Civilization in Lord of the Flies Literary Analysis Essay Sample

Civilization: it is all we know. In a world where there are rules and consequences for every action you make, it is sometimes hard to imagine life without it. If humans were given a blank canvas would they replicate what we know today, or would they turn into beasts that want to go against one another? These ideas are discussed in the book Lord of the Flies. Throughout the book, we see how some characters like Ralph and Piggy keep the normalcy they once knew, while Jack renounces all that he was taught. William Golding’s Lord of the Flies devolution of Jack illustrates how without civilization, some humans will turn into savages.

At the beginning of the book, Jack’s actions are still ruled by the civilization he used to live in. For instance, when Jack and his peers are tasked with killing a pig, Jack isn’t able to fully commit to the act. The author writes, “He hadn’t because of the enormity of the knife descending and cutting into living flesh” (Golding 31).  The word “enormity” demonstrates that Jack is overwhelmed by the intensity of this action. He is afraid and emotionally conflicted because at the time he believes that murdering an animal is immoral. At this point in the book, Jack still feels connected to the moral codes of civilization and this restricts his actions.  In the second chapter of the book, Ralph discusses the rules on the island with Jack. Jack says, “We’ve got to have rules and obey them. After all, we’re not savages. We’re English, and the English are best at everything. So we’ve got to do the right things” (42). The irony in this statement is uncovered as the book progresses and Jack turns into a blood-thirsty creature. When Jack says that they need rules because they are English, it represents how the civilization he lives in is the reason he feels the need to have order. The civilization that Jack holds onto slowly starts to slip aways from him. This demonstrates how humans can have an animalistic style of life when we no longer have to contend with societal rules and consequences. 

When Jack is placed into a new, lawless environment, his true desires for power and dominance begin to flourish, and he starts to use that power to his advantage. Initially, he adopts a new, more primal set of behaviors. He starts to roam around in just underwear, and wears paint under his eyes like a savage. As the book progresses, he becomes more and more entrenched in these behaviors, and insists that others adopt them as well. For instance, Jack asks his followers to “Do our dance! Come on! Dance!” (151). Jack enforces these rituals on his peers, because he wants to maintain dominance over them. Without an external set of rules holding him back, his thirst for power becomes stronger, and his demands intensify. But his ruthlessness does not stop there. While Jack’s followers perform their dances, they all hear something coming from the woods and they believe that it is a beast. He then has his followers chant “Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood!” (151). They soon find out that the beast is Simon, but they continue to say these horrific words. Jack pushes them into believing that Simon is a beast, and ultimately leads them into ruthelessly murdering him. Whereas in the earlier part of the book Jack couldn’t even handle killing an animal, in the latter part Jack wields his power in order to kill a fellow human being. Jack’s transformation is complete: he is no longer a law-abiding citizen, but a callous monster. 

Savage means: fierce, violent, cruel, and untamed. The author develops Jack’s actions to embody everything that savage means. Golding is able to uncover what Jack was taught through the early stages of his life.  Jack’s true colors were finally unmasked leaving him as a selfish obsessive killer. Lord of the Flies demonstrates how we humans could revolutionize with no guide or people to follow. Jack’s savagery is taken to extremes which end up ultimately losing lives. This type of behavior is what could happen to some humans if they were put in similar situations. All things considered, the novel reveals how deeply important it is that we have civilization and rules in place to protect us from ourselves.