Lord Of The Flies Microcosm Analysis

Whether people will deny it or not, it is certainly apparent that human nature is all too evil; for there is a demon that lurks in everyone, just waiting to come out. Humans can build civilizations and attempt to deviate themselves from such basic instincts, yet nevertheless, evil is not something that they can run from; it is not something that they can defeat. William Golding knew this, and so in his book, Lord of the Flies, he presents so by portraying a microcosm of a society in the form of little British schoolboys. Their plane, in an attempt to escape from the raging war, came to its own demise as it was shot down, leaving the boys stranded on an island they know nothing of. Ralph, later on the leader of the boys, and with the help of

Piggy and Simon, tries to bring unity and a civilized community to the island, yet Jack, under his impulsiveness and need for leadership, makes the task particularly difficult to achieve. Power struggles occur, Jack defects from the group, and in an inevitable chain of events, he becomes the catalyst for all the boys to revert back to a more savage, primitive state. However, even with everything that Jack did, it was each individual who had this animality already inside them, because no matter the person, either strong or weak, has every single ability for brutality. Golding makes his theme of anyone being capable of savagery, widely evident within his novel through Roger’s rocks and the boys’ evolution of the hunt.
Noticing Roger’s actions is a way one can come to see the evidence of vile brutality on the island. He is a sadist, he enjoys cruelty and inflicting pain on others, thus, in such way, he finds it with great interest to challenge his civilized teachings. It is with the rocks, that Golding wants to signify Roger’s capacity for brutality. Initially, he refrained himself from hurting anyone, yet still pushed on that boundary:
Roger gathered a handful of stones and began to throw them. Yet there was a space round Henry, perhaps six yards in diameter, into which he dare not throw. Here, invisible yet strong, was the taboo of the old life. Round the squatting child was the protection of parents and school and policemen and the law. Roger’s arm was conditioned by a civilization that knew nothing of him and was in ruins. (62)
His actions depict his attempt to inflict pain on the little boy, yet, with everything he was taught in society, he could not go through with it. The attempt he makes introduce the aberration that is to come with the progression of his brutality. The violence seems to stir within him; and only with Piggy does he finally releases it. Roger, being callous to anyone’s pain “leans all his weight on the lever (to release the rock)…[striking] Piggy with a glancing blow from chin to knee…” (180-182). Roger kills Piggy by releasing the rock down the slope hitting and causing him to fall over the cliff. And with that, he extends his capability of barbarity to a new level, in which, he cares not for murdering another. Roger’s usage of rocks, as he deviates from civilized action and rules to bloodthirsty barbarity, indicates how abled he is in that thing he would attribute to as fun, while nearly every right person, would see as barbarous.
Roger, in particular, projected brutality, yet he was most certainly not the only one throughout the novel to act in such way.

With the evolution of the hunt and its successive reenactments, all the boys portrayed some aptitude for violence. During a hunt, the boys did not just kill the sow for its meat, but also, they killed it for the fun of it. Jack would “stab downward with his knife,” as Roger “moved the spear forward inch by inch and the [Pig’s] terrified squealing became a high-pitched scream,” all until “Jack found the throat and the hot blood spouted over his hands.” The hunters laugh at the sight of Robert’s spear and shouts “Right up her ass!” (135). The killing of this sow is horrific and truly demonstrates the boys’ faculty for cruelty. What one must take from this is that they do not just simply kill the pig, rather, they do everything they can to deal as much pain as can possibly be done. Even more so, they enjoyed the act and were very proud of it. Following hunts, the boys usually throw a feast, and at a particular one, later on in the story, shows just how violent any of the boys can get:

For even Piggy and Ralph, under the threat of the sky, found themselves eager to take a place in this demented but partly secure society. They, with all the other boys, surged after [Simon], poured down the rock, leapt on, screamed, struck, bit, tore. There were no words, and no movements but the tearing of teeth and claws.

(152-153)
Albeit Ralph is the antithesis of Jack, he is also found to contribute to murdering of one of his close friends; even Piggy himself, joined in on the assault. Jack’s bombastic remarks caused the boys to go into a dance, and at the opportunity of seeing something that resembled the beast, they attacked. Just the act of killing their own friend, was brutal enough, yet it does not stop there, for they are out for blood and they intended to get it. Not only did they hit Simon, but they bit at him and they torn at his flesh. Those boys stopped being boys at the moment Simon stumbled upon them, for they become savages and in their own regard, the Beast.
As much antipathy and aversion was held in Ralph towards Jack’s demeanor, it all became an assorted hypocrisy. Golding brings upon the reality, that regardless of how righteous one is, they are still very capable of iniquities. People of great status still have every ability to do wrong and they certainly have done so, over and over again. No one can escape the nature that man pertains, the brutality that he so desperately clings on to, in a time of need. Everyone is at fault and everyone is victim to it. May it be that one day, something will change, but then again, how could we ever?