Lord Of The Flies: The Destruction Of Civilization

Civilization is the main difference between human and beast. Rules, order, and morals are what keep us sane and humane. In Lord of the Flies, we witness the joyous beginning and fiery end of civilization on the island. Though not only one person or thing can be blamed, I believe that Jack is most to blame for the destruction of civilized behavior on the island.

During the first assembly, the boys are set on creating rules and order so they can have fun. It appears that Jack supports the creation of rules and the election of a chief; he states that the boys have “‘got to have rules and obey them. After all, [they are] not savages’” (p. 42). However, it becomes clear that his apparent affinity for rules is more about the punishments when he says,

After the election, Ralph tells Jack he can still be in charge of the choir and should choose a job for them to take on. Jack immediately says they should be hunters. Though the boys’ strictly fruit diet was making them sick, and the meat Jack and his hunters got was a relief to them all, Jack’s focus on hunting became too fixated and caused much of the destruction of civilized behavior on the island. One of the biggest incidents of hunting coming in the way of rescue was when the boys on the beach saw a boat on the horizon—their first means of rescue—and the boys in charge of keeping the signal fire alive left their post in order to hunt with Jack. It is the hunters’ first successful kill, and they are excited when Ralph angrily confronts Jack about letting rescue slip away for a pig. Jack, who is in the mindset that hunting is the priority, is “vaguely irritated by this irrelevance” and doesn’t seem to understand Ralph’s anger (p. 69). Jack’s mindset also infects the other boys of the island, and they become caught up in hunting as well: so much so that it becomes dangerous. The hunters create a disturbing chant and dance that excites them for hunting. Each of the four times that the chant is recited, it becomes more violent. The first time the boys kill a pig, the chant is “‘Kill the pig. Cut her throat. Spill her blood’” (p. 69). It is repeated during the re-enactment of the pig hunt when Maurice pretends to be the pig: “‘Kill the pig. Cut her throat. Bash her in’” (p. 75). Later, when Robert is the pig, the chant changes slightly: “‘Kill the pig! Cut his throat! Kill the pig! Bash him in’” (p. 114). The chant takes a turn when Jack's tribe gathers in a circle for their dance at the feast. Instead of referring to the pig, they now say “‘Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood’”(p. 152). This is when Simon is brutally murdered by the group and when the chant is last used. The boys