The Beast In Lord's Lord Of The Flies

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When the boys first arrive on the island, they still grasp the handle of order and are strongly connected to civilization, thinking the idea of the beast isn’t significant and thought as a rumour between the littluns. In the beginning, the boys feel that they must create rules and order to stay civilized. This is shown when is Jack speaking to the boys,saying, “I agree with Ralph. 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). Jack promotes maintaining order as the boys are establishing the outline for their society. He thinks that since he lived in a civilized society, they must “do the right things,” meaning that they must have rules and establish…show more content…
This tendency to dismiss the idea of the beast is shown by Ralph’s reaction when the beast is brought up by a littlun, “Something he had not known was there rose in him and compelled him to make the point, loudly and again. ‘But I tell you there isn’t a beast!’” (37). The thing that is inside Ralph that he had not known is his sense of staying with the ideals of civilization. Ralph realizes that the beast will only bring fear and disorder to the boys, so he immediately tries to put down any idea of it. Ralph’s action against the beast is clearly proven, however Jack has a different view on the beast that contradicts Ralph. Jack doesn’t completely dismiss the idea of the beast. He says, “There isn’t a snake-thing. But if there was a snake we’d hunt it and kill it” (36). The fact that Jack does not completely deny the existence of the beast, saying that if there is one he will kill it, shows how Jack is moving towards savagery, already influenced by the concept of the beast. He is contradicting the leader of the group, Ralph, and expressing his own ideas which doesn’t help diminish the idea of the beast and stop the
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