Lord of The Flies essay

Wild Humans





























Bidushi Adhikari
English 9 (3)
Ms. Klein
16th October, 2009

Have you ever wondered if there is the slightest possibility that humans can become primitive creatures? Our ancestors have evolved throughout the long periods in history. Because of their maturity, people have become what they are today. We think, talk, study, communicate, express emotions, and ideas. We have excelled in the fields of science, math, astronomy and other major area, improving our technology through each mistake. We have created a world that is different from what it started as. But, nobody would think that this could change. You may think that humans have evolved so much, that there is no likelihood of us devolving, but think again. In Lord of the Flies, William Golding shows the reader how the obsession with hunting, the merging of the boys with nature, and the firm clutch of illusion destroys the basic human nature of the boys. He shows how the young boys go back to the forms of early humans, and completely forget civilization.
The obsession with hunting leads the boys to the downfall of their humanity. Through the first few chapters of the book, Golding gives us the idea of these boys as delicate, British boys. They are like any other ten year-olds, laughing, crying, and teasing each other. Golding uses words, such as “delight”, “laughter”, “smiled”, “steadily”, “danced”, and “giggled” (Golding 2-6), to describe the feelings and the state of the boys. But, by the third chapter, the need of hunting totally grasps the boys. Landing unexpectedly on an island and having nothing to eat, makes hunting a really important feature. But, as for Jack, he becomes excessively occupied in hunting. When the theory of the “beast” is introduced to the boys, in chapter five, Jack believes it to be something that he can hunt down, and kill, “If there’s a beast, we’ll hunt it down. We’ll close in and beat and beat and beat-!” (Golding 100). The boys, on top of that, agree with him, as they are steadily gripped in the idea of hunting. During the hunting scene of the sow, Golding uses phrases like “wedded in her lust,” “heavy and fulfilled,” “Right up her ass!,” “drops of vivid blood,” and “excited by the long chase” to tell the reader how the boys are feeling the horrendous joy and excitement from slaughtering the poor sow. This scene can also be described as a rape scene, and the boys are too blinded to see how dreadfully they are torturing the sow. They have forgotten to be pitiful, and their innocence is completely lost. “…started work on the sow and paunched her, lugging out the hot bags of colored guts, pushing them into a pile on the rock…” (Golding 153) is one of the sentences that give an imagery of the violent and lustful behavior of the boys, especially Jack. The aggressive nature of the boys, with their desire for hunting, leads them to the point where they cut off the pig’s head, which they have hunted, and forced it on a stick which they jammed it into ground. Even this torturous fraction of hunting gives contentment and satisfaction to the boys. Golding uses sentences such as, “The silence accepted the gift and awed them”, and “…standing over the dry blood, they looked suddenly furtive,” (Golding 154) to illustrate the outlook of the boys. Later, the boys come up with a chant they always sing during their “traditional” dances; “Kill the pig! Cut her throat! Spill her blood!” (Golding 81). By adding this part to the story, Golding is showing us that the boys are so engrossed in hunting and killing, that some of the ancient aspects of their ancestors have come back to them.
Along with their obsession with hunting, the boys fuse into their surrounding, becoming a part of it. Jack acts like an animal in the forest, preying on its victim.
In chapter three, Golding uses words like “dog-like”, “crouched”, “naked”, “bolting”, “lifted”, and “still” (Golding 49-50) to describe Jack’s behavior, and to give the reader an imagery of a predator, waiting for its prey, wild, untamed, and impatient. In chapter four, Jack paints his face black and red, and the boys do the same. They seem to camouflage into the wilderness around them. The boys do this to feel more like warriors, and to feel like they can do anything, hiding behind the mask. Golding also mentions how Jack feels like “an awesome stranger” (Golding 67) and is quite pleased with himself, when he looks in the water. Golding uses words such as “awesome,” “astonishment,” and “excitedly” to describe Jack’s mood, and the satisfaction that he has gained from hiding away in an illusion. In the scene, where the boys are doing their dance, and Simon comes in, Golding uses words and phrases such as “horseshoe”, “crowd”, “poured down the rock”, “ heap”, and “single organism”(Golding 170-171) to emphasize on the fact that they are working like a single living creature of nature. He also says that the crowd of the boys “began to beat like a steady pulse” (Golding 171), which gives the reader an impression of a living creature. They have lost their identity and names, becoming like “savages” (Golding 226). After the scene of Simon’s death, when the weather has subsided, the light ripples of the sea waves slowly wash his body away. Simon had always been the quieter one, and the sensible one. He was the one who pointed out that “maybe there is a beast…maybe it’s only us” (Golding 97). He loved nature and always admired the beauty it held. He took time to be alone, and take in the signification of nature; “I wanted- to go to a place- a place I know…A place in the jungle”. By letting the sea become part of his death, Golding is trying to tell us that nature was where Simon was supposed to go, and where he belongs.
Once the boys blend into their surrounding, the little scar left of reality disappears, and illusion takes over. As the boys paint their faces, they don’t realize how much damage they are doing to their human characteristics. Now, they tend to act more like animals than like normal human beings. At the beginning of the book, the conch held so much power and authority over the boys. It gave a sense of democracy, civilization, and order in their lives in the island. But, as the story progresses, the conch becomes valueless. Golding refers to it as a “fragile, shining beauty” (Golding 205) by the end of the book. Ralph tries his best to maintain all the leadership and civilized manners, but the boys seem to be blindfolded by hunting. In chapter five, Ralph calls a meeting; “We need an assembly. Not for fun…” (Golding 85). Ralph tires to get everything together in an organizational way. “Now there’s no water. The shells are dry…that shelter might fall down in the rain comes back. We’ll need those shelters….We’ve all got to use the rocks again.” But the boys still don’t listen to him. In the scene, where Simon is talking to the beast, which is actually the pig’s head, he is almost losing it. The beast lures him into thinking that it is real but Simon sticks to himself and reality. He tries to convince himself that he is imagining this conversation, but is barely successful. The pig calls him a “silly little boy”, and mocks him, “I’m part of you? I’m the reason why it’s no go? Why things are what they are?”(Golding 181). But Simon fights through this, and does not let go of the thread attached to reality. Percival, a littun, can’t remember his home address or telephone number by the end of the book; “Percival Wemys Madison sought in his head for an incantation that had faded clean away.” (Golding 229). By putting this part in the story, Golding is trying to tell us that there is hardly any civilization left in the boys, and that is also slowly fading away. At the end of the book, the conch is destroyed and shattered into a million pieces; “the conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist”. This symbolizes that the last piece of organization and authority is destroyed with the conch.
Overall, in Lord of the Flies, destruction of the boys’ natural character plays an important factor in their lives on the island. Golding tells us that devastation of a person is possible when there is desperation for survival. In order to survive, the boys start hunting down pigs. This brings back the instincts of their ancestors, and they become like undeveloped natives. As the feeling grows within them, the boys do the typical things that make them like tribal natives; coloring their face, having traditional dances, and feeling like hunters while carrying spears. They sink into their surrounding, and become part of it. As time moves on, the boys start to feel as if this whole stay on the island is a “pretend game”. They act as though killing each other is fine. They think that their lives, at this point, are a mere pastime, which will soon get over. In this book, Golding tells us that it is possible to destroy the civilization that mankind took so long to build.
























Work Cited :

Golding, William. Lord of the Flies. London: Faber and faber, 1999.







































~ 1502 words