How Savagery Takes Over George R.R. Martin once said, “There is a savage beast in every man, and when you hand that man a sword or spear and send him forth to war, the beast stirs.” William Golding demonstrates that every person has savagery inside of him in his novel, Lord of the Flies. In this novel, Golding shows us that civilization is lost and savagery begins when the urge to kill takes hold of us. William Golding’s character development of Jack and motif of weapons help develop his point. As Jack’s moral character deteriorates, it brings his savagery to the surface, allowing the remnants of civilization to be forgotten. In the beginning of the novel, a group of young boys find themselves alone, without any adults, on an island after …show more content…
He goes to share his hunting story to Ralph and a boy named Piggy. On page 69, the narrator shares, “I cut the pig’s throat,’ said Jack, proudly, and yet twitched as he said it.” This quotation shows us that civilization is lost when the urge to kill takes over because it shows the stage where Jack is proudly killing animals, but still feeling a little bit uncomfortable with it. In this example, Jack proudly shares that he has killed, but still twitches after saying he did. Jack is still hanging onto the little bit of civilization that is left on their island. Lastly, in the end of the book, Piggy, Ralph, and Sam and Eric, a set of twins, are the only ones who have not joined a new tribe created by Jack. The other older boys raid what they have left and leads Ralph, Piggy and the twins to confront Jack. While Jack and Ralph are yelling at each other and fighting, a large boulder rolls down a hill and strucks Piggy, who falls off of a cliff and quickly dies. On page 181, the narrator states, “Then the sea breathed again in a long, slow sigh, the water boiled white and pink over the rock; and when it went, sucking back again, the body of Piggy was gone. This time the silence was complete. Ralph‘s lips formed a word …show more content…
To start, when the boys first arrive on the island after the crash, Jack had a knife that he carried around with him. He constantly hits it into nearby objects to instill fear in the other boys. For example, during a meeting the boys are all talking about what their plan should be while they are on the island. Jack suddenly stands up. On page 33, the narrator says, “Jack slammed his knife into a trunk and looked around challengingly.” This quotation shows us that Jack used the knife to look intimidating. This piece of evidence shows us that Jack used his weapon as a tool to get respect and attention. Golding uses the knife in the beginning because it is more civilized than any other weapon that they have access to on the island. Later on, there is tension with the boys on the island as the two groups of boys begin to form. Jack and his hunters begin to use spears made of wood they found on the island. These spears are not the least bit civilized; the boys used them to throw at animals while on hunts. The boys have been hunting a lot more and have grown to be comfortable with the feeling of killing animals with no regret. An example of this is found on page 134 when the narrator says, “The drove of pigs started up; and at a range of only ten yards the wooden spears with fire-hardened points flew toward the
Jack has this strange determination to kill a pig. At first he struggles, since his inner self was slowly becoming apparent. But eventually this becomes an obsession, and he won't stop until he kills the animal. Finally when Jack kills the pig he becomes savage. In fact, a quote from the text describing his hunt says “Jack transferred the knife to his left and smudged the blood over his forehead as he pushed down the plastered hair” (67).
“The word archetype comes from the Greek word meaning ‘original pattern’. Discovering patterns and similarities in literature demonstrates what link people together and the oneness of humanity” (DaFonte). William Golding includes at least three archetypes in his novel Lord of the Flies; the Iron Age, God-Teacher, and Metamorphosis. After the boys arrive on the island, they know they need have to rules and boundaries, so they are all civil and mature. As time passes on, they start spending more time on the island, become more comfortable around each other and develop an obsession with killing, so most of them transform into savages.
But, as the story continues, the freedom the island has gets into Jack's mind and causes him to becomes power-hungry, evil and savage. His hunger for power starts off small with comments he makes like this one he says in the beginning of the book, "I ought to be chief, because I'm chapter chorister and head boy. I can sing C sharp" (chapter 8 page 21). But the hunger for power gets out of control and he
Jack hunters attacked them and and steal Piggy’s glasses, and tied up the twins. Jack then fights with Ralph. Roger knowing there is a battle going on rolls a boulder killing Piggy and destroying the
”(Golding 60) Which wasn’t really the only reason they left the fire alone and went hunting, it was mainly because they wanted to prove themselves that they can catch a pig and that’s why they came back with all that blood. That blood made them want more. That’s all they were satisfied to see when they killed the pig, they started to act like savages.
Jack’s tribe lost all connections with civilization, and the narrator now refers to them as savages and not by their own names. In a frenzy, Jack goes crazy and completely breaks his chains with civilization and sets the whole island on fire, which is his last act as the dictator of the
Jack has lost his good reasoning. His good senses are replaced with chaos, disorder, and evil. With jacks evil actions the his savagery is really starting to show us that he is getting violent. Jacks use of hunting turns him into the most savage out of all the boys. Everything he did after this point made him into the young savage that he was in the end of the book.
Golding gives the reader a glimpse of the creeping darkness within man by creating several internal struggles within the characters of his novel. For example, Diane Jenningfeld commented in her essay “An overview of Lord of the Flies”, saying “During the first trip into the jungle, Jack is unable to kill the pig with his knife; by the end of the book he is hunting human quarry”. At the start of the novel, Jack Merridew struggles with his reluctance and desire to kill anything. He falters because society has taught him to suppress any evil and violent urges, but now on the island there is no one to stop or reprimand him. By the end, Jack no longer holds back, but gives in to the mad pleasure of killing pigs and even hunting humans.
Which shows in the book, also how evil he turns out to be later on, killing his friends and commanding his tribe to attack and kill. In the book Jack says “I thought I might kill. ”(Golding 3) This is talking about the time Jack went off and tried to kill a pig for meat and disobeyed the rules set up by Ralph which then Jack's motivation switched on the island. Also another example from the book quotes “Bollocks to the rules!
He tried to lead the boys using his knowledge of the adult world and basic necessities, but all did not last for long before Jack started to change, not only himself but the boys as well. He became the leader of the savages who had lost their innocence, having to hunt for themselves and provide for themselves. They saw the brutality that was necessary to survive in the world. When they arrived at the island all the boys were innocent, not knowing what to expect on the island, not sure what to do. By the end of the novel, they had become the definition of barbaric and fought with one another and tried to steal control from one another.
In the book Lord Of The Flies, Golding portrays how savage some people can be at their very core, no matter how civilized you think you are. When Ralph found out that they were stranded on an island without any adults, the first thought was that they can do anything they want, this was the first sign of savagery. Piggy on the other hand wanted to know if their were any other boys on the island, when he stumbles across a conch he tells Ralph that if he blows it then others might come, if their are any, this was the first sign of civility. Throughout the book There are many signs of civility and savagery, but only when will be revealed at their true core.
Jack’s cruel nature starts to show as he begins to lose control of his temper along with him being pretentious: “ ‘I cut the pig’s throat,’ Jack said, proudly … ‘There was lashings of blood,’ said Jack, laughing” (Golding 69). Although Jack is feeling proud of himself, there are still some qualities in need of assessment. For one, Jack is one of the only children on the island that would do that. Others may have killed the pig but Jack was vicious enough to cut the pig’s throat. This explains that Jack had the guts to murder an animal, which also implies that he is just a little heartless.
Golding includes the reaction of the hunters to give the reader the intimation that Jack’s apology may not be sincere and he just wants to regain the respect of the boys. This shows that Jack is acting in self-interest and uses deceitful tactics to gain the trust of his supporters. Despite this, Jack continues to fulfill the role of the bully by calling the littluns cry babies and sissies, not to mention his constant jabs at Piggy. This lets the reader know that Jack takes advantage of his power when he knows he will not face any consequences. Another example of Jack becoming more savage is when he steals Piggy’s glasses by means of violence.
The want for power strengthens and his hunger increases, but what he was unaware of was the fact that he was destroying his own mind. He was brainwashed by his surroundings to think that in that situation, it was acceptable. Jack’s evilness has officially broken everyone's norms on the island. These young boys have been exposed to the wild and this has destroyed the minds’ of these kids and has turned the kids into
The island itself was their society that corrupted them because of being stranded on the island at a young age. The boys’ fear was larger than anything and the idea of