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Lord of the flies book analysis essay
Lord of the flies book analysis essay
Lord of the flies book analysis essay
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Innocence with Blood on their Hands In Lord of the Flies Ralph asks, “ What makes things break up the way they do?” Throughout the book fear has been represented as the main reason for breaking up the unionization of the boys on the island, although the boys are stranded on this island alone they know they must remain strong and use all of their survival skills to persevere through the end of their journey. In the chapters fear has slowly evolved the young boys to start turning against each other. They once were considered the prey to the unknown sources located on the island to the predators of each other. This evolution underlines what Golding has to say about human nature, he believes the humans are inherently evil and that the …show more content…
Early on in the book Jack Merridew, the leader of hunting, is excited to capture a pig, but is fearful of the reality of having to get his hands bloody and kill the pig himself. Jack isn’t quite ready to let go of the values and norms he grew up with. Civilization with the other boys on the island is what hinders Jack from sheathing a spear into the pig's stomach. In this scene three of the boys and Jack were exploring the island for food and shelter; they come across a defenseless pig caught in a “curtain of creepers”. Ralph and the other boys scrutinize Jack as he can easily obliterate the life out of the creature instead of Jack killing the pig he “ pauses long enough for them to understand what an enormity the downward stroke would be” ( Golding 23). Jack lets the pig loose because he is afraid of what happen if became something he isn’t known to be which is murderous. “ they knew very well why he hadn’t: because of the enormity of the knife descending and cutting into living flesh; because of the …show more content…
Jack tries to diminish the fear of never been found again, so he tries to fixate his thoughts into desires of capturing a pig and ending its life. “The thing is--fear can’t hurt you more than a dream.” Jack is saying that fear is something that resides inside our minds that we create that cannot harm us because they aren’t real. He is now discrediting all his previous fears of killing the pig and breaking the rules. Jack no longer wants to fear another living creature, he wants to overcome his fears by hunting them down. Turning himself from the prey of the beast to the predator. Piggy is particularly bothered by Jacks shift. so he asks him “Which is better, law and rescue, or hunting and breaking things up?”( Golding 162). Jack chose hunting and breaking things up because although these two things were his fears initially they no longer survived as fears and became more as desires because of Jack new fascination of blood pouring out of an living thing, thus growing the “beast” inside of Jack. “ Kill the beast, cut his throat, spill his blood” ( p. 135). This tune rang in Jacks head, thus killing the fears of a pig to actually driving him to do it again. Jack has turned into the beast, he is now “…wedded to her in lust, excited by the long chase and the dropped blood” (Golding 120). Jack has no idea what he is turning into at this point. Ralph screams, “ You’re a
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)?
Momentarily after Piggy was killed, his limbs “twitched” like a “pig’s after it has been killed” (181). Comparing Piggy to an actual pig reveals how the savages are beginning to hunt and kill each other like they are pigs. Additionally, having Piggy’s name be Piggy was a foreshadow to this moment, where there was no difference between him and an actual pig prey. Likewise, the tribe “watched Ralph to see what he would do next” after the twins were tied up (179). Here, Ralph is portrayed almost as a wild animal that the savages are observing and just waiting when to pounce on him. In addition to this, after the conch was smashed, Jack “viciously” hurled his spear at Ralph “with full intention” (181). This implies that Jack is hunting Ralph, like he is the new pig. Ralph is his next prey, now that Piggy, his last prey, is dead. Lastly, through all of his frustration, Ralph accused Jack of being a “beast and a swine,” suggesting that through trying to stop and kill the beast, he has let out his inner darkness and become the beast, yet developed the qualities of a pig at the same time (179).
One of many prominent themes in William Golding's novel, the Lord of the Flies, is Fear. From the very first chapter, until the last, fear plays an important role in this text. It is the only thing, which stops the boys from acting rationally at times, from questioning curious circumstances and it physically hindered so many of the boys, so many times. The active role of fear in Lord of the Flies, was intentionally used by Golding, because he knew what images it would create. Fear is described by Mirriam- Webster's English dictionary, as To be uneasy or apprehensive'. This feeling is mutually experienced by all of the boys on the island in many different ways. Initially the boys have an obvious fear of being alone, which then brings upon the fear of what we know as the beast, or as the littluns refer to is, as the beastie'. While this fear continues for the whole of the novel, we are also exposed to three other incidents of fear. The first of these is the civilised fear of consequences, displayed only when the children are seen as young civilised boys, in the earliest chapters. The final two are of a different nature, with those fears being the loss of power, the fear of rejection and the fear of being in the minority. All of these different fears, then relate back to the character, and as was expertly planned out by William Golding, influences the characters attitudes and behaviours.
Immediately after sardonically taunting Piggy, the boys all broke into laughter behind Jack. This instance of harassing in Lord of the Flies is an example of insolence that granted power to Jack. In Lord of the Flies, William Golding shows that aggression can be rewarded with power.
In William Golding’s novel, Lord of the Flies, and Kendra Cherry’s article, “The Milgram Obedience Experiment”, the comparable fear factor, and naive mindset of individuals put under dire circumstances leads to the corruption of society and rise of evil in humans. Fear factors are an influential resource, and useful tactic leaders use to instil dominant power in their citizens, if this power is abused, evil and chaos occurs. For example, in Lord of the Flies, when Samneric get captured by Jack, Jack terrorizes them, snapping, “What d’you mean coming here with spears? What d’you mean by not joining my tribe?” the twins try to escape but fear takes over their morals and they, “...lay looking up in quiet terror” (Golding 182). As Jack threatens
For instance, while Ralph and Simon attempt to build shelters, Jack insists that hunting is a higher priority. While they complain how the others will not help, Jack emphasizes they want meat Golding , to which Ralph contradicts they need shelters . By choice of wording, Golding suggests Jack, knowing it is not a necessity, still urges to act based on want over need. Additionally, Jack develops from a boy hesitant to kill a pig, to a cunning, premeditative hunter. On his first encounter, Jack has a pause when aiming at a piglet, but afterwards, so entranced in bloodlust, stalks in the undergrowth , and later cut the pig’s throat, which he describes with pride. Transitioning from humane to ruthless conveys how savagery becomes instinctive to humans in a situation of morality, specifically when ending a life. Similarly, the chant sang when first killing a pig, invigorates their sanguinary impulses for food. By the repetition of the chant, Kill the pig. Cut her throat. Spill her blood. , Jack encourages the biguns to unify in savagery to have power against the wilderness. Rather than influencing order, he brings barbarity and power, something both he and the rest of the group lacked before becoming savage. Consequently, as the hunters enjoy what he offers, power sways from Ralph to Jack, sensing iniquitous savagery
Remembering his encounter with the pig, Jack feels as if it was one of the happiest moments of his life. The fact that Jack is relating murder to a thirst quenching drink is concerning because it means that he had had a throbbing desire to kill, and that he is no longer tied to civility. During Jack’s first encounter to kill a pig, he is unsuccessful because he pauses for just a moment, still feeling connected to the rules of civilization. After Jack’s first successful kill, his innocence is completely gone, suggesting that humans adapt in ways deemed appropriate to their specific environment. One’s environment can get them to do things they would never expect, such as when Jack, “with full intention, hurl[s] his spear at Ralph” (181). Jack purposefully threw his spear at someone, who earlier in the novel, had tried to help him, had tried to help the group as a whole get rescued. At first, Jack kills pigs, but it soon progresses to the point where he feels inclined to go as far as trying to kill his once companion. As Jack gains more power and falls further into savagery, he starts to commit more savage acts. This implies that the environment can cause people to adjust, allowing their once
Piggy had an appetite to be needed and accepted as a person in the boys' society. Jack had to kill a pig; he saw no other way.
First, fear leads to abusive and violent behavior. One example of this is through the verbal and physical abuse that Piggy experiences by the hand of Jack. When Jack leaves to go hunt, he decides to take many of the other boys hunting as well and leaves the fire unattended, resulting in the fire dying out. Meanwhile, a ship passes by, but is unable to see the smoke on the island because the fire is gone, therefore crushing the best chance the boys had at rescue. After Jack and the other boys return from the hunt, Ralph confronts him about shirking his responsibilities. Ralph yells at Jack, and tells him that they would be rescued if had he kept the fire going like he said he would. Because of the confrontation, Jack begins to feel unnerved
At this point in the novel, Jack still maintains most his humanity as he is too frightened to kill the pig. As his previous society condemned violence, Jack clings to its norms like a baby. With humanity still inside him, Jack is deeply haunted by the idea of massacring the swine for food. Yet, his mercy doesn’t last very long. Later, he tries to explain why he was out hunting so late: “‘I went on. I thought, by myself—’The madness [comes] into his eyes again. ‘I thought I might kill.’”(51). As Jack is getting closer and closer to killing a pig, he is slowly getting closer to losing all his humanity. Soon, all he can think about is being able to kill that pig; not for meat, but for the joy of the slaughter. Later in the chapter, Jack makes himself a mask to camouflage himself when hunting. However, it is clear that the only thing Jack is trying to camouflage is his true self: “He [begins] to dance and his laughter [becomes] a bloodthirsty snarling. He [capers] toward Bill, and the mask [is] a thing of its own, behind which Jack [hides], liberated from shame
Fear is being afraid of something or even someone. It can be scary, painful or threatening. It can be difficult to turn it off sometimes. Fear can make it difficult to know what is right or wrong. In the novel the, Lord of the Flies, William Golding shows how humans are made. He proves that fear is a destructive emotion.
As time has passed throughout the novel, all of their positive guidelines they made have been deflected or have changed. The author shows numerous examples to develop the idea that without strong leadership society falls apart and will change people, in this case, the boys are becoming barbaric savages. In Chapter One of the novel, Jack was faced with the situation of killing a pig for food and showed a desire to kill the pig however he couldn’t because of the “unbearable blood” that the aftermath of the situation would impose. He paused “only long enough for [him] to understand what an enormity the downward stroke would be.” In Chapter Four, Jack was faced with this same situation again and killed the pig for the different food source that the boys craved for after living on the island. Jack “cut the pigs throat, [he] said proudly..." indicating a sense of satisfaction showing he is not upset. Jack describes the situation in Chapter Four when he kills the pig, however, “there [were] lashings of blood” that made him “[stutter]” as he completed his thought. The progression of this theme ends in Chapter Eight when Jack kills the pig, out of enjoyment. When Jack brutally kills the sow in was in a situation when the heard of pigs were “sensuously enjoying the shadows” and a “deep maternal bliss” describes the situation as non-threatening, implying that Jack is killing for enjoyment and not for food. This theme is continued to be illustrated when Jack says he “[can] do for some meat.” Jack is a strong example of the reoccurring theme that the author is trying to pursue. The most evident example of the boys descending into barbarism is the gradual brutality that Jack and the other boys display around the
As the story progresses it shows how the boys change from disciplined school boys to savages. Jack is the first to show the transition. When Jack, Simon and Ralph go exploring for the first time, they come across a piglet caught in a curtain of creepers. Jack couldn't kill it "because of the enormity of the knife descending and cutting into living flesh; because of the unbearable blood (31)." From that moment on, Jack felt he needed to prove to himself to the others that he's strong, brave and isn't afraid to kill. When Jack says, "Next Time (31)" it's foreshadowing his future of savage hunting.
A desire for blood and flesh eats away at Jack's innocent and civilized nature. Shortly after a plane crash brought boys to on the island, Jack volunteers himself as a hunter, eager to maintain some position of authority. Jack is given the first opportunity to hunt when he and two other boys, setting out to explore the island, encounter a piglet, which, if killed, could provide dinner. Although he hesitates, allowing its escape, he demonstrates his forceful nature as he stabs a tree with his knife, and implies that in the future, "there would be no mercy"(31). Despite the initial failure, the possibility of hunting remains in Jack's mind. The reader witnesses Jack's struggle to contain the desire affecting him
Jack begins the novel partially innocent, cruel enough to yell at the boys yet pure enough to hesitate when faced with the task of killing the pig. Jack obtains the tools necessary to kill the pig, yet claims to need help cornering the animal. Jack, not truly needing help to kill the pig but rather needing the support provided by the mob mentality, acquires the support of his choir and together the boys hunt and kill the pig, all the while chanting, “Kill the pig. Cut her throat. Spill her blood”...