Essay on William Golding's "Lord of the Flies"

Just as Darwin so insightfully observed, life is governed by "survival of the fittest." In William Golding's chilling novel, "Lord of the Flies," he paints a seemingly idylic world without adult government and its ills. This facade soon falls as the complete freedom intoxicates the boys, transforming them to savages. Without the stringent boundaries and limitations created by society, three boys fall victim to absolute freedom. They are Jack, Roger, and Ralph.

Jack is one of the first to transform from civilized to bestial. Though at the onset of their prolonged stay, he is not different than any other boy, wishing for rescue. He wants order and some form of government revolving around a chief. He wants "to have rules and obey them" (pg 2). Jack, when confronted with the monumental task of slaughtering a pig for the first time, falters and fails when considering the "enormity the downward stroke would be" (pg 31). This frightened and docile nature slowly disenegrates as the reality of the situation dawns upon him. Without any figures of authority to monitor and restrain him, Jack succumbs to his primevil urges. He focuses only on the task and urge to kill. His bloodlust drives him to forsake everything else including his humanity. Alongside it, Jack also forgets rescue, and asks "Rescue? Yes of course!" (pg 53). Immediately after that thought, he mutters "I'd like to catch a pig first-" highlighting his growing addiction. At last, when Jack manages to fill his appetite for blood somewhat with his first kill, he shows imminent signs of transformation. He and his hunters dance and sing to a chilling tune: "'Kill the pig. Cut her throat. Bash her in'" (pg 75). One of the earliest transformations is undergone by Jack but the others soon follow.

Roger is the one who eventually goes on to be Jack's "executioner" and his name means "the hunter" but he too had humble beginnings. The effect of society still holds Roger in place towards the start of the novel. When throwing rocks at the littleuns, Roger had a region around them "into which he dare not throw" (pg 62). These shackles do not restrain his innate savagery for long however. As Roger embraces this new world with no "parents and school and police and the law" (pg 62). The most noticable changes that he undergoes are definitely seen in his participation in the hunts and his unmatched viciousness. In perhaps the most grotesque scene described in the novel, Roger "found a lodgement for the point and began to push till he was leaning with his whole weight" (pg 135). As demonstrated by his active participation in the hunt, Roger shows signs of his transformation into savagery. The final barrier is lifted when he triggers the boulder to smash into Piggy. He completely transformed when he murders Piggy in cold blood (pg 181). Both Roger and Jack have violent natures that easily lead them to aggression but even the leader figure, Ralph shows signs of deteriorating civility.

Ralph is the last one to respond to the call of savagery. Throughout the novel, he is steadfast to the concept of rescue. He is the one who first decides on order and a chain of command. Ralph believes they should instate a "chief to decide things" (pg 22). Yet, even with this outward immunity towards savagery, Ralph is affected by it steadily on the inside. Despite his initially staunch abstinence from hunting, Ralph eventually participates. During that hunt, he is able to wound a pig and proudly proclaims "'I hit him" (pg 113). Overcome by this excitement, Ralph shows signs of becoming influenced by the newfound bloodlust. Ralph is "carried away by a sudden thick excitement" (pg 114). The final stage of Ralph's transformation is actualized when he is pursued by Jack's tribe at the very end of the novel. He is seen to be "screaming, snarling,

Golding exposes the fallible nature of man thoroughly in his tragic tale. He generalizes that all men have the darkness in their heart that drive the transformation into bestiality in the absence of society.