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Lord of the Flies Critical Analysis
Analyse lord of the flies
Analyse lord of the flies
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Kill the pig! Cut his throat! Kill the pig! Bash him in! Kill the pig! Cut his throat! Kill the pig! Bash him in! These are the chants used in the bestselling novel Lord of the Flies written by nobel-prize winner William Golding. Throughout the novel, Golding exposes the true nature of human beings by the destructive acts of young children to whom are stranded on a paradisiacal island with absolutely no civilization. The boys were on their way out of England during the war because of bombing that was happening throughout the country, and their plane crashed. This idea stemmed from World War II, which occurred during Golding’s life as he witnessed the heinous acts of those around him. Therefore, exposing that Mankind is inherently evil.To further …show more content…
Jack uses propaganda to become a dictator to the rest of the boys; by pushing his hunting knowledge. Jack’s rise as leader is symbolic to that of the rise of such dictators like Stalin, Hitler, Castro, and now Trump. This prompts enforcement for many followers to unleash their natural savage-like behavior. The first example as to why Jack symbolizes evil in mankind is when he paints his face to illustrate his violent capabilities. He soon becomes obsessed with killing pigs and desires nothing more while also finding joy in bullying the other boys. During a scene in the book, Jack and the savages have a feast and wouldn’t let Piggy, the intellectual one that is often ostracized, eat. When Simon, one who cares for the vulnerable, decides to give Piggy a piece of the meat. Jack becomes furious and begins throwing the food at Simon. Lastly, Jack basically burns down the island in order to kill Ralph, the only non-savage one after the deaths of Piggy and Simon. This told the reader that Jack would go to the extremes in order to get what he wants even if it is dangerous, but then again he believes that “We’re not savages. We’re English, and the English are best at everything. So we’ve got to do the right things.” The desire to kill is what proves that Jack has an evil nature, and the fact that he came from a civilization shows that anyone can become like
William Golding’s Lord of the Flies portrays the lives of young British boys whose plane crashed on a deserted island and their struggle for survival. The task of survival was challenging for such young boys, while maintaining the civilized orders and humanity they were so accustomed too. These extremely difficult circumstances and the need for survival turned these innocent boys into the most primitive and savaged mankind could imagine. William Golding illustrates man’s capacity for evil, which is revealed in man’s inherent nature. Golding uses characterization, symbolism and style of writing to show man’s inhumanity and evil towards one another.
During the novel, the reader becomes increasingly aware of Jack’s dominating and violent tendencies. Specific actions taken are when Jack suggests using one of the younger children as a substitute pig, ties up Wilfred, and hunts Ralph. Things begin to get out of hand when the group’s game turns into a cruel beating. Not long afterwards, Jack suggests that the group
We can see other evidence of this conflict within ourselves, with the masks that Jack and his hunters put on. We are informed that Jack “ rubbed the charcoal stick between the patches of red and white on his face” The mask represents the dark line (charcoal) between good (white) and evil (red) within ourselves. These masks also let the boys hide from their conscience; we can see this when we are informed, “The mask was a thing on it’s own, behind which Jack hid, liberated from shame and self-consciousness.” We can see that the mask releases Jack from rational behaviour, which helps him, assert power.... ...
When Ralph sees the naval officer that appears on the island to save them, he realizes that he will return to civilization. The shock causes him to reflect on what has happened. The rescue does not produce joy; instead he feels despair at what he has been through. He is awakened to the reality that he will never be the same. He has lost his innocence and learned about the evil that lurks within himself and all men through his experiences on the island. Ralph’s revelation to his loss of innocence and societal order among the boys is exemplified through the collapse of the attempted Democratic government, the killing of the pig, and the death of Piggy and Simon.
Jack finds a pig while hunting, yet he cannot kill it, his reason being, “because of the enormity of the knife descending and cutting living flesh; because of the unbearable blood” (31). Because of the strictly regulated society Jack has grown up in, he finds it disturbing to kill an animal, even if he must do it to have food. Later in the story, changes can be seen in the boys from when they first arrived on the island. During an assembly, the boys discuss how to track the “beast” living on the island, and Jack speaks without holding the conch. After being reprimanded for that he says, “Conch! Conch!...We don't need the conch anymore… It's time some people knew they've got to keep quiet and leave deciding things to the rest of us” (101). Jack’s disregard for the conch shows his growing distaste for laws and civilization. He also challenges Ralph's authority by implying he should be in charge of decisions taken for the group. After some time, Ralph is only left with Piggy, Samneric, and some littluns on his side of the island. These boys realize everyone else has become savage.
The novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding used a group of British boys beached on a deserted island to illustrate the malicious nature in mankind. Lord of the Flies dealt with the changes the boys underwent as they gradually adapted to the freedom from their society. William Golding's basic philosophy that man was inherently evil was expressed in such instances as the death of Simon, the beast within the boys, and the way Ralph was fervently hunted.
The Lord of the Flies by William Golding is tale of a group of young boys who become stranded on a deserted island after their plane crashes. Intertwined in this classic novel are many themes, most that relate to the inherent evil that exists in all human beings and the malicious nature of mankind. In The Lord of the Flies, Golding shows the boys' gradual transformation from being civilized, well-mannered people to savage, ritualistic beasts.
In the “Lord of the Flies” by William Golding, Golding had described Jack in many different ways. In the book, the author proves Jack is an arrogant tyrant who is revealing an exaggerated sense of his own importance or abilities. Jack has a desire for power and uses violence against others. He also represents savagery which the other boys follow. In Lord of the Flies, the character Jack shows himself to be an arrogant tyrant because throughout the novel he acts in a way that is violent, mean, and savage.
This is evident when Jack wants to put people in punishment if somebody breaks the rules (32). His desire to punish people shows his love of power and dominance. It also reveals that Jack could have been like one of the ambitious leaders in the past history. Another sign of becoming a savage in the society is showing an act of disrespectful to another neighbour, including Piggy. This reveals when Jack mocks Piggy by telling him, “Shut up, Fatty” (17). It also happens when Piggy condemns Jack for “[letting] the fire out”, although Jack makes a promise to “keep the smoke going” (75). However, he became so violent, so angry that he “smacked Piggy’s head” (75). Some of the uncivilized members of the society use their selfish desires, which is not aiming for the common good. For instance, Jack tells Ralph that he successfully “cut the pig’s throat” (73). He said, “There was lashing of blood…you should have seen it!” (73). This suggests that Jack is more concern about hunting rather than getting rescued. Jack, as a savage, uses his ambitious power to put people in punishment, his rude attitude to hurt people, and his way to care more about himself than others. This character greatly exemplifies a savage in the society, but another important symbol that makes a novel an allegory is the
While his situation allowed his personality to blossom into something horrible, the desire for blood and power already flowed through his veins. An example from the beginning, before the corruption of the boys, was when Jack first arrived at the meeting with his choir following behind. They were wearing their cloaks in the heat and Jack only let them rest after Simon had fainted. Jack’s controlling nature can be observed from the very beginning of the book. At this time, decorum still covered his bloodlust, but it was quickly triggered after he hadn’t been able to kill a pig. The text reads that “Next time there would be no mercy”(p.31) He was not only embarrassed of his weakness and wanted to uphold his status, but he was also losing the civility that an organized society ensured. The island was the key that unlocked Jack’s hidden, savage
Lord of the Flies provides one with a clear understanding of Golding's view of human nature. Whether this view is right or wrong is a point to be debated. This image Golding paints for the reader, that of humans being inherently bad, is a perspective not all people share. Lord of the Flies is but an abstract tool of Golding's to construct the idea of the inherent evil of human nature in the minds of his readers. To construct this idea of the inherent evil, Golding employs the symbolism of Simon, Ralph, the hunt and the island.
The fact that Jack acts like this is very important to the story. Jack’s lust for power and blood sped the story up a lot faster. It’s possible that without Jack the boys wouldn’t even become savage. Jack is also a bully, and forces the boys out of fear into what he wants them to do. In, “The Lord of the Flies”, by William Golding, Jack is pretty much equivalent to a middle school bully, but the circumstances he is in, turns him into something even worse.
In the story, a group of boys are stranded on an island after their plane crashes in the middle of the ocean. All through out the book, the boys struggle with their morality and their human nature. The boys show Golding's concept of violent human nature in people that can become present when there is no civilization. At the beginning, everyone is more civil but as time goes on, savagery becomes more and more present in the boys. Civilization can provide a enchanting cloak to the evil nature of man.
Jack usurps power, as he slowly ascends himself, as the tyrannical dictator over the group
Through a historical perspective, Golding uses events that happened in his own lifetime and shows it throughout the novel. The first is the background of the story, which is about a group of boys who are trapped on an island due to a plane crash during a war. This relates to