Lord of the Flies Theme
If a group of boys were left unsupervised on a deserted island, would they be expected to conform to general order and sophistication, or would they resort to impetuous and savage mayhem? That is the question William Golding leaves to the readers of his book, Lord of the Flies. The story begins when a plane crashes, leaving a group of boys on an island alone. The boys choose Ralph to lead them, and Ralph elects Jack as leader of the hunters. Ralph tries to civilize the boys in order to get off the island. Jack, on the other hand, longs for absolute power and does not care about leaving the island. Jack eventually dominates and leads the boys astray from Ralph. When a pair of twins, Sam and Eric, see an eerie shadow on the mountaintop, they think that it is some sort of beast. When the others learn about this "beast" on the island, they become frightened and that fear controls their minds. Soon, the boys are obsessed with killing this beast to show their strength. The boys' fears and insecurities trigger the activation of their wild side, and they become savages, bloodthirsty creatures that are not much different from animals. Savagery is an idea seen throughout the story as witnessed in the hunts, the deaths of Simon an
The next morning, the most savage event in the entire book takes place. Jack organizes his hunters and the all of the boys in a hunt for Ralph. Jack orders the boys to line up across the island and fan out to find Ralph and to bring Jack his head. Ralph is forced out of hiding when the forest fire set by the hunters nears him. He stumbles upon the sow's head on the spear and disposes of it. He dashes through the jungle, running for his life, being chased by savages. He ends up on the beach and collapses. He wakes up to see a British officer and as soon as the other boys appear on the beach, they stop in their tracks. This entire display is the ultimate example of savagery: Man hunting man like a common animal. This disgusting display proves that everyone is capable of becoming a full-fledged savage. What is ironic is the fact that the boys wished that they were like grown-ups, but they already were like grown-ups. More specifically, the boys had become animals and were killing each other, and so were the adults. The savagery of the "innocent" boys mirrors the savagery of their elders. Either way, there are three progressive steps towards becoming a savage. The first step was hunting and killing animals, which Jack and his hunters accomplished. The second step was killing another human being, which everyone on the island took part in. The third and final step was treating another human being as though he were an animal and hunting him. Despite what anyone says, the "beast" does exist in everyone, because everyone possesses fear and savage instincts. The feast that takes place during Chapter Nine is another example as to how savagery has taken control of the boys. Jack, the leader of the Hunters, graces the feast with the bounty of his hunt. Everyone, even Piggy and Ralph, attends the feast because they wan
Some common words found in the essay are:
Ralph Jack, Sam Eric, Despite Ralph's, Simon Piggy, Piggy Ralph, Lord Flies, Ralph Piggy, , Littluns Jack, Chapter Nine, ralph piggy, jack leader hunters, island jack, leader hunters, sam eric, boys jack, soon boys, cut throat, jack leader, throat spill blood, cut throat spill, example savagery, throat spill,
Approximate Word count = 1239
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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