Lord of the Flies Savagery Essay Sample

Time is the only thing that the boys had on the Island. The novel, Lord of the Flies by William Golding, takes place during World War II. A plane full of young Britain school boys comes crashing down onto a deserted Tropical Island and they become stranded. While the boys were on the Island, they obsessed over power, turned on one another, and ultimately chose violence. The boys’ time on the Island is unpredictable, savagery forms and violence starts to increase and take over. 

The savagery all starts with Ralph and Jack both wanting to have power, and using that power in making the rules and being in control of making important decisions. The main characters, Ralph and Jack, decide that they should have a so-called “chief” be in charge of the group of boys on the deserted Island. Both of the boys wanted to be chosen for the superior position, Ralph ended up getting that position and became the chief because he received the most votes and Jack was not too happy with that outcome. However in chapter 4, being chief gets to Ralph as he says to Jack, “I was chief and you were going to do what I said” (70). Jack doesn't like being told what to do, this results in Jack forming his own tribe with his “hunters”. Jack and his hunters set out to kill animals for meat, which upsets Ralph who wants to come together and be unified as one tribe. Ralph believes that if they all work together then they will have a better chance of potentially getting rescued from the Tropical Island, while Jack wants to hunt and live in the moment with no adults, which leads to him using violence and using any excuse to use his freedom cruelly.

The boys’ different views on life on the Island results in disagreement and two different kinds of behavior, acting morally and acting savagely. One of the characters, Piggy, is the intelligent one and is the only rationalist within the group of boys. He has the same view as Ralph, he wants everyone to come together and follow the rules that Ralph sets since he is chief. Piggy and Ralph set out to meet Jack and his tribe to try and unite one last time. Piggy is extremely passionate about wanting to all work together to be able to get rescued and making the right decisions by stating, “Which is better--- to have rules and agree, or hunt and kill?” (180). Piggy tries to persuade all the boys to act morally with this statement. Instead of acting morally, Jack and his tribe are acting savagely by hunting/killing and not following Ralph's rules, which could help them in the long run in being saved. With the boys hunting and killing, they will keep losing their innocence as the violence increases and soon overcomes their minds and thoughts. 

Hunting becomes the act that Jack and his tribe obsess over, which leads to more violence in the upcoming events that will affect every young boy. Jack liked the idea of forming his own tribe and being the leader of it. With that idea coming to life, the purpose of the tribe was to not follow Ralph's way of leadership and to hunt animals for meat, which would be a useful and good source of food that Ralph can’t provide. The boys' obsession with hunting takes over their minds with them chanting, “Kill the pig. Cut her throat. Spill her blood.” (69). This chant becomes a symbol of the boys’ savagery. They used this chant for the first time in successfully killing the pig that was in the forest. Within the first killing, the boys are already getting attached to the violence revolving around the death of the pig that they achieved. This obsession is a desire of wanting to hunt and kill more, the desire of wanting more violence.

With the violence that is happening in the novel, Golding is showing the audience that everybody is capable of evil. What is supposed to be a civilized group of boys is a rebellious, savagery group. Within the savagery group, they are too blind to see the harmful outcomes and decisions they create that affect other people around them, like Ralph and Simon. The character Simon sides with Ralph's view on leadership and is showcased as Christ-like as well as someone who is filled with wisdom. With his wisdom he makes speculation saying, “Maybe there is a beast… maybe it's only us” (80). With his statement comes a deeper meaning, he's the first boy to wonder that maybe all this hunting and killing is making the boys think unmoral thoughts that lead to them reacting with violence. The violence that is occurring on the Island, will eventually impact the boys’ daily lives forever. The boys’ innocence will be lost because of the violence happening and them acting unlawfully. Jack and his tribe don't think twice as the violence starts to increase. At the end of the novel, Ralph reflects on the violence and his time on the Island with this quote saying, “Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man's heart, and the fall through the air of the wise friend called piggy.” (202). Ralph is a perfect example of the boys’ innocence being taken away. The savagery that was formed, impacted Ralph severely with him realizing that innocence is gone, and evil is a part of human nature, but he also is forever grateful for the friendship that was formed with Piggy. 

Violence and savagery are the main factors in the novel that changes the lives of the boys. The group of boys before the Island were civilized, morally, young boys, but after gaining power and rebelling on the Island, the boys will not be those same young, innocent boys they once were. This life-changing event demonstrates the desire of wanting power and that power dividing the boys into two tribes. It also shows how hunting can form savages and make an impact on the boys as well as violence making an impact on them. In this world violence and savagery is not something to take lightly, it removes the innocence from people's lives that they will never get back. Violence occurs on a day-to-day basis and it forms savagery as well as the corruption of moral sense. Seconds, minutes, and so on, is how much time someone's innocence can be taken away from them by violence and savagery.