Savagery In William Golding's Lord Of The Flies

Words: 763
Pages: 4

Sometimes drastic circumstances can lead to a complete reversal of an individual’s personality. Imagine you were stuck on an island with none of your friends and had to cooperate just to stay alive. This is congruous to the situation in Lord of the Flies where a plane is shot down and young boys are forced to cooperate, abandoning their morals along with their previous lifestyle. The plot develops the previously mentioned central theme that drastic and desperate times leads to savagery and barbaric behavior. This idea is further enhanced by the use of extensive sense imagery especially during the excerpt “Killing of the Sow”. The idea of savagery takes form throughout the beginning when there is a struggle between civilized individuals and savages. Jack leads the push for savagery as he corrupts his power on the island, almost trying to kill Ralph and not working up to his capabilities. In the “Killing of the Sow” , Jack leads the pack in hunting and killing the pig, but also sets a bad example for the group as he lets out his barbaric, uncivilized side just for his own pleasure. Jack further sets a negative example for the boys after they kill the pig when they celebrate excessively and continuously stab the sow with no regrets, abandoning the morals the British boys learned back home as they yelled out “Right up her ass” …show more content…
Golding’s novel and the account of the boys is a just a attestation of how human nature can be corrupted based on the individual's environment. Ever since the beginning of mankind, barbarity has always been expostulated and unfavored in society. Today, Golding helps us understand how barbarity and savagery can still be present in today’s civilization under life-threatening extreme