Lord Of The Flies Themes

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Developing the Theme of Evil Through Menace How are different actions able to change the mood and change perspective so easily? How can an author paradoxically transform the tone of a book from what seems to be perfectly peaceful to twisted evil? Throughout William Golding’s novel, Lord of the Flies, symbolic setting, significant actions and specific characters are used to uphold a theme of evil. In this novel, what first seems to be a paradise-like island which the boys are stranded on serves to provide a dark and dangerous aura. When the hot and tropical weather takes a turn for worse, the terrifying storm and uncomfortable humidity in the air sound awful: “Between the flashes of lightning the air was dark and terrible…” (Golding,167). The…show more content…
When Jack and his tribe raid Ralph’s group of littluns. They are described as “demoniac figures with faces of white and red and green rushed out howling, so that the littluns fled screaming.” (Golding, 154). Jack and his tribe’s painted faces are described as “demoniac” which itself creates a horrible image in ones mind of brutal-looking characters; even the littluns that are in Ralph’s group are terrified. Additionally, when violent behaviour is exhibited when Jack’s barbaric group raids Ralph’s group for a second time for Piggy’s glasses. This behaviour is shown, when “there was a vicious snarling in the mouth of the shelter and the plunge and thump of living things. Someone tripped over Ralph, and Piggy’s corner became a complication of snarls and crashes and flying limbs.”(Golding,184). Throughout the attack, the boys pound and snarl at each other, displaying animal-like behaviour. This description of the boys behaviour confirms that they are becoming to more wild and vicious. Goulding uses the rough actions of Jack and his tribe to portray the evil that this tribe brought onto the
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