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William Golding the author of the book Lord of the Flies used a group of boys on an isolated tropical island to illustrate problems in the nature of mankind. The group of British school boys that become stranded on the island had to deal with changes that all the boys underwent as they gradually adapted to the isolated freedom from society as they knew it. Three of the boys that had to adapt to the island were Ralph, Piggy, and Jack and each of the boys had different effects on themselves under those circumstances. Piggy was a very educated boy who was mature than the other boys because of his academic childhood. He grew up as an outcast and all the things that happened to him, as a child made him more aware of the cruelty people possessed in the world. As chief of the savage tribe Jack was very arrogant and self-righteous.
The freedom of the island made him develop the darker side of his personality even more than it already was. The last boy was Ralph who was very dependent on Piggy? s wisdom. Towards the end of the book Ralph is rejected from the society of the boys on the island and had to fend for himself. The events on the island made the boys more aware of the evils inside themselves and others even though the experience differed from boy to boy.
Piggy was the educated boy who was rejected by the other boys because he was overweight. His academic background and his isolation from the savage boys made him able to remain mostly unchanged from his primitive experiences on the island. His unattractive attributes separated him from the other boys on the island. Piggy was not welcomed by the other boys on the island, on their first exploratory trip of the island. ? We don? t want you, ? (Golding 24) Jack said to Piggy before the boys left on the trip to explore the island.
Learning from the actions of others Piggy was like the observer on the island. His status in their society allowed him to look at the boys from an outsider? s perspective. He learned of the hatred being brought out of the boys without having to experience the thirst for blood that Ralph was directly exposed to. The other boys did not easily intimidate Piggy, especially not Jack. He also did not lack the self-confidence to protest or speck out against the indignity from the boys as the shy choir member Simon did.
The self-confidence of Piggy? s differed from that of Ralph? s as it did not come from acceptance by their peers nor did it come from the authority and power Jack had grown accustomed to. It came from the pride in having accumulated wisdom that obviously was greater than most of the other boys his age. Piggy knew the rules, as did all the other boys did, but he also had the patience to at least wonder why the rules existed. This intuition of Piggy?
s made him more aware of why the rules were imposed thereby ensuring that he would abide by them even when they were not enforced. When the boys flocked to the mountaintop to build their fire at the beginning of the book, Piggy watched the boys in disgust and said? Acting like a crowd of kids! ? (Golding 38). Piggy was a very reliable person who could look ahead and plan carefully what needed to happen in the future. He thought the boys were very immature and recklessness and he said, ? That first thing we ought to have made was shelters done there by the beach?
Then when you get here you build a bonfire that isn? t no use. Now you been and set the whole island on fire? (Golding 45). Like Ralph, Piggy? s sense of responsibility set him apart from the other boys. William Golding the author of the book Lord of the Flies used the image of Piggy not having long hair to illustrate his civilized behavior. ?
He was the only boy on the island whose hair never seemed to grow? (Golding 64). The author? s description of his baldness also showed an image of old age that made Piggy seem to lack the strength of youth. The increasing injustice Piggy endured towards the end of the book was far greater than any that he had encountered previously in his life.
After his glasses were broke by Jack in a fit of anger, Piggy cried out, ? I don? t ask for my glasses back, not as a favor. I don? t ask you to be a sport, I?
ll say, not because you? re strong, but because what? s right? s right? (Golding 171). The fit of anger brought tears out of him, as the suffering became intolerable. For a brief moment, Piggy?
s anger at the unfairness and his helplessness took away his usual logical reasoning, which returned when he was confronted with his fear of the savages. Piggy was an intelligent boy with a good understanding of their situation on the isolated island. He was able to think clearly and plan ahead with caution so that even in the freedom the boys had in their unregulated world, his wisdom and his isolation from the savage boys kept him from giving into the evil that was so easily consumed by Jack and his followers. The result of the cruelty Jack inflicted upon his taught Piggy showed how much evil there was in the world. Jack was first decried with being very cruel, which made him naturally unlikable. As the leader of the choir and one of the tallest boys on the island, Jack?
s physical features and authority matched his arrogant personality. His desire to be chief was clearly evident in his first gathering of the boys on the island. When the idea of having a chief was mentioned Jack spoke out immediately. ? I ought to be chief, ? said Jack with simple arrogance, ? because I?
m chapter chorister and head boy? (Golding 22). He led his choir by administering much discipline resulting in forced obedience from the boys. His ill nature was well expressed through his impoliteness saying, ? Shut up, Fatty? (Golding 22) to Piggy. However, despite his unpleasant personality, his lack of courage and his conscience prevented him from killing the first pig they encountered: ? They knew very well why he hadn?
t: because of the enormity of the knife descending and cutting into living flesh, because of the unbearable blood? (Golding 31). Even at the meetings, Jack was able to contain himself under the leadership of Ralph. He had even suggested the implementation of rules to regulate themselves. This was the Jack who was proud to be British, and who was shaped and still bound by the laws of a civilized society.
But the freedom offered to Jack on by the island allowed him to express the darker sides of his personality that was repressed by the ideals of his past environment. Without adults as a superior and responsible authority, Jack began to lose his fear of being punished for improper actions and behavior. This freedom along with his malicious and arrogant personality made it possible for him to quickly degenerate into a savage. He put paint on his face to camouflage himself from the pigs.
But he also discovered that the paint allowed him to hide the forbidden thoughts in his mind that his facial expressions would otherwise show: ? The mask was a thing on its own behind which Jack hid, liberated from shame and self-consciousness? (Golding 64). Through hunting, Jack lost his fear of blood and of killing living animals. He reached a point where he actually enjoyed the sensation of hunting an animal that was afraid of his spear and knife. His hunting of the pigs brought out his natural desire for blood and violence. As Ralph became lost in his own confusion, Jack began to assert himself as chief.
The boys realized that Jack was a stronger and more self-assured leader and gave in easily to the freedom of Jack? s savagery. Placed in a position of power and with his followers sharing his crazed hunger for violence, Jack gained encouragement to commit the vile acts of thievery and murder. The freedom from the conditions of a regulated society, Jack gradually became more violent and the rules and proper behavior, which he was brought up on, were forgotten. The freedom that was given to him unveiled his true self under the clothing worn by civilized people to hide his darker characteristics.
Ralph was introduced as a fair and likeable boy whose self-assured manner made him feel secure even on the island without any adults. His interaction with Piggy demonstrated his pleasant nature as he did not call Piggy names with hateful intent as Jack had. His good physique allowed him to be well accepted among his peers, and this gave him enough confidence to speck out readily in the boys meetings. His handsome features and the conch were a symbol of power and order that made him stand out from the crowd of boys and led him to being the proclaimed chief: ? There was a stillness about Ralph as he sat that marked him out: there was his size, and attractive appearance; and most obscurely, yet most powerful, there was the conch? (Golding 22). From the quick decision he made as chief near the beginning of the book, it could be seen that Ralph was an well-organized person.
But even so Ralph began repeatedly to long for and daydream of his civilized past. Gradually, Ralph became confused and began to lose clarity in his thoughts and speeches. He started to feel the lost in the boy? s new environment as the boys did to, with the exception of Piggy. But the boys began to change and adapt to their freedom.
Ralph did not lose his sense of responsibility, his viewpoints, and priorities, but they began to differ from those of the savages. He was more influenced by Piggy then by Jack, who in a way could be viewed as the source of evil on the island. Even though the significance of the fire as a rescue signal was slowly dismissed, Ralph continued to stress the importance of the fire at the mountaintop. He also tried to reestablish the organization that had helped to keep the island clean and free of potential fire hazards. This difference made most of the boys less convinced of the integrity of Ralph.
As his supports became fewer and Jack? s insistence of being chief grew, his strength as a leader diminished. Even though Ralph had retained much of his civilized personality, he too was not spared of the evil released by the freedom of the rules and adults. During the play fight after their unsuccessful hunt for the pig, Ralph for the first time had an opportunity to join the hunters and share their desire for violence. Without rules to limit them, they were free to make their games as real as they wanted. Ralph did not understand the hatred Jack had for him, nor did he fully comprehend why their small and simple society deteriorated.
This confusion removed his self-confidence and made him more dependent on Piggy? s judgement, until Piggy began prompting him on what needed to be said and done. Towards the end of the book, Ralph was forced into becoming independence when he lost all his followers to Jack? s savagery, and when the boulder pushed down the hill by Roger smashed Piggy and the conch. Ralph was forced to determine how to avoid Jack? s savage hunters alone.
His more responsible behavior set him apart from the other savage boys and made it more difficult for him to realize and accept the changes they underwent. The book Lord of the Flies by William Golding used changes experienced by boys on an uninhabited tropical island to show the evil nature of man. By using different characters the author was able to portray various types of people found in our society. Their true selves were revealed in the freedom from the laws and punishment of a world with adults. Under the power and regulations of their former society, Jack?
s inner evil was suppressed. But when the rules no longer existed, he was free to do what he desired. Ralph had grown so used to the regularity of a civilized world, the changes they underwent were difficult for him to comprehend and accept. He became confused and less capable of thinking clearly and independently. Although Ralph had also experienced the urge for violence that had driven Jack and the hunters to momentary peaks of madness, his more sensitive personality and his sense of obligation saved him from complete savagery. These two traits also helped to keep Piggy from becoming primitive in behavior.
Piggy was made an outcast by his undesirable physique and his superior intelligence. The isolation and wisdom also helped him to retain his civilized behavior. As well, he was made painfully more aware of the great amount of injustice in the world. From these three characters, it could be seen that under the same circumstances, different individuals would develop in different ways depending on the factors within themselves and how they interacted with each other.
Their personalities and what they knew determined how they would interpret and adapt to the new environment such as the isolated tropical island. Not every boy had so much evil hidden inside himself to make him become a complete savage when released from the boundaries of his society. Some people will remember and abide by the rules they had depended on for social organization and security because of the ways they were raised. Work Cited Golding, William. Lord of the Flies. New York: Penguin, 1954
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Research essay sample on Boys On The Island Book Lord Of The Flies
