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Lord of The Flies Essay In Lord of The Flies, Golding talks about a certain capacity for evil that resides in man. He first mentions how the children s first impression of the tropical island was very enjoyable. As the novel progresses, he describes how the well-disciplined kids become savages. They first kill for survival, and then the practice becomes ritual for enjoyment. The fears within the boys, allow a beast to come alive and savagery take them over.
One of the main characters of the novel, Jack, becomes solely concerned with hunting and can t see the necessity of other things needed to survive. Throughout the novel, there is a power struggle between Jack and Ralph for control of the island. In Lord of the Flies, Golding has a pessimistic view of human nature. From the beginning of the novel, Jack is seen as a powerful leader. In the first chapter, he is first introduced leading his choir, who become hunters as the book progresses. From the outset, his character harboured emotions of anger and savagery.
As the novel moves onward, Jack becomes more powerful. With the power, Jack abuses it and takes over the island. He brainwashes his hunters into following him and disobeying Ralph, who was initially appointed the leader. Jack s negative personality and ability to tell people what they want to hear, allows him to take over Ralph as leader.
Jack begins to wear face paint, representing a cover he can hide behind, allowing him to be free to do whatever, without worrying about important matters. He doesn t understand a concern for a fire and doesn t seem to care at all about being rescued. His rivalry with Ralph and his preoccupation with killing, makes him a force to be reckoned with. His numerous tantrums suggest his lack of social development and his abusive attitude shows his impolite behaviour.
The savagery increases, and the grudge between himself and Ralph becomes more personal as they unwillingly drift from civilization. It reaches to the point where Jack orders Ralph to be hunted and killed. The point Golding is making here, is that people will abuse power when it is earned, and this is reflected in Jack s horrific actions. Fear of the unknown on the island revolves around the boys terror of the beast. Fear is allowed to grow because they play with the idea of it.
They cannot fully accept the notion of a beast, nor can they let go of it. The beast is originally discovered when some of the littles spot the pilot floating in the air with the aid of a parachute. Jack tries to overcome the fear of a beast when he gives his gift, the pig s head on a stick, to the beast. Simon is the only one to realize there wasn t a beast in the first place, but just a force of evil within themselves that can exploit itself in many ways. This is confirmed in Simon s conversation with the Lord of The Flies. The Beast says that everyone would rather have fun than worry about anything else.
He learns that even he himself contains a destructive evil and realizes how savagery has taken the boys over. Simon didn t share the fears of the other boys because he felt that the spirit world didn t hold any terrors. After solving the mystery of the beast, by discovering the dead parachutist on the mountain, he is then mistakenly beaten to death by the boys, who were involved in a tribal dance. The boys used this dance to help overcome their fears of the beast. The fact that no real beast exists, shows that there is only the power of fear. Golding s point is quite clear here.
The fear of the unknown can be a powerful force, which can make you more understanding or even cause a nervous outburst. Jack and his followers become savages who hunt for self-enjoyment, not seeming to care about being rescued. Jack and his tribe hunt and kill a mother pig. In a horrible show of savagery, Jack severs the pig s head and places it upon a stick embedded into the ground as a gift for the beast. Jack s killing of the mother pig, shows his lack of foresight, as they would lose all the other piglets who would ve been a future source of nutrition. He feels no shame about the deaths of Simon and Piggy, nor his attempt to kill Ralph.
One of his most loyal hunters, Roger, represents more evil and wrong-doing than Jack. He has no mercy at all, and intentionally kills Piggy when he smashes him with a boulder. He gets brutal pleasure from killing and torturing the pigs and boys on the island. He becomes such a threat because he has no fear. Roger and Jack become a destructible force against Ralph. Jack becomes obsessed with getting rid of Ralph and orders him to be killed by his tribe.
The hunters had sticks sharpened at both ends referring to the mother pig they killed, placing one head on one end, and the other into the ground. This is a brutal example of savagery of what they had planned to do to Ralph, who feels like a pig being hunted by these savages. The tribe s lack of foresight is exposed, when they set the island on fire, in order to kill Ralph. If they had not been rescued, they would be left with no food or shelter. Jack starts the fire in the first place, which meant for evil, but was eventually what got them saved. The point the author is trying to say, is that you can only cover up inner savagery so long before it breaks out, given the right situation.
He is also pointing out, that it s better to examine the consequences of a decision before you make it than, to discover them afterward. In Lord of The Flies, the need for civilization is quite evident. The story shows that laws and rules are necessary to keep the darker side of human nature in line. When these rules and laws slip away or are ignored, civilization begins to tear apart. Every character reveals personal faults and individual evils that show the harmful nature of mankind. Stable leaders are needed.
On the island, the power struggle exploded into a feud that almost resulted in Ralph s death. Jack s craving power leads him into a savage life along with his tribe, where they committed terrible acts against the boys and the pigs. Even reasonable people, like Piggy and Ralph, often listen too much to their fears and end up participating in savagery. It turns out that their greatest fear, the beast, is really the evil residing within everyone, the dark side of human nature.
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Research essay sample on Side Of Human Nature Lord Of The Flies
