The Animal Inside of You Savages have always been imagined to be vicious, wild living beasts that scour the lands, trailing destruction in their wake. But what people fail to realize is, savagery can either be a living being, or a thing living inside of everyone. As Leonard Sydney Woolf, once said, “Anyone can be a barbarian, it requires terrible effort to be or remain a civilized man”. This is similar to Thomas Hobbes, who believed everyone was born malicious, and that we need to redeem ourselves to be good. In the novel, The Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, a group of young boys are stranded on an island, and must work together to survive. Their isolation from society brings out their true selves. In reality, whether it is fictional…show more content… When Jack is angered and leaves the group due to his accusations of Ralph’s misleadership, Piggy is shocked at how well Ralph addressed the situation. Piggy was arguing, and “[Ralph] just stood there…” (128). Piggy had fought with Jack, who was furious, but Ralph merely listened. He was obviously taken aback form Jack’s accusations but chooses to take the higher ground. His control of his temper shows his internal battle of fighting down violence creeping up on him. After the party with Jack’s group murdering Simon, Ralph was stricken with grief at what they had done. “Piggy…that was Simon…Piggy…That was murder”(156). Ralph was “low and stricken”, and tells Piggy, “I’m frightened. Of us” (157). His shock flashes him into reality, and he’s reminded of the savages they’ve become. Jack, however, is excited and energized from killing “the…show more content… Originally, when the boys had first realized their misfortune of being lost, Jack was very timid and meek compared to later in the novel. When Ralph, Simon and Jack see a pig stuck in the creepers, they become very excited, and are thinking of killing it. However, they realize the extent of these actions if they do kill the pig. Jack was “white under the freckles” (68). He had hesitated because he was still fighting his inner beast. He saw that he “still held the knife aloft” and so he “brought his arm down, replacing the blade in the sheath”(68). If Jack had seen that same pig later on in the novel, he would not wait to mercilessly kill it. Him not killing the pig shows his innocence and pureness that later dissolves. Another time is when Jack and his hunters fight and kill Simon. Ralph was horrified, but Jack was simply proud that he got rid of the beast, even if it was Simon. As the days pass, Jack lets his inner savage run wild, and seems possessed by it. He no longer sees people as humans, but either as enemies or allies. At only twelve years old, Jack is turned into his true form: violent, untamed and dangerous. He does not put in the “terrible effort” needed to stay
