Denial In Lord Of The Flies

William Golding, the author of the novel The Lord of the Flies, lived through the global conflicts of both world wars. World War II shifted his point of view on humanity, making him realize its inclination toward evilness. His response to the ongoing struggle between faith and denial became Lord of the Flies, in which English schoolboys are left to survive on their own on an uninhabited island after a plane crash. Just like Golding, these boys underwent the trauma of war on a psychological level. Ralph, one of the older boys, stands out as the “chief,” leading the other victims of war in a new world. Without the constraints of government and society, the boys created a culture of their own influenced by their previous background of England.

Meanwhile, Jack, another one of the older kids, challenges Ralph’s legitimacy, ability, and authority. The development of the novel introduces savagery and violence. Through the formation of an independent culture on a new geography, Jack experiences a struggle of his own, battling between the civilized and savagery self in search for acceptance from society.
Each boy on the island has the potential to change completely or retain their original identity and morals. Jack Merridew exemplifies the prior. As the former leader of a group of choirboys, Jack arrives on the island with experience and confidence in leadership. When Ralph wins the election for chiefdom, Jack expresses his dissatisfaction and discomfiture as “the freckles on [his] face disappears under a blush of mortification.” (Golding 29) When the two of them explores the island, they reach the conclusion that it is uninhabited and that they are on their own for survival. The new knowledge also arrives with "the pig continues [to] scream and the creepers to jerk” (41) after its landing in a trap of vines. Jack is the first to take action, wishing to demonstrate the Valour’s minion that lies in him by killing the pig, but he hesitates, and the pig flees. Immediately afterward, Ralph makes a remark with respect to Jack’s courage in “Why didn’t you—?” (41), questioning his true hunting capabilities. Peter explains Jack's inability of murder at that specific moment "because... [of] the enormity of the knife descending and cutting into living flesh." (252-253) Jack is only a child, and to kill may be too great of a challenge for him to overcome. With little experience of the larger world, his sense of purity and accumulation of fear restricts his every action.
Merridew attempts to reestablish his reputation through more huntings despite the initial setback, but it only guides him on the path toward savagery.

The early pig hunt “has been relatively innocent,” (Johnston 12-13) yet to reveal the deeper meanings. Johnston suggests that the existence of pigs leads the boys into hunting in order to satisfy hunger. On the other hand, it highlights and reveals the true danger that lies inside each individual, and to Jack, this loss of innocence only pulls him into evilness more profoundly. Soon after his second attempt in hunting, which turns out to be a success, chantings of "Kill the pig. Cut her throat. Spill her blood." (Golding 96) become popular among the boys. Since the idea of hunting pigs and eating meat appear attractive to the boys, they begin to admire Jack's new skill as suppose to judging for his aggressive behaviors. Merridew, however, fails to recognize that his actions come at the cost of an emerging savagery-like affiliation. At the same time, his original identity as a choirboy with “voices [like]... the song of angels” (Golding 191) slowly subsides from his character. Compared to hunting, the angelic voice does not increase the chances of survival, thus its significance becomes subordinate to that of hunting. From the first encounter with the pig to the complete loss of innocence, adult figures are also responsible for his unsubtle

change.
Jack’s growing dissatisfaction toward Ralph’s administration leads to the former creating his own tribe. He has not only lures the older boys to part from Ralph and join his rule but also to put an end to Ralph’s life. The twins, Samneric, warn Ralph regarding Jack’s hunt for him: “You got to go now, Ralph.” (Golding 272) At first, hunting is only a method toward survival; now, it becomes a weapon as if Ralph is the next pig to be hunted. When plain searching and investigation is not sufficient, Jack’s command to set the island on fire to force Ralph out of his hiding spot only highlights his onset toward complete evilness. Jack blurs the line between simply demonstrating savagery to actual thirst of blood, placing himself in a dilemma. To Olsen, the display of such behavior is only “[imitation of] what their elders might do in similar circumstances.” (2000, pp. 20-21) The cause of this violent conduct is the kind of people the children look up to. With the adults in England at war, sending the boys away for safety, violence and harm appear justifiable as the permanent solution to a temporary issue. As opposed to preservation of innocence, the ongoing conflict in Jack’s homeland England makes him believe that his current actions are appropriate because the adults are acting the same way. Jack’s eternal struggle between his childhood innocence and the confrontation of reality transforms his morals, flipping the blacks and whites of his mind.
The uninhabited island and the English background both contributed to establishing a new personality in Jack Merridew. His struggle with power gradually consumes all his morals, ever so slightly changing his values in life. At first, it starts out as simply an opposition of authority, but the progression of his savagery behavior turns the track down the cliff of inescapable. Every little bits of influence in Lord of the Flies build up against Jack, traumatizing his struggles even further. Both internally and externally, what someone surrounds himself with are ultimately responsible for any changes in life.