In order to remain civilized, one must be able to uphold their moral values while at the same time being able to mask their savage and primitive roots. In William Golding’s The Lord of the Flies, a tragic plane crash forced a group of boys onto a remote island in which they were left with two options: to remain civilized or allow the island to change them for the worse and force them into their savage nature. Following gathering for an assembly, two leaders emerged; Ralph, who tended to be focused on the being rescued aspect, and Jack, whose main priority was hunting and filling his empty stomach. Many other characters helped along the way, including a young troublemaker, Maurice. Jack and his hunters made it their responsibility to feed everyone
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However, they are forced to mask these feelings of being uncomfortable in order to survive. As time continues, this mask allows them to turn into people that they never thought they’d become. They are able to hide their true selves which in turn force these once civilized boys into savagery. Soon, the island changes them, and hunting is no longer a method of survival, but instead a fun game to pass the time. Their ways of killing quickly become brutish, and the boys begin to see murder as nothing short of a funny joke. Their ties to society had been cut, leaving them to fend for themselves in a completely altered state of mind. By using symbolism through the mask, as well as the concept of civilization vs savagery in The Lord of the Flies, Golding is successfully able to show how masking one’s moral values allows their primitive nature to come to light. NEED CLOSIN …show more content…
There is drastic change between the first killing and the second, as the latter is much less humane and more disgusting, aggressive, and violent. The boys have lost the mindset of survival and have ultimately evolved into savagery. By the time a second killing opportunity has presented itself, the boys had been on the island for a solid length of time, allowing them to make considerable strides towards barbarity. They no longer felt empathy, as seen by the tactics the boys used to kill their second victim; “Jack was on top of the sow, stabbing downward with his knife… Then Jack found the throat and the hot blood spouted over his hands… he giggled and flicked them while the boys laughed at his reeking palms” (135). Not only was Jack’s method of attack quite animalistic, but his actions following the initial blow were nothing short of brutish. Not only was Jack’s reaction completely inappropriate for the situation, but his fellow hunters began to laugh at the sight of a mother pig being murdered. This suggests that the boys have drifted away from civilization and have been converted to savages as evidently shown by the drastic reactions between the killings. Following the attack, the boys began to show that they could not control their emotions; “Maurice’s acting of the pig’s efforts to avoid the advancing spear was so funny that the boys cried with laughter” (136). Not only did the boys find the killing
However, they are forced to mask these feelings of being uncomfortable in order to survive. As time continues, this mask allows them to turn into people that they never thought they’d become. They are able to hide their true selves which in turn force these once civilized boys into savagery. Soon, the island changes them, and hunting is no longer a method of survival, but instead a fun game to pass the time. Their ways of killing quickly become brutish, and the boys begin to see murder as nothing short of a funny joke. Their ties to society had been cut, leaving them to fend for themselves in a completely altered state of mind. By using symbolism through the mask, as well as the concept of civilization vs savagery in The Lord of the Flies, Golding is successfully able to show how masking one’s moral values allows their primitive nature to come to light. NEED CLOSIN …show more content…
There is drastic change between the first killing and the second, as the latter is much less humane and more disgusting, aggressive, and violent. The boys have lost the mindset of survival and have ultimately evolved into savagery. By the time a second killing opportunity has presented itself, the boys had been on the island for a solid length of time, allowing them to make considerable strides towards barbarity. They no longer felt empathy, as seen by the tactics the boys used to kill their second victim; “Jack was on top of the sow, stabbing downward with his knife… Then Jack found the throat and the hot blood spouted over his hands… he giggled and flicked them while the boys laughed at his reeking palms” (135). Not only was Jack’s method of attack quite animalistic, but his actions following the initial blow were nothing short of brutish. Not only was Jack’s reaction completely inappropriate for the situation, but his fellow hunters began to laugh at the sight of a mother pig being murdered. This suggests that the boys have drifted away from civilization and have been converted to savages as evidently shown by the drastic reactions between the killings. Following the attack, the boys began to show that they could not control their emotions; “Maurice’s acting of the pig’s efforts to avoid the advancing spear was so funny that the boys cried with laughter” (136). Not only did the boys find the killing