When stranded on an island, one’s normal instinct is to scout for the necessities of life; water, heat, shelter and lastly, food. However, in a group setting with no definitive leader, every individual can have different priorities for surviving their stay on the island. Lord of the Flies tells us the story of a group of boys who are stranded on an island after their plane crashes, and there are no adult survivors to protect them. Some choose to maintain a sense of law and order, by gathering tools for survival - staying civil - while others’ refusal to obey the elected leader lead some down the path of chaos and savagery; as well as the vicious hunt for food. William Golding’s novel, written in the midst of World War II, supports his view
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He acts out this feeling by choosing to hunt for a pig rather than tend to the fire to produce a smoke signal, to attract passing ships or planes. The elected authority figure at the time, Ralph, is not amused, as he repeats “You let the fire out.” (Golding, 73) multiple times; each time, the messages not resonating in Jack’s ears, who feels that hunting is more important. After daily nagging from Ralph to gather basic survival needs, Jack decides to start his own tribe, “I’m going off by myself. … Anyone who wants to hunt when I do can come too.” (Golding, 140). With no real authority figure to tell Jack “no”, he is able to rebel from the common group. Jack draws a line in the sand, literally and figuratively, defining the division between the good and the evil members of their small society. This is when the readers can see Jack, as the leader of his own tribe, slowly descend into the world of …show more content…
To demonstrate another example of blind allegiance, Maurice is willing to pretend to be a pig to satisfy his leader’s craving to kill, showing the readers in the beginning of the book that the boys are slowly transitioning out of the “game” phase, and entering the world of violent uprising. “Then Maurice pretended to be the pig and ran squealing into the centre, and the hunters, circling still, pretended to beat him. As they danced, they sang. Kill the pig. Cut her throat. Bash her in.” (Golding, 79). Writing this book in 1954, Golding witnessed World War II and its real-life savagery and violence. With Ralph and Piggy, moral, law abiding inhabitants, and Jack and his tribe, selfish with vicious instincts, Golding depicts what was wrong with society at the time - the struggle between good and evil - whether to stay civilized or become a barbarian, in times of
He acts out this feeling by choosing to hunt for a pig rather than tend to the fire to produce a smoke signal, to attract passing ships or planes. The elected authority figure at the time, Ralph, is not amused, as he repeats “You let the fire out.” (Golding, 73) multiple times; each time, the messages not resonating in Jack’s ears, who feels that hunting is more important. After daily nagging from Ralph to gather basic survival needs, Jack decides to start his own tribe, “I’m going off by myself. … Anyone who wants to hunt when I do can come too.” (Golding, 140). With no real authority figure to tell Jack “no”, he is able to rebel from the common group. Jack draws a line in the sand, literally and figuratively, defining the division between the good and the evil members of their small society. This is when the readers can see Jack, as the leader of his own tribe, slowly descend into the world of …show more content…
To demonstrate another example of blind allegiance, Maurice is willing to pretend to be a pig to satisfy his leader’s craving to kill, showing the readers in the beginning of the book that the boys are slowly transitioning out of the “game” phase, and entering the world of violent uprising. “Then Maurice pretended to be the pig and ran squealing into the centre, and the hunters, circling still, pretended to beat him. As they danced, they sang. Kill the pig. Cut her throat. Bash her in.” (Golding, 79). Writing this book in 1954, Golding witnessed World War II and its real-life savagery and violence. With Ralph and Piggy, moral, law abiding inhabitants, and Jack and his tribe, selfish with vicious instincts, Golding depicts what was wrong with society at the time - the struggle between good and evil - whether to stay civilized or become a barbarian, in times of