Lord of the Flies, a literature piece by William Golding, takes place on an abandoned island where English boys are left to fend for themselves after a plane crash. The symbol of face paint is present throughout the novel, representing how people assume different personalities by hiding their insecurities. In the beginning of Lord of the Flies, the concealment of the face paint represents how Jack disguises his insecurities. He discovers the concept of face paint after trying to come up with ideas to improve his hunting abilities. Soon after putting it on, Jack “looked in astonishment, no longer at himself but at an awesome stranger”(Golding 63). The use of the words “awesome” and “astonishment” by Golding imply something positive, which leads …show more content…
After getting into an argument with Ralph, Jack decides to split up and forms his own group. He was chief and sat, “naked to the waist, his face blocked out in white and red. The newly beaten and untied Wilfred was sniffling noisily in the background” (Golding 160). Due to the face paint, Jack now has the authority to beat Wilfred without anyone questioning his reasoning. The face paint makes it impossible for anyone to read Jack’s feelings because it “blocks” out his facial expressions. Jack now dresses like a savage and is naked to the waist, contrasting from when the boys first arrived onto the island. The face paint gives him the freedom to do so by blocking out his face from others. With that confidence Jack has the opportunity to do things he wasn’t able to do previously. He hits Wilson because he is now free of insecurities and is now able to do things without the others judging him. The face paint gives him this authority over others, which in turn, changes him as an individual. Near the end of the novel, the face paint’s liberation into savagery symbolizes how easy it is for a person to change. When Ralph’s group decides to attack Jack’s base, Eric suggests that they paint their faces. The boys choose not to because, “they understood only too well the liberation into savagery that the concealing paint brought” (Golding 172). The
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Show MoreThe bolting look came into his blue eyes. He took a step, and able at last to hit someone, stuck his fist into Piggy's stomach.” (Lord of the Flies P.71). This shows how Jack has become more violent and has hurt
He is able to kill things and is slowly losing his order. Jack also paints himself, which we think to be him hiding behind a mask so that he can express his savage ways. Golding tells us, “He capered toward Bill and the mask was a thing on its own, behind Jack hid, liberated from shame and self consciousness. “ (64). Jack slowly started to turn into the savage that he is.
Although a civilized physical attributes don’t last long in an secluded island with no rules, soon Jack had become a savage. Changing his physical features and creating a new trait of himself. “He turned quickly, his black cloak circling … Inside the floating cloak he was tall, thin, and bony; and his hair was red beneath the black cap. His face was crumpled and freckled, and ugly without silliness.
His corrupt nature causes the boys to fear disobeying him and shows them that disobedience is answered with physical pain. Robert tells Roger of what Jack will do when he's angry: "'He [Jack] is going to beat Wilfred'" (159), and when Roger asks Robert why Jack will beat Wilfred, Robert says, "'I don't know... He got angry and made us tie Wilfred up'" (159). This shows that if someone manages to anger Jack he will not take to it kindly, and will use force to show that he is in control. Disobeying Jack makes him angry as well, shown when he tries to kill Ralph who is not with the idea of him leading during the entire time they are on the island.
In the book, Jack represents the primal aspect of humanity and is shown to be both bloodthirsty and power-hungry. When Jack and Ralph begin to duel with wooden spears on top of the mountain, Jack attempt to kill Ralph by, “with full intention, he hurled his spear at Ralph. The point tore the skin (Golding 163)” The ferocity and desire for power of Jack makes him kill the person that he once worked with. The charisma and power of jack begin to transmit the “it” amon the kids.
In Lord of the Flies, the war paint represents the savagery that has taken over the kids. Towards the beginning of the novel Ralph said, “ ‘Well, we won’t be painted,’ said Ralph, “because we aren’t savages’ ” (Golding 66). This quote shows that at first the children had control over their savageness in them. When the the children were first introduced to the island they still had a lot of their manners, that controlled their savageness.
His leadership was based on intimidation and hostility. He introduced the idea of warpaint early on but it then becomes very significant in his group. Jack wears so much he becomes unrecognizable to Ralph without it. “Jack, identifiable by personality and red hair, was advancing from the forest” (176). The war paint made Jack appear more intimidating to the other boys on the island.
Jack’s influence among the boys has been gradually growing, and calling his own meeting grants him with more immediate power than he has ever had before. Jack instantly abuses this power by unjustly criticizing Ralph and challenging his authority, demonstrating that no one on the island can hold a position of power without quickly abusing it. Shortly after, Jack forms his own band of hunters, giving him even more power to toy around with, and it doesn’t take long for him to begin to abuse it. For what appears to be no reason, Jack decides that he’s “Going to beat Wilfred…. He got angry and made [the other boys] tie Wilfred up.”
This continues to show up later in the book and is a big part of Jack’s tribe. Painting his face forms a mask that hides himself from his
’’(63 ) War Paint The war paint represents violence. When he “planned his new face”, it suggests that Jack is more powerful as ever, the paint covers his face expressions allowing him to hunt freely similar to the Lucha Libre
In the first chapter “The Sound of the Shell,” all of the boys elect a chief. The way that Jack acts toward Ralph expresses how he is unhappy with the decision of Ralph being chief. The quote “[...] and the freckles on Jack’s face disappeared under a blush of mortification,” expresses how much he wanted to be chief and when he was not elected as chief, he was embarrassed and upset. In chapter 11 “Castle Rock,” Jack wants to become chief and behaves more violently towards Ralph. The text explains that the boys have became more vicious without adult supervision.
In most books, authors use motifs to symbolize a larger theme. In the Lord of the Flies, William Golding uses a variety of motifs as significant symbols. This is especially evident with the boy’s physical characteristics. Golding uses the main characters’ hair to show that natural desires must be pushed aside in order to have a successful relationship.
In Golding’s novel, Lord of the Flies, a group of boys’ are forced to live on an island without law and order. Therefore, many of the boys experience a savagery phase on the island, causing them to constantly resort to violence over an issue. These boys primarily consist of Jack’s tribe in the novel. Through the boys’ use of face paint and Jack’s tribe killing people and animals, the reader learns that masks are used to disguise people who aspire to commit evil acts and become savages.
The use of symbolism is often used by authors to show a deeper meaning to an object within a story. These enhancements to the meaning of objects gives readers insight to what is really being represented. Although they may seem vague, they create a path to better understanding of characters and scenarios within a story. A proper use of this technique can be witnessed in Lord of the Flies. In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, symbolism is used to depict a greater meaning within the objects that appear throughout the novel.
Jack lost his sanity and civility and this changed him in more ways than imaginable. Jack was a natural leader when the boys first came onto the island, but as time continued he became a horrible dictator. On the first day on the island, Ralph and Jack competed for chief of the island. Ralph won. Jack was unhappy with this result, but it didn’t yet throw him into a spiral of craze and anger.