Cruelty In Lord Of The Flies Analysis

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Having an embarrassing nickname is common ground for most people, but, in Lord of the Flies, this served as a catalyst. Upon meeting Ralph, it was obviously unwise for Piggy to trust him with such a large secret as his unfortunate nickname. However, Piggy’s yearn for Ralph’s trust blinded him and allowed for cruelty against him. No matter how small the act of cruelty, it always served a deeper function in the novel. Embedded in both the characters and themes in Lord of the Flies, cruelty dictated the entire outcome of the novel.

Recognizing cruelty in Lord of the Flies is quite simple. Although this is true, it takes a keen eye to see through these acts and into the mind of William Golding. Each character’s acts of cruelty wielded a function that was decided upon for the future of the boys.
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In many instances, themes and cruelty go hand in hand. A great example of this came when Jack and his new tribe set out on their first hunt. After a considerable deal of hardship, they were upon their target: the sow. Even after killing her, the boys proceeded to mutilate her body by shoving a spear, “Right up her ass!”. Without remorse, the boys moved on from this act, tying this to the theme of complicity. If this had happened when the boys first arrived on the island, their consciences would have prevented such senseless violence. Soon after the death of the sow came Simon’s encounter with the Lord of the Flies. Simon’s hallucination may seem unfathomable, but within it, many secrets were disclosed. When the Lord of the Flies exclaimed, “Fancy thinking the beast was something you could hunt and kill!”, it seemed to be revealing that the beast is the fear in the minds of the boys, coinciding with the theme of fear. This is true, but it is also foreshadowing that Simon will be unable to, “kill”, or reveal the nature of the beast. Sadly, this inability meant that Simon had to face a brutal and cruel