How Does Golding Use Masks In Lord Of The Flies

Unlike the other boys, he tried to fight it and knew right from wrong, but the island still changed him into a beast like the rest. When Ralph first goes to explore the island, he and Jack realized the enjoyment of destruction, pushing large rocks down the mountain.The boys were proud of the destruction they created and believed that “This belongs to us” (Golding 28). Ralph was excited that they could do whatever they want. After the pig got away from the boys when they went to find the beast, Ralph did hit him with the spear, and that was enough to feed the evil that all the boys had. The boys reenact killing the pig, pretending to hurt Robert, and even for Ralph, “The desire to squeeze and hurt was overmastering” (Golding 115).

Jack’s gruesome chant shows that he has already turned into a savage because it wasn’t necessary for him to sing such vile words, but he did it anyway. Finally, right after Jack kills Simon in a frenzy, he says, “He came – disguised. He may come again even though we gave him the head of our kill to eat.” (Golding 160). Clearly, Jack and his mask

His statement of having no mercy the next time gives great insight to his changing mindset. He will not hesitate to take a life anymore, he has lost a significant amount of his innocence because of this. After this encounter Jack goes on another hunt and is successful this time. He and the other bring the carcass back and tell Ralph, “’ I cut the pigs throat,’ said Jack, proudly, and yet twitched as he said it. ‘Can I borrow yours, Ralph, to make a nick in the hilt?’ The boys chattered and danced.

In the Lord of the Flies, the boys face major problems on the island. They try to act civilized and have order, but with Jack and his group of hunters rebelling, this order slowly goes down the drain. To makes things worse, Jack begins to act cruel and evil to the boys and even the animals. This lead to facepainting which symbolizes savagery, the “Beastie” which eventually means the boy’s fear and cruelty, and the pigs head on the stick, which was the turning point of complete evil, and a sacrifice to the beastie, which means a whole lot more that it seems. The first symbol that was shown in the Lord of the Files is the face painting of the boys and the hunters.

It is implied that when Jack convinces the boys to murder Simon that he knows the beast is just a figment of their imaginations. Despite this, Jack instills fear within the boys that the beast is still alive. “I expect the beast disguised himself.”(145) Here, to keep himself in power Jack tells the boys the beast is still alive despite knowing the truth. He uses his perceived knowledge of the beast to give himself an advantage over Ralph. Jack’s manipulation even is used to justify the death of Simon later.

There are many examples of savagery on the island that take place in the novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding. The boys on the island display evil characteristics such as trying to kill each other, bullying and manipulation, and corruption. The savagery in the hearts of the boys on the island show the savage characteristics that can also displayed in today’s civil society. The savagery in Lord of the Flies contrasts to modern society in that the boys largely choose savagery over society. When the boys try to make a stable society, it instead turns into savagery.

"Which is better- to be a pack of painted Indians like you are, or to be sensible like Ralph is?" (Golding 180) this quote shows the sensibility that Piggy obtains. Then there’s Jack, who irresponsibly has the other boys playing without a care in the world as if they are not trapped on a deserted island . While the boys are playing he then tries to kill the beast first without a mask, but fails. The second time he put a mask on his determined face, as they have been on the island for a prolonged period; his attempt is a success, although he killed a pig with many

However, it also shows that although Jack is becoming a savage he still has civilization in him. This is demonstrated when Golding uses the word “shuddering” because although Jack was laughing he seemed uncomfortable and frightened. This shows that Jack has not lost himself completely because he still has trouble killing others without feeling guilty or sick. Finally, when Jack says “ You should have seen it” he is really trying to influence Ralph and the boys to brutally kill the animals on the island. This encourages the rest of the boys to become hunters since they too want to feel the sense of power that Jack appears to have.

In both novels the characters fear both the unknown, and a godly figure. The Waknuk fear the mutated people because they are different, in other words, the unknown. The case is the same for the boys in “The Lord of the Flies”. This fear of the unknown is shown in “The Lord of the flies” when Simon comes in and they think he’s a monster so they beat him to death. At this time the boys did not know that it was Simon, they simply beat him because they were afraid and they assumed it was a monster.

A defining point for Jack is when he finally catches and kills a pig. He feels very alive and wears face paint in order to mask his old self. When Jack first arrived his choir was given the responsibility of hunters and fire keepers. He and his choir capture their first pig, and when they return with the bounty Ralph is standing angrily waiting for him by the burnt out signal fire. Ralph lashed out at Jack for letting the fire go out.