“Long exile from Christendom and civilization inevitably restores a man to that condition in which God placed him, i.e. what is called savagery.” This quote by Herman Melville perfectly sums up the possibilities of savagery and evil if one chooses to disobey the societal influences that govern society, a major topic in the novel Lord of the Flies. Throughout the novel, readers explore the dark side of humanity, the savagery that underlies even the most civilized human beings. William Golding intended this novel as a tragic parody of children's adventure tales, illustrating humankind's intrinsic evil nature. He presents the reader with a chronology of events leading a group of young boys from hope to disaster as they attempt to survive their …show more content…
The aspect of fear of the unknown is evident when the boys first arrive on the island because they have absolutely no idea what the beast even looks like, evident by their guesses of how ugly the beast can be. “It was furry. There was something moving behind its head –wings. The beast moved too – ‘‘That was awful. It kind of sat up – ‘[…] ‘There were eyes – ‘‘Teeth – ‘ ‘Claws- ‘ ‘We ran as fast as we could –‘(22). Right when the boys find themselves stranded on the island, they are already skeptical of what is on the island itself and what dangers could be hiding as they venture further along, as noted by their crazy assumptions about the so-called “beast”. Golding uses the littluns to display the great fear of the unknown world that the boys are experiencing. With the dialogue Golding uses, such as this foreshadows the idea of fear of the unknown leading to savagery and evil, as the concept of the beast starts to kick in. This is evident when the boys begin to discuss the beast after reports of the little-uns witnessing it. “Ralph laughed, and the other boys laughed with him. The small boy twisted further into himself. ‘Tell us about the snake-thing.’ ‘Now he says it was a beastie.’ ‘Beastie?’ ‘A snake-thing. Ever so big. He saw it.’ ‘Where?’ ‘In the woods.’ […] ‘He says the beastie came in the dark.’” (2.73-80). The boys are extremely skeptical about the appearance, characteristics, and validity of the so-called beast. A common instinct for any young boys is to naturally think that scary creatures come in the dark, which explains the topic of fear of the unknown because the creature is that much greater when they can’t see it. Interestingly, this is the whole point of the beast; the boys can’t metaphorically see it for
The first representation of the beast that the author portrays is fear. In document A, “... Begin to people the darkness of night and forest with spirits and demons which had previously appeared only in their dreams or fairy tales”. To clarify, the children’s imagination runs rampant without their parents to banish their fears, so their imagination creates something of a beastie-thing. In document
Our first aspect of Fear in the novel comes into play with the Beast. This fictional character becomes the center of the boys problems on the island and brings a long chaos and death. Simon is murdered due to the befuddlement of Simon being mistaken as the beast when in fact he was the jesus like figure and his death was a representation of sacrifice. The beast was not something tangible it was simply the boys because the beast was themselves. Our biggest demons in life rest within oneself, and on the island the beast was just a justification for the boys to blame their wrong doings on. William Golding refers to this using the role of simon by stating: “Fancy thinking the Beast was something you could hunt and kill! You knew, didn’t you? I’m part of you? Close, close, close! I’m the reason why it’s no go? Why things are what they are" (158)?
The boys’ fear of the beast causes them to pay no attention to their morals and act savagely to defeat it. However, Simon is ultimately able to understand the beast and avoid savagery because his embrace of nature allows him to avoid any fears of the island. Simon demonstrates this lack of fear when he climbs the mountain by himself in order to find the beast, despite the dangers that might await him. The hunters and even Piggy and Ralph want to avoid the mountain because that is the last place where the beast was seen, but Simon seems to Once he reaches the top, he finds a physical beast, but not the kind the boys were expecting: a dead parachutist. The parachutist serves as an ironic symbol of Simon’s understanding; the monster the boys were afraid was a human. In contrast, Piggy displays immense fear throughout the novel, especially about Jack. For most of the story, his appreciation of logic and order help him remain civilized, but eventually his fears overcome him and he acts savagely the night of Simon’s murder. As Golding states, “[Piggy and Ralph] found themselves eager to take place in this demented but partly secure society….[the crowd] leapt on the beast, screamed, struck, bit, tore” (136). After this occurrence and the theft of his glasses, Piggy decides to
Most children, especially infants, do not know what is real and what is not real due to all the scary movies they watch, the scary stories they are told, and the nightmares they have. Therefore, they need an adult to remind them of what is real and what is imaginary. But since there are no adults no the island to remind the boys of these things, they are scared. All the fear that evokes from the boys causes chaos. " ’He still says he saw the beastie. It came and went away again an' came back and wanted to eat him--’ ‘He was dreaming.’ Laughing, Ralph looked for confirmation round the ring of faces. The older boys agreed; but here and there among the little ones was the doubt that required more than rational assurance,” (Golding 36). The little boy who said he saw a beast spreads fear among the crowd of boys, especially the little ones. Ralph tries to remind them that the beast is not real, but the boys don’t believe him since Ralph is not an adult. The fear that is still among the boys causes them to believe that there really is a beast and causes growing chaos throughout the novel. The growing chaos transforms the boys into savages and causes violent behavior. This factor and the other two factors, peer pressure and the boys’ desire to have fun, caused them to transform into
He did not fear the jungle, and he did not fear the Beast. "Maybe,' he said hesitantly, 'maybe there is a beast . . . maybe it's only us" (89). The Beast takes many forms in the boys' imaginations; once, t...
The Lord of the Flies - Savagery. William Golding’s novel ‘The Lord of The Flies’ presents us with a group of English boys who are isolated on a desert island, left to try and retain a civilised society. In this novel, Golding manages to display the boys slow descent into savagery as democracy on the island diminishes. At the opening of the novel, Ralph and Jack get on extremely well.
Would you be able to resist savagery from being away from society? Could you resist the urging power to kill? How about being able to find food without killing or not to go full savage on other people, could you still do it? A normal person could say no to all of these. In the novel, “Lord of The Flies”, William Golding shows that without civilization, a person can turn into a savage by showing progressively how they went through the seven steps of savagery.
All of this fear starts at one of the very first assemblies when a littlun says that he saw a beastie in the forest. "Now he says it was a beastie" (35). Everyone is already a little afraid of being on the island alone, without any adults, but this makes them even more scared. Ralph, the chosen leader, feels this fear and notices it among the other boys. He tries to reassure the others as well as himself with, "You couldn't have a beastie, a snake-thing, on an island this size. You only get them in big countries, like Africa, or India" (36). He continues trying to ease the fear by ending the conversation of beasties with, "...I tell you there is no beast" (36). In addition, Ralph tries to have an optimistic look on rescue, and talks of fun on the island to help the children stay calm.
A group of children creating a society is destined to corrode. In the beginning of the novel a little boy asks the older children what they are going to do about the “beast.” Although the older boys do not believe the thought of the island being inhabited by a beast, it does mark the start of their paranoia. As their paranoia rises, the children begin to wonder if there really is a beast on the island. "They talk and scream . . . as if the beastie, the beastie or the snake-thing, was real” (52). In this quote, Ralph, Jack, and Simon talk about the beast and whether it is real or not. The beast had created a fear that made
In the end, they are being rescued, but too much is lost. Their innocence is forever lost along with the lives of Simon, a peaceful boy, and an intelligent boy, Piggy. Throughout the novel, Golding uses symbolism and characterization to show that savagery and evil are a direct effect of fear. Initially, the boys carried on about in a civilized, systematic and fearless manner when first landing on the island. Ralph has just blown the conch and some small children responded to the sound by gathering at the source of the sound.
When one of the characters, Simon, stumbles across the beastie, it is revealed that it is a pig’s head on a stick. The pig was brutally stabbed by Jack and his hunters in a frenzy, as the pig squealed in pain. This act of savagery solidifies the loss of innocence and the embrace of evil. Simon hallucinates the head, talking to him. “You knew, didn’t you?
The older boys notice the younger children spreading the word and take a look at to prevent the idea of a monster before it spreads and causes everybody to become frightened of it. "But there isn't a beasty." (LOTF) Jack announces to the pack various times. However sure enough even the older children within the pack begin to question if the beast is even real or not. Concern of the unknown within the darkened woods begins to cause disorder and open a door to fear of the unknown.
This paper will explore the three elements of innate evil within William Golding's, Lord of the Flies, the change from civilization to savagery, the beast, and the battle on the island. Golding represents evil through his character's, their actions, and symbolism. The island becomes the biggest representation of evil because it's where the entire novel takes place. The change from civilization to savagery is another representation of how easily people can change from good to evil under unusual circumstances. Golding also explores the evil within all humans though the beast, because it's their only chance for survival and survival instinct takes over. In doing so, this paper will prove that Lord of the Flies exemplifies the innate evil that exists within all humans.
The beast displays the truth about mankind and their actions, making the readers understand what is happening in the world. Sam and Eric are on duty to maintain the fire and they encounter the dead parachuter, thinking that it is the beast. The twins run being horrified from what they saw (Golding 96-98). The parachuter, the beast of air is the consequence and the result of war, exhibiting the harsh actions humans are capable of doing. The beast also incorporate the human want of having power. Jack is unable to get the English boys on his side, so he uses their fear of the beast to manipulate them stating: “I gave you food, and my hunters will protect you from the beast. Who will join my tribe?” (150). In reality, many people uses the means of fear to control and have power over people, like dictators. This shows that power given to the wrong people can destroy or affect negatively on humanity. Near the end the boys turn on Ralph and causes chaos among the island. The naval officer condemn their actions as he says: The officer says: “I should've thought that a pack of British boys. . . would have been able to put up a better show” (202). It is ironic how he chastises them for their actions, but ignore the fact he is a naval officer and participates in war and in the act of killing humans. This is how William Golding shows how the reality is shown through the beast and how power can have its
William Golding’s novel Lord of the Flies, written in 1954, post world war II, explores the lives of a group of young English boy who have been marooned on a desert island without adult supervision. Golding uses his novel to demonstrate that the human instinct towards savagery is stronger for some characters and the human instinct towards civilisation is stronger for other characters. He associates the instinct of civilisation with good and the instinct of savagery with evil. Golding shows this predominantly with the thoughts, speech, and actions of each of the main characters. The opposing themes of civilisation and savagery, tend to have stronger instinct towards some characters more than others.