Golding 144). The blackness coming out of the pig symbolizes evil. It spreads over the island, and the boys become steadily more immoral in their actions. The pig rotting is also symbolic. The more it rots, the more savage and evil the kids become. Later, Ralph has his own interaction with the lord of the flies, in which “he hit out at the filthy thing in front of him [and] the skull lay in two pieces” (Golding 185). When Ralph breaks the skull, it is symbolic that the boys have completely lost any sense of morality. Additionally, it is the product of a gruesome murder, committed by the boys. When the sow is killed, the hunters track her down and kill her slowly and painfully. Her “terrified squealing became a high-pitched scream” (Golding 135) as the boys continued to hurt her, rather than end her life quickly. Symbolically, you could say that the blackness in the pig, originally comes from the hunters. The ceremonial killing of the sow showed the glorification of death, which the kids happily took part in,

After the sow is murdered Jack holds a feast, which Ralph and Piggy attend. When the two arrive, they see “Jack, painted and garlanded, [sitting] there like an idol” (Golding 149). He rules over the kids, who obey his every command. This imagery shows the children looking up to and seeing Jack as an authority figure. He is portrayed as a chief and leader and his followers see him as strong and fearless, as he demonstrates while hunting. The younger boys follow him because he glorifies death; he turns brutality into a ceremony with chants, fire, and dancing. More imagery of Jack describes how “power lay in the brown swell of his forearms: authority sat on his shoulder and chattered in his ear like an ape.” (Golding 150). This depicts the power that Jack now holds. His hunting and courage give him power, which he longs to have. Since the early days of their experience, he has desired power over the people on the island. Multiple times he has tried to become chief, and he has finally succeeded. This power is dangerous in the hands of someone like Jack, someone arrogant, cruel, and intimidating. The possession of this power over his tribe leads to the gruesome events to come. Another common image are the rocks on the island. The description of the same rocks changes throughout the course of the book. Early on, the boys