The conclusion of "Lord of the Flies" is crucial to expressing the book's main idea and exploring the depths of human nature. The way the story ended was crucial to highlight the devastating potential of unbridled savagery and the destruction of civilization. The boys on the island transform during the course of the book from being well-behaved, civilised people into a condition of barbarism. The boys' true selves start to emerge as the influence of society diminishes and they are forced to fend for themselves. This process is brought to a close by the ending, which paints a brutal picture of what happens when savagery goes unchecked. The fundamental wickedness and darkness of human nature is the main issue that "Lord of the Flies" explores. The idea that a …show more content…
The theme is substantiated by several quotes from the novel: "Roger gathered a handful of stones and began to throw them. Yet there was a space around Henry, perhaps six yards in diameter, into which he dare not throw. Here, invisible yet strong, was the taboo of the old life." (4th Chapter) This quotation shows that at first, societal limitations still have some influence, stopping Roger from completely giving in to his vicious tendencies. It indicates that social structures limit the inherent evil. "Maybe there is a beast... maybe it's only us." (5th Chapter) - Simon's epiphany illustrates the topic by implying that the genuine "beast" is actually the boys themselves, signifying the evil and darkness inherent in human nature. "Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood!" (Chapter 9) - As they lose logic and give in to their instincts, the lads' chant and their frenzy during the search for the imagined beast reflect their descent into savagery. "Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man's
The “beast” not only has a physical form of a human, it also represents the savagery of human nature that is displayed through the boys. Throughout the novel, the boys slowly lose their sense and morph into horrendous and violent monsters. The most prominent example of this savagery is during Simon’s murder. A very “beast”-like and aggressive vocabulary is used during this scene to describe the boys attack on Simon, including, “leapt… screamed, struck, bit, tore… and the tearing of teeth and claws,” (Doc F). While these words are expected to be used to describe a monster, they describe the boys instead.
At first, the boys believe that the beast is an animal on the island after seeing a snake-like figure in the jungle. However, when Simon meets the “Lord of the Flies”, he realizes that the beast is, in fact, roaming the island but not in the form the boys imagine. Simon, a young boy in Ralph’s tribe, wanders off discovering a pig’s head on a stake and starts to hallucinate that the head is talking to him. “Fancy thinking the Beast was something you could hunt and kill!” said the head. For a moment or two the forest and all the other dimly appreciated places echoed with the parody of laughter,” (143).
The “ Lord of the Flies by William,” by William Golding frequently uses symbolism to support the theme. There were many symbols in the story, things like the island, piggy, and the conch shell. The three I picked was Simon, the conch shell, and the beast. All these symbols helped support the story line and theme. The theme is that without good supporting rules of one civilization would fall apart.
The beast was on its knees in the center, its arms folded over its face. It was crying out against the abominable noise something about a body on the hill. The beast struggled forward, broke the ring and fell over the steep edge of the rock to the sand by the water. At once the crowd surged after it, poured down the rock, leapt on to the beast, screamed, struck, bit, tore. There were no words, and no movements but the tearing of teeth and claws” (152) demonstrates that the fear of the beast controlled the boys, and influenced them to kill Simon.
Simon is the only boy who doesn't appear to be afraid of the forest. It might be because he knows that he's safer alone than with the other boys. This quote represents fear, because it shows Simon doesn’t mind being alone in the forest, while the rest other boys are too scared to be alone. It also shows that Simon much rather prefers to be alone than with all the other boys, because of all the savagery that's been going on. Simon is different from the other boys, because he is both an independent and a very observant person.
In Lord of the Flies by William Golding, young boys get stranded on an island with no adults in the midst of a war. The boys were orderly and civilized in the beginning but then as they began killing pigs they slowly became savages and lost their civilization. The boys began turning on each other and the evil within them became present. Golding uses a variety of literary devices including personification, symbols, metaphors, and irony, to project the theme that pure and realistic people in the world can be unheard and destroyed by evil.
In the Lord of the Flies, there was a continuous and taunting chant the boys on the island would say “Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood!” (Golding 154). This chant has been a prime example of how the boys society had a downfall when they arrived on the island.
The Lord of the Flies written by William Golding is filled with evil and unholy actions fulfilled out by young boys who are stuck on a isolated island. Many of the boys throw their past civilized lives away, and transform into complete savages. After some disagreeing between the young boys on who the tribe leader was. A war breaks out. And within hours surviving cruel mother nature turns into to their second concern, surviving each other turns into there first.
The quote “‘Fancy thinking the Beast was something you could hunt and kill!’ said the head.” (Golding 164) expresses that the Lord of the Flies is divulging to Simon that the evil is not something that can be hunted or killed but is within the boys. Simon also learns that the beast of evilness was in the boys all along. The theme Inherent Evil of Man is displayed through Simon learning that evil is within the boys and that this was the beast. This shows how the evil action appears as a beast and the understanding of evilness by
The hidden savagery of humans that is dormant because of civilization is presented in Lord of the Flies through its symbolism, repetition and diction. The struggle for power and control on the island led to the exposure of savage nature that is present in the boys who were forced into a lawless place. Throughout the novel reason and logic are abandoned, causing the boys to act on whims and be controlled by their instincts rather than control themselves. Civilization has dampened human’s savage ways, but believing that there are no consequences could lead to the downfall of humanity and the return of the primitive ways society believes it has abandoned. Golding wrote Lord of the Flies to expose the hidden savagery that humans possess and how if humans aren’t careful they will become the savages
In The Lord of the Flies, the boys destroy their chance of having a peaceful Utopia by their lack of togetherness and organization. Since Jack and Ralph are the two having the feud that start the downfall of the island, it’s their fault. If Jack and Ralph could get along, at least for the sake of others, then their civilization could be a lot better. Using Zimbardo’s theories to illustrate the destruction the boys have caused, the theories outline how no one would die or be hurt and they all could be rescued sooner if they work together. Therefore, the catastrophe of the island’s civilization is their doing.
Golding portrays mans evil through the boys' need to undermine others. In the beginning of the book Jack becomes obsessed with hunting the wild pigs that live on the island. “Jack was bent double. He was down like a sprinter, his nose only a few inches from the humid earth … Then dog-like, uncomfortably on all fours yet unheeding his discomfort,
Lord of the Flies dates back to 1954 when a famous novelist, William Golding decided to write a book which could show an unusual version of the human beings. Born into an environment where his mother was a suffragette and later experiencing World War II where human ruthlessness was at its peak, made him better inclined in to writing a piece where he could explain his readers how human beings react in different situations. The setting of the novel depicts a situation where the human behavior is rational. The novel hence persuades the readers to realize the importance of ethics and civilization and how their absence can disrupt the society .Furthermore, the novel shows a negative aspect of the mankind and explains the reason it develops savagery
The collective fear of the unknown leads to the untimely and accidental death of Simon. The distress present in the boys causes their impulsive action, of Simon’s horrific murder. Fear of “the beast” an imaginary creature causes the boys to act irrational, and provokes survival instincts as a result of life threatening terror. The fear of the boys in this moment is epitomized when they chant, “Kill the beast!, Cut his throat, Spill his blood!” (168).
Throughout the novel of Lord of the Flies, William Golding provides a profound insight into human nature. Golding builds on a message that all human beings have natural evil inside them. To emphasize, the innate evil is revealed when there’s lack of civilization. The boys are constantly faced with numerous fears and eventually break up into two different groups. Although the boys believe the beast lives in the jungle, Golding makes it clear that it lurks in their hearts.