Cruelty In Lord Of The Flies

Geoffrey S. Fletcher, an American screenwriter and film director, has always been “...interested in how innocence fares when it collides with hard reality” (Geoffrey S. Fletcher Quotes). If Fletcher wishes to examine this change of unknowingness he is interested in, the novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding, perfectly depicts how the purity of a child changes when that child is forced to face reality. Lord of the Flies is a novel about how lack of control can turn the purest beings on earth, children, into ruthless savages. A plane strands a group of boys on a deserted island, and readers observe the characters losing their incorruptibility while trying to form a coherent civilization. Advancement in maturation is shown in the novel Lord of the Flies, written by William Golding, through the loss of innocence in Jack, Piggy, and Ralph.

In Lord of the Flies, William Golding shows the progression of absolute power, and how ambition can take over one's mind. Stranded on an island after their plane crashed, the boys create their own democracy with one absolute ruler, just like many other governments throughout history. The boys voted Ralph as their ruler, but Jack slowly starts to take some of Ralph’s power, and eventually usurps him as their chief. Lord of the Flies suggests that absolute power is corrupt, and that humans are overly ambitious in wanting to take power from the person who has the most of it.

In the book Lord Of The Flies, Golding portrays how savage some people can be at their very core, no matter how civilized you think you are. When Ralph found out that they were stranded on an island without any adults, the first thought was that they can do anything they want, this was the first sign of savagery. Piggy on the other hand wanted to know if their were any other boys on the island, when he stumbles across a conch he tells Ralph that if he blows it then others might come, if their are any, this was the first sign of civility. Throughout the book There are many signs of civility and savagery, but only when will be revealed at their true core.

“... The number of abortions performed annually in the U.S. [is about] 1.06 million a year” (National Right to Life News). This means that in just a single decade, 10.6 million children are murdered in the United States before they are ever born. This sickening loss of life is just the latest link in an unbroken chain of human depravity stretching back to the Garden of Eden. Humans are fundamentally wicked. William Golding, author of the bestselling novel ‘Lord of the Flies’, understood this basic principle. Thus, he wove it in as a theme in his book. In ‘Lord of the Flies’, William Golding discusses the nature of man in order to reveal that human nature is essentially evil by using indirect characterization and personification.

A world war takes place as a group of boys get stranded on an island. As the boys try to escape the war, it follows them onto the island in the form of a never ending conflict with how to survive. As the boys become engaged in this war they lose their innocence. In the Lord of the Flies, written by William Golding, loss of innocence plays a big role in the outcome of the book. Loss of innocence is ultimately what leads to the war which takes place on the once “good island” (Golding 34). In the Lord of the Flies the boys lose their innocence in exchange for savagery or for maturity because of the attitudes towards killing animals and people.

The novel, Lord of the Flies, was sparked after the profound consequences that World War II had on Golding’s view of humanity. After the victory of Britain against Germany’s Nazis, the notion of British people being innately good was created. However, Golding did not only see the surface of the victory but also the underlying evil present in the actions Britain made to be liberated from the Nazi invasion. In particular, the mass murders of innocent civilians, and propaganda manipulation done by the British was not so civilized in comparison to the Nazis either. As a result, Golding’s sole purpose to writing this novel was to demolish this misconception of Britain and humanity. Through its contrasting characters, Golding’s Lord of the Flies signifies the different behaviours of mankind, which civilization is either lost and turned to savagery, or remains steadfast under extreme circumstances. Simon illustrates the pure and good-hearted individuals of mankind. Jack symbolizes the innate savagery of our society. Ralph personifies the grey area between civilization and savagery.

A part of the book that shows this theme being shown would be the demise of Piggy and civilization. The author of the story decided to add in this quote to link the most cruel thing that the boys did with the destruction of order: "The rock struck Piggy a glancing blow from chin to knee; the conch

Many things can influence one’s opinion, so that one can develop as a person. Some things are from others’ influences or a realization. People are always dynamic, because people change with their experiences. Even if someone is set in his or her ways, tracing back, there is a reason for it. Likewise, authors describe characters that show change to connect the story to real life. A change in a character makes that character dynamic, meaning they go through an inner change. On the other hand, static characters stay consistent and do not go through any inner change. Although in life there are never static people, authors add static characters to show the drastic changes a dynamic character goes through. Dynamic characters

It is said that most people if put in a particular situation they would not do things they would normally. In the novel Lord Of The Flies, by W.Golding, a group of young boys are stranded on an isolated island cut off from society, having no adults or figures of authority on the island, the boys become savage. Examples of such savagery would be the murders, the cruelty of Jack, and how even Ralph could succumb to it as well

William Golding’s novel Lord of the Flies does not simply describe the life of a group of children stranded on an island, but rather it is a representation of the qualities of human nature. As the novel progresses, the children grow deeper into savagery, performing actions that would be often criticised in society. The absence of law and order devolves even those that attempt to recreate it, like Ralph and Piggy. In this novel, Golding uses children to answer the question whether or not humans are born inanimately good or truly evil. Golding answers this question by symbolising the main characters and their descent into savagery. He uses Ralph and Piggy to describe the well-educated that attempt to grasp civilisation, but ultimately fail to deliver. His symbol of Roger as an ordinary person that breaks loose of the chains of society once disconnected from it. Finally, the nature of Jack is a depiction of the power hungry that will do anything to lead.

Human behaviors are easy to be changed by the experiences and environment. As the time passes by, the changed behaviors can be worse or better than before. However, most people become worse because of the specific experiences in their life time. In Lord of the Flies, the changes of behavior are occurred obviously in the characters of Jack, Roger, and Ralph. They become different because of the extreme environment and new experiences around them. The characters of Jack, Roger, and Ralph change in terms of their behavior by becoming savagely brutal, which shows the significant influence of their experience on the island.

We see this form expressed through Piggy. Towards the beginning of the book right after the first meeting on the island was held. A group of hunters formed that consists of Ralph, Jack and Simon. When Piggy wants to go along with the hunters too he is denied.”You’re no good on a job like this. Three’s enough,”(Golding, 24). Clearly Golding is foreshadowing and letting the reader know that throughout the book. Piggy will be left out of that specific group. The hunters leave out Piggy on purpose almost certainly because of his appearance. More relational bullying is between Ralph and Jack. When Ralph and Jack first get to know each other their relationship appears to be strong and they believe they can run the island by themselves. However as the story progresses readers see that Jack wants more power over the people on the island causing conflict between him and Ralph. When Jack finally has enough of Ralph being chief he calls for a meeting and asks ‘‘Who thinks Ralph oughtn’t to be chief?” (Golding, 127) and also makes Ralph look bad by say negative things about him. This shows that Jack betrays Ralph and states false things about him to embarrass him in public. This shows that all these forms of bullying is immature and these are what little kids in elementary school do when they don't get their

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. The message of inner evil is portrayed throughout the book by the destruction of the conch, terrifying beast, and character developments to establish the hidden message throughout the novel.

William Goulding’s Lord of the Flies, is a book that shows how a group of boys get stranded on an island and go from being civilized kids to barbaric individuals. The events and circumstances occurring while they live on the island show how the boys’ behaviours change overtime. The first character to display a loss of civility is Roger who doesn't care about others and shows joy in putting people in pain by destroying the littleluns’ sand castles, throwing rocks at the littleluns, and killing Piggy. Ralph, a good hearted leader surrounded by savage like people, also displayed a loss of civilization when he joins along with Jack’s tribe, helps kill Simon, and acts like an animal while being hunted. Finally, Jack who gets brainwashed by

In life kids are known to be naive and innocent to the ways of the world. They think everything is fun and games up until they experience a phenomenon that makes them grow up. At times those experiences can be traumatizing and extremely tense. In the novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding, the main character Ralph experiences first hand what a human with a dark heart can do. William Golding uses diction, imagery and detail to set an intense tone for the story.