Savagery In Lord Of The Flies Essay

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The beauty of a novel can be the unexpected characters, where sometimes, the protagonist shares the same traits as the antagonist. One work that excellently demonstrates this is Williams Golding’s Lord of the Flies. The novel takes you on the short lived journey of a group of British boys as they crash on an island and begin a society for themselves. Although the two main characters are on opposing sides, Ralph and Jack both exhibit qualities that prove human nature is bent on savagery, even in the best of us. Firstly, Ralph actions display how human nature is savage even though it may not always be apparent at first glance. Ralph’s barbarism is less obvious, but nevertheless, still there. At the start of the story, Ralph calmly calls…show more content…
He stops himself; however, because they have just landed on the island and he hasn’t adjusted to his freedom. Ralph’s savagery continues to be demonstrated…show more content…
Ralph ends up a savage just like Jack. He takes a “stick sharpened at both ends” and his “screams became continuous and foaming” as he runs forward “snarling [and] bloody” to attack one of the other boys (Golding 198-199). Jack’s savagery has worn off on Ralph. When chaos breaks out and order is destroyed, Ralph forgets all about the rules and becomes a wild beast like the rest of them, which is even further shown when “Ralph, carried away by the sudden thick excitement, [grabs] Eric’s spear and [jabs] at Robert with it [shouting] ‘Kill him! Kill him!”’ (Golding 114). By the time the island is in chaos, Jack’s savage nature has completely taken control over him. This is especially presented through Jack’s words. His favorite line, “’kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood!”’, which he shouts out while dancing around, reveals the fact that his desire for blood grows and consumes him, as the savagery inside is released (Golding 152). Even Ralph is afraid of Jack’s savage ways, crying out ‘“But he’s, he’s, Jack Merridew!”’ when Piggy’s tells him that Jack hates him because he became chief (Golding 93). Jack is a terrifying presence on the island due to his viciousness and no one wants to mess with him. This is further proven when Piggy “[is] intimidated by this uniformed superiority and the offhand authority in
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