Evil In Lord Of The Flies

Throughout history, wars have revealed that there is an evil side to human nature. History has repetitively shown that people are callous and cruel to others. This is human nature, although society has tried to eliminate this element of humans at an early age. In World War II, William Golding viewed this evil side to man. William Golding reflected upon his experiences through his novel, Lord of the Flies, in which a plane clash leaves a group of British schoolboys stranded on an uninhabited island resulting in numerous problems to arise. Without an adult figure to look to for guidance, the children are forced to construct shelter, hunt for food, and generate an orderly society. A power struggle between two boys, Ralph and Jack, develops but …show more content…
At this point in the novel, tension between Ralph and Jack has increased, to the point where Jack leaves the group, saying that anyone who likes is welcome to join him. Jack gathers his new tribe and declares himself the chief. His group starts the hunt, where a sow is "in maternal bliss" as she is nursing her babies, a sacred and beautiful moment. However, the boys choose to go after this sow and they ravage her and kill her in a savage frenzy. The hunt for the sow is described very graphically as the hunters chase her, "wedded to her in lust, excited by the long chase and the dropped blood"(Golding 135). In this scene the boys rape the sow as "the hunters hurled themselves on her", and "Jack was on top of the sow, stabbing downward with his knife"(Golding 135). Jack has completely lost his civilized conditioning. He can stab and tear at the pig as if it does not bother him. Roger is also especially cruel, driving in his spear slowly by leaning his weight upon it until the sow screams in agony. When Jack sticks the pig's head on a stick, he has not a squeamish moment. He has truly become a savage. He cuts the pig's throat and the blood gushes down his hands. He acts as if he is not the least bit in anguish over killing another live creature. Jack has begun to live for the kill and is driven by a lust to kill. Afterwards, the boys laugh and rub blood on …show more content…
Before Jack had joked that they would “use a littlun” (Golding 115) to practice hunting. This shows that the boys had thought about hunting a boy before, but Simon is the first murder. They had also been caught up in mock hunts, such as when Robert is the pretend pig, foreshadowing the murder of Simon. The boys have a sense of mob mentality during this hunt, acting as a “throb and stamp of a single organism” (Golding 152). The older boys are acting as one creature, because it is easier to commit a crime when surrounded by a group of supporters. The boys have left any remnant of society and civilization behind and are now utterly savage. They accept their life on the island as their new reality, and even enjoy the power and freedom they have. At the feast everyone, including Ralph and Piggy, is chanting and dancing, as they are caught up in some sort of frenzy. When they see a shadowy figure creep out of the forest, they assume it is the beast, though it is Simon, but they do not recognize him. Believing that it is the beast, the boys start to tear him apart with their bare hands and teeth. The boys do not think about their actions as they kill Simon, “no movements but the tearing of teeth and claws” (Golding 153). This quote suggests that the boys are turning from savages into animals, their true evil nature exposed. Just like with the sow, the boys enjoyed the thrill