Lord Of The Flies: Man's Demise

1227 Words5 Pages
Lilly Morrone May 13, 2012 Roser 8 Man’s Demise There is no escaping violence. It has and will always be there; mankind is just naturally violent. William Golding shows just that in his story, Lord of the Flies. Taking place in World War one it is a story that holds many controversial messages; he makes many war references and is always talking about savagery. All of the points he brings up can be connected to one thing; Violence. It is everywhere, in everyone, and if it is not, being around it long enough will put it there. Exposure to violence breeds violence even in those who oppose it. Golding wraps this into a story filled with children, ironically, to show how the most innocent can be corrupted. A plane gets caught…show more content…
That is what happened to Ralph: he was not really against the pig hunting but never took part in the act. He did not see the value in it at first, just something that savage Jack did and it just was not for him. He was more worried about shelter and rescue rather than the savagery that went on in the forest. This is visible while he’s arguing with Jack: “We wounded a pig and the spear fell out. If we could only make barbs-“We need shelter”(Golding 52). Ralph just denies Jack the pleasure of an interest in the pig hunting and goes about being concerned for the safety of everybody. Further on Ralph gets invited in on the pig hunt, and unexpectedly he enjoys it and he too gets thrilled by the violence. Ralph is thrilled with his display of violence; “I hit him all right. The spear stuck in. I wounded him!” He sunned himself in their new respect and felt that hunting was good after all” (Golding 113). The well kept, responsible Ralph has fallen victim to the joy of violence: he has been surrounded by it for months now, and even though he opposed it at first, the fact of the matter is that he was around it consistently and it closed around him. Human beings are often quite influential: no matter how strong willed a person is, they too can be overwhelmed and convinced that bad actions can actually be good if they are surrounded by…show more content…
Exposure to violence can breed violence even in those who oppose it. In the story, Lord of the Flies that is exactly what happens to the characters. Ralph loses his composure, Jack turns into a blood crazed savage and Ralph becomes part of the demented hunters. The aggressive atmosphere that thrives on that heinous island conquered the good character of the boys. Jack was the first of the boys to show signs of aggression, then it turned on his hunters, and then it took control of Ralph. Jacks show of violence made even those who opposed it, Ralph and The Hunters result in hostile conduct. Violence is like a weed; it spreads and chokes out everything around it. Violence can be the demise of all
Open Document