Every individual can take life and either give in to their savagery or remain civilized. In a society people often choose to behave in the same manner as those around them. If everyone is shouting then even the shy people will start shouting, but if everyone is being quiet and reserved, the loudest individuals will remain quiet. Authors use archetypes to show the effect of society on people and their decision to be moral or corrupt. Many novels use the fight between barbarity and refinement to bring human nature into the stories and simplify the way people operate. In the novel Lord of the Flies, Golding uses the archetypes of the shadow, the loss of innocence, and the persona to bring a theme of civilization versus savagery to the whole work.
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The archetype of the shadow is often considered the hidden part of a person’s personality. A shadow remains, but is hidden, much in the way that people hide themselves from society. In the case of Lord of the Flies, the lord of the flies is the shadow to every boy, through most of the novel. The boys are each fighting inside to either become savages like Jack or remain civil with Ralph. When Simon goes back to his hideaway the pig head tells him that the boys will never escape the beast because it lives inside each one of them (Golding). The beast, or the lord of the flies, is the savagery each boy fights. Golding used this archetype to show how outside feelings can shape human nature. With the beast scaring the boys they it shows just how young they are. The boys range from six years old to twelve and despite going to school, are still use to having adults around. Adults take care of them, feed and clothe them, and try to teach them about the world. With adults around to scold them the boys behave educated instead of letting their childish nature control them. Even though the boys are of such young ages they still know how society operates; adults are respectful of others to try and solve problems. However, being stranded on an island without the adults, for so long makes the boys slowly start to lose the need to behave refined. Golding uses the boys and his own experience to explain that when humans are placed in an unfamiliar setting they let others and objects around them dictate how they behave. The lord of the flies lurks around the boys causing them to realize how truly alone they are. Eventually the boys forget about society and their old lives. They all begin to act in the same way as Jack, who is a leader, and become one single group. Towards the end of the novel the boys start to give into their shadows and become barbaric. The lord of the flies, as an archetype, challenges the
The archetype of the shadow is often considered the hidden part of a person’s personality. A shadow remains, but is hidden, much in the way that people hide themselves from society. In the case of Lord of the Flies, the lord of the flies is the shadow to every boy, through most of the novel. The boys are each fighting inside to either become savages like Jack or remain civil with Ralph. When Simon goes back to his hideaway the pig head tells him that the boys will never escape the beast because it lives inside each one of them (Golding). The beast, or the lord of the flies, is the savagery each boy fights. Golding used this archetype to show how outside feelings can shape human nature. With the beast scaring the boys they it shows just how young they are. The boys range from six years old to twelve and despite going to school, are still use to having adults around. Adults take care of them, feed and clothe them, and try to teach them about the world. With adults around to scold them the boys behave educated instead of letting their childish nature control them. Even though the boys are of such young ages they still know how society operates; adults are respectful of others to try and solve problems. However, being stranded on an island without the adults, for so long makes the boys slowly start to lose the need to behave refined. Golding uses the boys and his own experience to explain that when humans are placed in an unfamiliar setting they let others and objects around them dictate how they behave. The lord of the flies lurks around the boys causing them to realize how truly alone they are. Eventually the boys forget about society and their old lives. They all begin to act in the same way as Jack, who is a leader, and become one single group. Towards the end of the novel the boys start to give into their shadows and become barbaric. The lord of the flies, as an archetype, challenges the