Deep inside every person lurks a savage and dark side. However, if never pushed to the brink of mental capacity and catastrophe, this darkness might never be seen. In William Golding’s Lord Of the Flies, the reader witnesses young boys brought to an untamed island, and they soon become very untamed themselves. Proof of this is found when the more fearful the boys become of the beast, the more savage they become. Also, they turn off their emotions, allowing them to kill their old friends and acquaintances.
They are all affected by the fear of the beast in different ways. They all react differently to the idea of a beast. It will be proven that each one was affected in a different way and they all react in ways that ultimately cause society to crumble. Ralph did not believe in the beast at all in the start of the novel. He continuously said, “But there isn’t a beastie!” It was until he saw the ‘beast’ he believed.
The mention of the beast creates an argument which divides the group and eventually causes Simon to go back and change what he said so that he ends the conflict that he inadvertently created. This passage also shows how people react to fear differently, shown by how one person goes into denial claiming that there is no beast and another person proclaims that the beast is real. In The Lord of the Flies Simon sees the Lord of the Flies and has visions of the beast in which the beast says that he’s a part of all of them and that he is the only thing that can help them. It says, “There isn’t anyone to help you. Only me.
The novel Lord of the Flies portrays an imbalance of power between characters, like Jack, Ralph, and Piggy. Throughout the novel, Jack and Ralph are constantly against Piggy because they believe they have a greater sense of authority. Piggy genuinely tries to help and give ideas but is always shut down because of the great imbalance of power between the boys. Jack additionally has no regard for Piggy's entitlement to speak and his tribe feels that anything Piggy says is humorous; they ponder "what amusing thing he may need to say.” Bullies most often tend to pick on the weaker children with poor self esteem or no way of defending themselves, thereby giving themselves more
The character of Jack in Lord of the Flies serves to highlight the uneven cruelty and power distributed through society. His character depicts a battle between good and evil, this theme is one that was influenced by Golding's own experiences in World War two. Jack represents the breakdown in society and how the “blood thirsty”, savagery in human nature can cause the fall of man and lead to autocratic tribalism. Jack’s craving for power is made evident right from the beginning of the novel. when the boys decide that they “ought to have a chief”, Jack jumps at the chance with “simple arrogance”, and states that its because he is “chapter chorister”, and can “sing C sharp”,so in other words, for no valid reason at all.
In Lord of the Flies, Golding uses different symbols to demonstrate the transition from society and order to chaos. Through the use of symbols such as the conch, fire, and beast, Golding reveals that humans when separated from society’s rules allow their natural capacity for evil to dominate their existence. The conch, a symbol of order and civilization, primarily holds the boys society together, but as they become savages, the evil within them emerges. The signal fire functions as an indicator of the boys’ connection to civilization, but when the fire rages out of control and is used for the purpose of destruction, the boys lose sight of civilization and accept their savage ways. The beast is initially an idea that frightens the boys, and later manifests inside the boys, and further develops the idea of evil inside humanity.
His importance has lead to him ordering his hunters to forget about the beast so that they wouldn’t have any nightmares. This is illustrated when he says ‘Jack paused cradling the conch’ This suggests that he wants to have things his own way and is mostly concerned about himself Jack is presented as a violent and impulsive character. He tries to assert power and authority over the boys with threat and violence and he is selfish, only thinking about what he wants at
Although he’s a stubborn person, he can also be considered a pushover. For example, as Jack bullied Piggy, he just stood by and watched rather than helped him out. Also, as they were trying to hunt for the beast, Ralph got carried away along with the other boys and started acting wildly. When it came to defending his power, Ralph wasn’t able to convince everyone else. As Jack defied him, all he could say was “I’m the chief” or “I have the conch”.
In Lords of the Flies Jack tries to influence people to join his own tribe in the very end of the book. He threatens samneric into making said samneric. Jack felt the need for power and leadership so he tortured the twins and threatened their own lives. As you can see group influence each other and even those not in the group. Jack is a perfect example in Lord of the
However, by the end of the novel when the conch shell breaks at a confrontation between Jack and Ralp, this exemplifies the complete loss of order and democracy. Simon liked to have time by himself to avoid the bickering between the other boys. Simon found a clearing away from everyone else and eventually stumbled across the beast that everyone in the tribe was so terrified by. Simon ran to tell the tribe that the beast was just a dead parachutist. However, while Simon was trying to explain that the beast was not real he was mistaken for the beast.