Roger Lord Of The Flies Quote Analysis

With the outbreak of World War II in Europe, a group of British schoolboys decide to leave their homes and board a plane to safely evacuate the area. Unfortunately, their plane is shot down. The young boys become stranded on an uninhabited island with a “tangible” fear of a “beast.” This fear distracts the boys from their main priority of building a signal fire in hopes of being rescued from the island. The existence of the “beast” allows the boys to obsess with killing this creature and increases their level of savagery. In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, the decline of civilization in their society leads Jack, Roger, and the hunters to develop an inner savage and a willingness to kill.

Throughout the story, Jack conveys his inner savage
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Roger is a follower of Jack, who has become “dark” or distant from all rules of civilization. Roger has no mercy and is ruthless to perform any act of torture or harm towards others. In one instance, Roger is throwing rocks at a littlun named Henry. “Roger stooped, picked up a stone, aimed, and threw it at Henry-- threw it to miss” (47). This quote shows that Roger is trying to harm or scare Henry. Roger’s arm is still conditioned by civilization, but it is just a matter of time before Roger kills. The boy’s society is now divided into two main groups: Jack’s tribe vs Ralph’s tribe. In the middle of the night, Jack’s tribe ransacks Ralph’s tribe and steals Piggy’s glasses. They use the lenses from Piggy’s glasses to reflect the sun’s rays to build a fire. Ralph and Piggy are furious when they discover the missing glasses and decide to visit Jack’s tribe to demand the return of Piggy glasses. Jack’s tribe refuses to return Piggy’s glasses, and as a result, a fight ensues, killing Piggy. While this fight is occurring, Roger is watching like a hawk in his perch waiting for his prey, Piggy. “High overhead, Roger, with a sense of delirious abandonment, leaned all his weight on the lever” (141). Roger notices the powerless Piggy is standing beneath him and leans his weight on the lever, triggering the release of a giant boulder. Roger is now a murderer and is seen as a true savage. Roger is the only boy in
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Jack brainwashes the boys into thinking that hunting and killing are the most important priorities in their society. Eventually, the boys become crazed and obsessed with this idea. After the boys kill a pig or become excited, they begin to chant “Kill the pig. Cut her throat. Spill her blood!” (52). When the boys chant these words, they are unified and extremely dangerous. The boys begin this chant once again and become so absorbed in their fear of the “beast” that they end up killing Simon. Simon is a “Christlike” figure who is trying to tell the boys that the “beast” does not exist, rather it is an internal evil within them. “At once the crowd surged after it, poured down the rock, leapt onto the “beast,” screamed, struck, bit, tore. There were no words, and no movements but the tearing of teeth and claws” (118). The hunters tear the “beast” apart forgetting their civilized values and morals. Later in the book, the hunters are hurling their spears at the fleeing Ralph. “The tribe, screaming now like the chief, began to advance. Another spear, a bent one that would not fly straight, went past his face and one fell from on high where Roger was” (142). In the beginning of the book, Jack’s tribe is called the choir boys. As the book progresses, they are given the new title of “hunters”. The last name this tribe is given are the savages. This progression shows how these young boys turn