Savagery In Lord Of The Flies

The novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding tells the story of a group of young boys who are stranded on an island after a plane crash. Without any adults to guide them, the children have to look after themselves. The group is led by a boy named Ralph, who gathers them all by blowing on a conch shell. Ralph is elected by the others instead of the choir leader, Jack Merridew. Ralph gives Jack control of the choir, who decides that they will be hunters. As the novel progresses, order begins to deteriorate among the group of boys, leading to them showing their true characters. The theme of the novel is that every human being has a basic instinct of savagery as depicted by the actions of Jack and Ralph. Throughout the novel, the main boy who

Ralph displays his inner savagery when he goes to join a hunting session for the island beast with the group. During the hunt, they encounter a boar. Ralph throws his spear and hits the boar. The boar runs away, but Ralph still feels proud of himself. He starts to feel “that hunting was good after all” (Golding 162), seeing that Jack may have been right. After the boar encounter, one of the boys, Robert, playfully snarls, mocking the boar. The other boys get caught up in the moment, and they make a ring and move in towards Robert. They grab him by the arms and legs, and Ralph “[grabs] Eric’s spear and jab[s] at Robert with it” (Golding 164). Not even Ralph can resist his instincts. The boys all try to get in close to get Robert. Ralph also tries “to get near, to get a handful of that brown, vulnerable flesh. The desire to squeeze and hurt [is] over-mastering” (Golding 164). Ralph’s desire to get to Robert illustrates his savagery. After Jack leaves and forms his own tribe, Ralph and Piggy, the first boy Ralph meets on the island, go to check out his tribe. After Ralph argues with Jack, Ralph and Piggy end up joining the dance of Jack’s tribe. They “[find] themselves eager to take a place in this demented but partly secure society” (Golding 218). Although Ralph tries to encourage order among the boys, deep down he enjoys the way Jack’s tribe is run. Simon, one of the choir boys, shows up and tries to tell everybody the truth of the beast. The boys circle around him, accusing him of being the island beast. Simon breaks out of the circle, but he falls over a steep edge. The boys follow him. Ralph’s instinct of savagery is exhibited here as he follows suit after Simon. After Simon’s fall, “the crowd surge[s] after [him], pour[s] down the rock, [leaps] onto [Simon], scream[s], [strikes], [bites], [tears]” (Golding 219). Ralph does not stop to think about what