Many scholars and philosophers in the past have argued that the ability of humans to create a society is what makes us human. In every society created, there are certain standards set that everyone must follow. To thrive in that society a person must conform, and follow the rules. But what if through the act of conforming, a person loses what truly makes them human? Lord of the Flies is a classic tale written by William Golding that explores the many nuances of society by using little boys. These boys are stranded on an island and are trying to escape. Throughout the story, Golding utilizes many symbols to illustrate and develop many themes. A theme that can be seen throughout the novel is; as society and culture develop many people conform …show more content…
No symbol best demonstrates this theme throughout the novel than the face paint that some of the boys wear. The war paint causes a loss of identity by covering features and emotions that make people unique. Near the end of the book, the group of boys split into two groups. The savage boys are led by Jack and the more civilized boys are led by Ralph. The savage boys led by Jack need fire and plan to take it from Ralph. In order to steal the fire, they need to sneak up on Ralph. To accomplish this, Jack decides that they will "l put on paint and sneak up" (Golding 196). Why would the boys paint their faces in order to steal something? Well, the face paint would cover prominent features in their faces, almost providing a sense of anonymity. This is helpful for stealing as Ralph will not be able to tell who is stealing from him. However, by painting their faces, the boys are getting rid of their individuality. This demonstrates conformity as one boy (Jack) told them to paint their faces. All of the other boys listened conformed and in the process lost part of their individuality. Another example of how face paint can cause a loss of identity during the raid. …show more content…
Near the end of the book, Jack and his tribe abduct Ralph and take him back to their camp. Ralph is in the middle of a meeting of Jack's tribe when the narrator states, "a savage raised his hand and the chief turned a bleak, painted face toward him"(Golding 230). At this moment there is a major shift in the word choice in the book. Instead of the narrator calling the boy who raised his hand by a name, he refers to him as "a savage". This lays out clearly to the reader that the boys in Jack's tribe, the ones who paint their faces, are no longer individuals, just savages. They have been collectivized and reduced to being called savages. Instead of being the individuals that they are, the boys are simply grouped and called savage. This stands in contrast to previously when the boys were often called by their names. By confirming the boys have lost any sense of identity; now simply being referred to as the collective:
They become more savage and even murder some of their fellow schoolmates. There was no physical “beast” that killed anyone, only the war which justified the violent and cruel actions. The boys use war as an excuse to torture and murder; it is the true “beast” in the
When Ralph’s tribe is planning on retrieving Piggy’s glasses from Jack, Ralph says to Samneric, “Well, we won’t be painted, because we aren’t savages” (172). Samneric assume that face paint is a key factor in order to be capable of getting along and staying safe with Jack’s tribe. The face paint will hide any fear and uncertainties that Samneric have of remaining with Ralph throughout the novel. Jack’s tribe is currently the more successful and powerful of the two tribes on the island, which means Samnerics’ safety is in the hands of Jack. At this point, Samneric are taken from Ralph’s tribe without much resistance or fight.
The book follows a group of boys who are stranded on an uninhabited island and left to fend for themselves. As time passes, the boys become more savage and violent, eventually turning on each other in a battle for power. This theme is further explored through the character of Jack, who becomes increasingly authoritarian and manipulative, ultimately leading to the death of several of his peers. The novel suggests that without the constraints of society, humans are prone to violence and destruction.
During a time of war, a british plane carrying a group of schoolboys is shot down over the Pacific, killing all adults and leaving the group of boys stranded on an island. One of the two leaders of the group, Jack, is the perfect character to portray humanity changing from civilized to savage. Jack is power-hungry, violent, and savage. In the beginning of the book, Jack is innocent and carelessly follows the leader, Ralph.
This represents their complete loss of individuality and identity, and their regression to a more primitive, animalistic state. Furthermore, as the boys begin to lose their identity, they also begin to lose the sense of acting and rationalizing like a human. This can best be displayed in the novel when Jack "looked in astonishment, no longer at himself, but at an awesome stranger. He spilled the water and leapt to his feet, laughing excitedly. Beside the pool, his sinewy body held up a mask that drew their eyes and appalled them.
”(Golding 63). Jack with charcoal, clay and other natural materials paints all over his face to look like war paint. Jack was the leader of the choir boys and now the hunters so he changes his look to match his new role on the island. Jack painting his face is him embracing the hunt which has come from living on the island. This symbolizes the boys becoming less innocent people the longer they are stranded on the island.
A group of boys from Britain are being flown on a plane out of their country because a raging war has erupted and it was no longer safe. As they are flying the plane is shot down in the midst of the war and the boys go crashing down onto a deserted tropical island. The boys regather themselves and realized the situation that they were in. The boys quickly pick a leader and it is a character named ralph, as the story goes on there are many challenges the little group of boys face. Golding demonstrates the theme that we need civilization to tame the savage within us all in a variety of ways throughout the novel.
Ralph and Jack are demonstrating violence by fighting. Their anger for each other has caused them to hate each other even more and fight. Golding uses imagery to show that Ralph and Jack are extremely violent and both are innately savage. In chapter 11, Ralph and his group had gone to see Jack and his group at Castle Rock. Ralph had asked for Piggy’s glasses back because Jack and his group had stole them.
Or Savages” (91) This shows how much the boys had advanced in adapting to their environment. They no longer recognized themselves and how they act because they had to change themselves to survive in the more hostile
One of the last boys to keep his innocence, Ralph is bombarded with the cries of his friends being tortured by the savages. The savages have had their innocence lost for so long that they have started to take it out on what used to be their friends by hurting and torturing them. The book actively shows how a loss of innocence in a child causes them to turn savage and horrible
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
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.
They want to do different things than he wants to do, for example, he wants to hunt meat but the other boys want to make fires. He and a few other boys leave the group and make their own. The boys have been left alone for quite a while now and they are getting into fights and getting mad at each other. Jack's tribe is now back with the other tribe but they start to fight again. Jack only wants to hunt and kill and has painted his face with war paint.
The boys were savages because of their actions and word choices. For example, this quote states, “kill the pig, cut her throat spill her blood”(golding 52). This detail supports that the boys had adapted to a savage lifestyle even with the basics of living, like getting food. In expansion to that, another quote states, “you should have seen the blood” (golding 54). This shows that the boys were no longer innocent kids, but had turned into savages that are willing to kill anything.
Jack proposes that he forms his own tribe.. Within this rebel tribe he suggests that they act only as savages. The temptation to hunt won many of the boys over in favor of orderly society as suggested by Ralph. The two groups of boys reach the culmination of the conflict when logic battles savagery; “ ‘Which is