Savagery In Lord Of The Flies

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Over thousands of years, humans evolved from low intelligent cavemen to the present day homosapien. One of humanity's greatest accomplishments is evolving from a local animalistic lifestyle to a globalized and civil one. In the novel, Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, readers are introduced to a group of young, British schoolboys who are stranded on an island after a plane crash. Soon after waking, the protagonist Ralph calls together all the boys, and they immediately establish a sort democracy and government. However, several boys forget about their self-placed government, and slowly begin acting like animals on the island and eventually split into two groups. Two boys are killed by one group's savagery, and as they pursue Ralph in a …show more content…

However, the littluns and the ending strengthen Golding's view of man through actions and contrast. For example, the littluns on the island are not given much focus and are shown to act out of want, not need. The littluns do not help with shelters, not using the designated bathroom area and do not help with the smoke signal. Despite being enthusiastic about rules, they disregard them quickly in favor for more enjoyable activities. They also follow Jack after he creates his own tribe after a couple days, which takes them down the path of savagery. The littluns are also prone to savage behavior, following the group in Simon's murder and Jack's decision to hunt down Ralph. During this chase is when the boys are rescued by a naval officer, and on sight, all the boys become silent upon seeing the adult, an unspoken authority. Upon seeing the sophistication, the boys seem to come back to their senses and lose their savage intentions in the moment. The ending shows a contrast of what the boys currently are, violent, and what they used to be, civilized. On page 202, the boys end up crying for, "the end of innocence, the darkness of man's heart." The boys throughout the book turn into animals, and face no repercussions since any sophistication they brought with them to the island is torn …show more content…

Jack is shown to be the person who brings everyone down with him, as his values on the island are far more entertaining, despite the violence. Ralph and Piggy are the opposite of Jack, upholding the morals of society, and they do become savage and violent at times, despite their values. The several young children on the island become undisciplined, and the ending of the book presents the stark contrast of the outside world's educated society and the boy's violent one. Golding has proven that humans will revert to a barbaric state with a lack of civilization. With law and order, humans have managed to flourish despite the wars, but without the order, humans have created, chaos would ensue and savagery would win over any sophistication that tried to

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