Society has cultivated the human mind to filter knowledge and moral values that are taught from birth. William Golding’s novel Lord of the Flies traces society's flaws back to the true nature of humans when they are free from the constraints of society. The novel explores a group of English boys who are stranded on an uninhabited island during a period of war after a plane crash. They attempt to govern themselves in order to sort things out while waiting for rescue. However, as time passes by, things begin to get out of control and situations manifest, tempting the boys’ desire for order. Through various archetypes such as Ralph and Jack, and symbols such as the painted faces, Golding reveals that humans are savage by nature, and are moved
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Ralph has been the primary representation of the civilization and order within the novel and with this, he was able to repress the savagery temptations, but soon enough, he begins to succumb to this nature. This was first seen when he wounded the pig and shouted, “I hit him all right. The spear stuck in. I wounded him” (Golding 113)! Although he was able to repress them for a while, he is no different from the other boys on the island since they are still all adolescents and are not immune to the evil that resides within them. Ralph's exhilaration of harming the pigs reveals that even he has a savage side to him and failed to recognize this instinct to hunt and kill in himself.
The mask of face paint that the hunters wear symbolizes actions without responsibilities. By wearing the paint the boys feel powerful; they feel like they are able to do anything they want. Even some of the other boys “understood only too well the liberation into savagery that the concealing paint brought” (Golding 170). The paint reveals the hunters' inner savagery and conceals their true identities, allowing them to do whatever they want. It frees them from their old lives and identity, bringing out the savagery in them and hides who they really
Ralph has been the primary representation of the civilization and order within the novel and with this, he was able to repress the savagery temptations, but soon enough, he begins to succumb to this nature. This was first seen when he wounded the pig and shouted, “I hit him all right. The spear stuck in. I wounded him” (Golding 113)! Although he was able to repress them for a while, he is no different from the other boys on the island since they are still all adolescents and are not immune to the evil that resides within them. Ralph's exhilaration of harming the pigs reveals that even he has a savage side to him and failed to recognize this instinct to hunt and kill in himself.
The mask of face paint that the hunters wear symbolizes actions without responsibilities. By wearing the paint the boys feel powerful; they feel like they are able to do anything they want. Even some of the other boys “understood only too well the liberation into savagery that the concealing paint brought” (Golding 170). The paint reveals the hunters' inner savagery and conceals their true identities, allowing them to do whatever they want. It frees them from their old lives and identity, bringing out the savagery in them and hides who they really