Have you ever changed the way you dress or the way you act to fit in with a certain group? Adapting to our surroundings is a natural human instinct. However when we distance ourselves too far from our pasts, we lose our true identity. In the novel Lord of The Flies by William Golding, a group of around twenty-five boys from the ages of six to twelve are forced to let go of their pasts and face life on a deserted island, they find themselves making difficult decisions that challenge their integrity. As the children adjust to their new lives on the island, they transform from well mannered school boys to barbarians. Golding’s prominent theme in the novel is loss of identity, this is exemplified through the boys’ developing increasingly savage,
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As the boys adjust to their new home, the island forces savagery upon their innocent minds. Without the restraint of society, the boys must make crucial decisions on their own. When the stress of life on the island and criticism from his peers becomes too much for him, Jack is driven to violence. “He took a step, and able at last to hit someone, struck his fist into Piggy's stomach. Piggy sat down with a grunt. Jack stood over him. His voice was vicious with humiliation. ‘You would, would you? Fatty!’... Jack smacked Piggy's head” (Golding, 71). Violence was not an option for them in the adult world, as there were rules and punishments for their actions. The lack of consequences causes the boys, in this case Jack, to shy away from the morals they were taught. However, this is not the only time Jack struggles to resolve issues in a reasonable manner. Later on in the novel, in an attempt to make peace with a common enemy on the island, the boys brutally murder a mother sow. “Here, struck down by the heat, the sow fell and the hunters hurled themselves at her… she squealed and bucked and the air was full of sweat and noise and blood and terror. The spear moved forward inch by inch and the terrified squealing became a high-pitched
As the boys adjust to their new home, the island forces savagery upon their innocent minds. Without the restraint of society, the boys must make crucial decisions on their own. When the stress of life on the island and criticism from his peers becomes too much for him, Jack is driven to violence. “He took a step, and able at last to hit someone, struck his fist into Piggy's stomach. Piggy sat down with a grunt. Jack stood over him. His voice was vicious with humiliation. ‘You would, would you? Fatty!’... Jack smacked Piggy's head” (Golding, 71). Violence was not an option for them in the adult world, as there were rules and punishments for their actions. The lack of consequences causes the boys, in this case Jack, to shy away from the morals they were taught. However, this is not the only time Jack struggles to resolve issues in a reasonable manner. Later on in the novel, in an attempt to make peace with a common enemy on the island, the boys brutally murder a mother sow. “Here, struck down by the heat, the sow fell and the hunters hurled themselves at her… she squealed and bucked and the air was full of sweat and noise and blood and terror. The spear moved forward inch by inch and the terrified squealing became a high-pitched