Every human has the ability to be cruel. Whether we are cruel or not helps to define who we are. In William Golding’s The Lord of the Flies, a group of young British boys are stranded on a remote island without any adult presence. They have no ability to communicate with the outside world. The stranded adolescents make a slow transition from a civilized frame of mind to complete savagery, treating one another with inhumane cruelty.
The first example of cruelty in this novel, appears just a few pages into chapter one. The boy Ralph meets expresses that he doesn’t want to be called Piggy, because it was what people called him to make fun of him back home. Now just to be contrary, Ralph starts reciting the name and bursts into laughter. …show more content…
He starts to assert his superiority over Ralph at this point. He directly attacks his power, by making up facts about how he called the hunters “cowards”. Then he personally attacks Ralph and calls him a coward and an improper leader. He states: “He’s like Piggy. He says things like Piggy. He isn’t a proper chief” (126). The ultimate point of their power struggle when Jack asks for a re-vote between him and Ralph for chief, as they glare at each other with hate. None of the boys have the guts to vote against Ralph and Jack runs off crying, unable to keep his composure. For a moment Jack seems to have lost all momentum, until a majority of the older boys sneak of to join his new “tribe”. The shift between powers was completed, and Jack had gained the power to carry out his …show more content…
So after they kill their first pig under his command in an extremely gruesome fashion, he orders that the head should be left on a stick as a sacrifice to the beast. Jack has gone from a boy who couldn’t push himself to killing a piglet trapped in the creepers of the forest, to enjoying the kill with all the gory details. His second major act as chief of his new tribe, is to steal fire from Ralph, Piggy, and Simon. However at first Piggy thought they were coming for something else. “ When I saw Jack I was sure he’d go for the conch.” (141). Instead of being peaceful and asking for the fire, Jack would rather resort to ordering two of his “savages” as Golding calls them to steal the fire. Even though Jack’s mind is at peace with this, the other two were a little more hesitant. Ralph, Piggy, and Samneric have a large fear of Jack, so much so they seem to fear their life when he’s
The first example of cruelty in this novel, appears just a few pages into chapter one. The boy Ralph meets expresses that he doesn’t want to be called Piggy, because it was what people called him to make fun of him back home. Now just to be contrary, Ralph starts reciting the name and bursts into laughter. …show more content…
He starts to assert his superiority over Ralph at this point. He directly attacks his power, by making up facts about how he called the hunters “cowards”. Then he personally attacks Ralph and calls him a coward and an improper leader. He states: “He’s like Piggy. He says things like Piggy. He isn’t a proper chief” (126). The ultimate point of their power struggle when Jack asks for a re-vote between him and Ralph for chief, as they glare at each other with hate. None of the boys have the guts to vote against Ralph and Jack runs off crying, unable to keep his composure. For a moment Jack seems to have lost all momentum, until a majority of the older boys sneak of to join his new “tribe”. The shift between powers was completed, and Jack had gained the power to carry out his …show more content…
So after they kill their first pig under his command in an extremely gruesome fashion, he orders that the head should be left on a stick as a sacrifice to the beast. Jack has gone from a boy who couldn’t push himself to killing a piglet trapped in the creepers of the forest, to enjoying the kill with all the gory details. His second major act as chief of his new tribe, is to steal fire from Ralph, Piggy, and Simon. However at first Piggy thought they were coming for something else. “ When I saw Jack I was sure he’d go for the conch.” (141). Instead of being peaceful and asking for the fire, Jack would rather resort to ordering two of his “savages” as Golding calls them to steal the fire. Even though Jack’s mind is at peace with this, the other two were a little more hesitant. Ralph, Piggy, and Samneric have a large fear of Jack, so much so they seem to fear their life when he’s