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Lord of the Flies as a political and social commentary
Lord of the Flies as a political and social commentary
Lord of the Flies as a political and social commentary
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The Fall of Naivety Innocence is: the state, quality, or fact of being innocent of a crime or offense, or lack of guile or corruption; purity. Many examples of this are shown in the the classic novel, Lord of the Flies. The book was written in 1954 and is a dystopian novel by Nobel Prize-winning English author William Golding. It is about a group of British boys stuck on an uninhabited island who try to govern themselves with disastrous results. Golding expresses the loss of innocence using personal experience in his own life and the time period in which he lived to influence the novel and its characters. He uses complex archetypes, symbols, and characters effectively to portray the loss of innocence in his novel. Through the entire hypnotic …show more content…
All of the characters in Lord of the Flies have lost their innocence in some way by the end of the novel. Golding makes Jack the character that loses his innocence first. At the beginning of the novel, Jack sees a piglet in the creepers; however, Jack cannot leave his civil inhibitions and claims he, “was just waiting for a moment to decide where to stab him,” (Golding 31). Golding uses this to suggest that Jack is pure and cannot take a life. Later in the book, after another unsuccessful pig hunt, Jack yearns to kill a pig. Not only for the food, but the power in killing it and spilling its blood. He is starting to slowly depart from civilization’s bonds. After killing his first pig, Jack officially crosses into savagery when he puts on his mask of paint, Golding says,, “...a thing on its own, behind which Jack hid, liberated him from shame and self consciousness,” (Golding 64). Golding efficiently illustrates Jack’s separation from his former morals and responsibilities with this. As the other boys follow, Jack urges them to sharpen a stick at both ends and leave the pig’s head as a sacrifice to the Beast. They chant, “Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood!” (Golding 152). Golding uses the words “kill”, “cut”, and “spill” to cleverly and gruesomely represent the boy's’ true descent into savagery and brutality. After witnessing all that he did in World War II, Golding commented that, "man produces evil like bees produce honey" (Gyllensten). His experience leaves him believing that man’s basic evil nature is only tamed and held in check because of the rules of civilized society. Thus, Golding uses Jack to express the loss of innocence in his
Golding's Lord of the Flies is highly demonstrative of Golding's opinion that society is a thin and fragile veil that when removed shows man for what he truly is, a savage animal. Perhaps the best demonstration of this given by Golding is Jack's progression to the killing of the sow. Upon first landing on the island Jack, Ralph, and Simon go to survey their new home. Along the way the boys have their first encounter with the island's pigs. They see a piglet caught in some of the plants. Quickly Jack draws his knife so as to kill the piglet. Instead of completing the act, however, Jack hesitates. Golding states that, "The pause was only long enough for them to realize the enormity of what the downward stroke would be." Golding is suggesting that the societal taboos placed on killing are still ingrained within Jack. The next significant encounter in Jack's progression is his first killing of a pig. There is a description of a great celebration. The boys chant "Kill the pig. Cut her throat. Spill her blood." It is clear from Golding's description of the revelry that followed the killing that the act of the hunt provided the boys with more than food. The action of killing another living thing gives them pleasure. The last stage in Jack's metamorphosis is demonstrated by the murder of the sow. Golding describes the killing almost as a rape. He says, "Jack was on...
Throughout the novel, Lord of the Flies the major theme shown throughout is innocence. For the duration of the novel the young boys progress from innocent, well behaved children longing fir rescue to bloodthirsty savages who eventually lose desire to return to civilisation. The painted bloodthirsty savages towards the end of the novel, who have tortured and killed animals and even their friends are a far cry from the sincere children portrayed at the beginning of the novel. Golding portrays this loss of innocence as a result of their naturally increasing opened to the innate evil that exists within all human beings. “There isn’t anyone to help you. Only me. And I’m the Beast. . . . Fancy thinking the Beast was something you could hunt and kill! . . . You knew, didn’t you? I’m par...
In the novel The Lord of the flies, William Golding illustrates the decline from innocence to savagery through a group of young boys. In the early chapters of The Lord of the Flies, the boys strive to maintain order. Throughout the book however, the organized civilization Ralph, Piggy, and Simon work diligently towards rapidly crumbles into pure, unadulterated, savagery. The book emphasized the idea that all humans have the potential for savagery, even the seemingly pure children of the book. The decline of all civilized behavior in these boys represents how easily all order can dissolve into chaos. The book’s antagonist, Jack, is the epitome of the evil present in us all. Conversely, the book’s protagonist, Ralph, and his only true ally, Piggy, both struggle to stifle their inner
One symbol in the novel that shows the transformation from innocence to savagery, is the pigs. As the boys first begin to hunt for food, Jack is unable to kill the pig with his knife. At this part in the book, the boys still are still connected with their society back home. It is ironic to see Jack’s innocence show here, because he presents himself to the boys as a strong leader. Throughout the book, as the boys continue to regress, the hunters become more gruesome and killing sprees become almost natural. Gradually, they hunt out of desire rather than necessity. This is shown when the boys hunt a sow; Golding describes the hunt by writing that they were “wedded to her in lust” (Golding 120). His word choice shows
In the Book Lord of the Flies by William Golding, many characters transition from good to evil. However, Jack is the quickest and has the most dramatic transformation. Golding’s presentation of Jack’s transformation into an evil person is plausible and believable. Jack follows three of the seven social processes that grease the slippery slope of evil. Those include mindlessly taking the first small step, dehumanization of others, and being in a new and unfamiliar situation.
As much as everyone would like to believe that all people are inherently good, the illusion of innocence that is often presumed throughout childhood makes the revelation of human nature especially hard to bear. Arthur Koestler said, “Nothing is more sad than the death of an illusion”, and this one is certainly a very hard reality to cope with. In the novel Lord of the Flies, the author William Golding tells the story of a group of British schoolboys who crash land on an uninhabited island in the midst of a world war, and how they regress from civilization to savagery. By conveying Ralph’s reactions to the deaths of Simon and Piggy, providing detailed, symbolic imagery of the cliffs and the lagoon, and showing Ralph’s despair at his new understanding
Lord of The Flies reflects on the human conduct themselves on an inhabited island where rules no longer exist. Golding’s belief that human are naturally is defined as Jack breaks down the civilization. It shows that it is possible to plunge from structure to disorder when man’s actions are not kept under control. Jack’s loss of innocence played a major part in the destruction of civilization when hunting takes over the humanity of Jack. Over the course of the novel, Jack’s desire and abuse of power becomes a factor to the breakdown of Ralph’s democratic civilization. As Jack disguises himself with the mask, Jack feels he can be shame free from letting out the true beast within, who eventually destroys civilization.
The irony of the plane crashing to start the story, the environment of an unknown island and many other cruel acts function into the work as a whole because it really does set up the major plot in the story. Cruelty will bring out the worst in people and this phrase proves to be true when it comes to Jack. The killing of the pig and the obsession of blood lust drives Jack into savagery and reveals that he is not morally strong. The violence also shows that Jack is manipulative as he uses the fear of the beast to gain power. While cruelty transforms Jack, Ralph stays morally strong and represents civilization throughout the novel. Cruelty proves to shows that Ralph’s character is very intelligent as he is able to think deeply. Cruelty also reveals how strong morally he is and how he will not succumb to savagery like the majority of the boys do. Lord of the Flies by William Golding, just proves to show that the cruelness of our savage, beast like instincts will take over without the order, rule, and conduct that civilized societies have to
The Lord of the Flies suggests that his presence is the reason for the boys’ descent into savagery and madness, beginning with the children’s fear of the beast’s existence, followed by Jack’s brutality when killing the pig as well as his transformation into a savage, finally culminating in the frenzied murder of Simon at the hands of the children who mistake him for the beast. While they are beating Simon to death, they are also chanting "Kill the beast!" Cut his throat. Spill his blood. (Golding 168) and dancing around him, similarly to a tribe of savages.
Within the article William wrote, he explains the remorseless side of men, and how they can be easily angered, summarizing that humans are savages, and we are all primarily nefarious beings. Along with Golding’s article, the Lord of the Flies novel shows many signs of savage acts. When the boys crash landed in the beginning of the novel, they went into complete utter chaos, as they believed they would never make it back revealing chaos and fear. Shortly after situating on the island, Jack was convinced that he had enough strength and confidence to strike down a pig, but, as he was debating to take the pig’s life, he was mocked for making the final decision on letting it go. This displayed the innocence of the boys when they first arrived. But, later in the book, Jack goes back for the pig ready for anything; he chased the pig, then murdered it. He felt the “hot blood” on his palms, and then him and his friends had “laughed” at Jack’s “reeking” palms. (Golding, 135) The foreshadowing of Golding explaining the “hot blood” and the boys laughing at the “reeking” palms, indicates the loss of humanity, and innocence, bringing out the savagery and evil side of
Any individual may seem to be innocent and harmless, but in reality every living being has the capability to be evil. In the story Lord of the Flies by William Golding, some of the most innocent characters allow the evil half of their mind to control them. One example of evil on the island is when Roger murders Piggy in cold blood. This shows how he had progressed from throwing small stones around Henry to pushing a large boulder down a cliff, killing Piggy. Also, the entire group takes part in the murder of Simon, because they fear it is the beast. This brings up a new point about how anybody can access the evil part of their mind while in fear. Then, at the top of the food chain, there is Jack Merridew. Jack wants everything to do with violence
As Jack hunts his “frustration seemed bolting and nearly mad” which shines in his slowly deranging eyes (Golding 67). In Lord Of The Flies by William Golding, stranded boys struggle to find order and civilization on an island with no other humans. After their plane crash lands, a few boys, such as Ralph and Piggy, are quick to set up standard rules. But, not everyone agrees that rules and rescue are what is most important. Jack, a boy who cares more about hunting, disrupts the goodness and order that remains in the boys. When a simulated hunting influenced and led by Jack goes awry, the boys kill Simon. The now deceased Simon is the purest and kindest of the boys. Jack leads the elimination of the only good left on their island. Whether it is his intention to kill him or not, Jack should be held responsible for Simon’s demise because he leads the group to kill him, regardless of his age.
William Golding’s Lord of the Flies shows man’s inhumanity to man. This novel shows readers good vs. evil through children. It uses their way of coping with being stranded on an island to show us how corrupt humans really are.
“I think that’s the real loss of innocence: the first time you glimpse the boundaries that will limit your potential” (Steve Toltz). In the previous quote, Steve Toltz discusses the transition from innocence to corruption. William Golding’s Lord of the Flies illustrates the loss of innocence through various characters: Jack, who struggles with pride and a thirst for power; Roger, who revels in the pain of others and uses fear to control the boys; Simon, who represents the demise of purity when humans are at their most savage; Ralph, who illustrates the struggle people endure when attempting to be civilized near the savage; and Piggy, who suffers because he has the only technology necessary to survive. Golding enforces the theory that true innocence will often pay the price to sustain true evil by arranging the characters' personalities and actions in a way that correlates to the effects of Darwin's evolution theory, "survival of the fittest" (). Jack is a good example of this as he exerts power over the weak and uses his skills in hunting to survive. The thirst to prove his masculinity overrides his innate purity, effectively corrupting him. Jack’s loss of innocence begins a domino effect that begins to influence the others.
Throughout Lord of the Flies is a display of humankind’s thirst for power. Most of the boys, for example, transition to savagery and animalistic behaviors to free themselves from powerless lives. Jack, the leader of the hunters, becomes the first of the boys to paint a mask on his face. “Jack planned his new face. He made one cheek and one eye-socket white, then he rubbed over the other half of his face and slashed a black bar of charcoal across from right ear to left jaw…Beside the pool his sinewy body held up a mask that drew their eyes and appalled them. He began to dance and his laughter became a bloodthirsty snarling, behind which Jack hid, liberated from shame and self-consciousness,” (63-64). Under his mask, Jack feels no shame, and therefore is free to indulge in power as he desires. In fact, later in the book, Jack and a few other boys commit one of the ultimate crimes of violence and power—rape (although only metaphorically.) Jack...