Many things can awaken the beast within us. William Golding’s novel Lord of the Flies is about a group of boys who survive on an island after their plane crashes, with no adults around. William Golding shows us in Lord of the Flies that civilisation can be thrown into chaos when faced with a terrible situation. The island and the boys are not the only ones to show this change. The story shows how once civilized, innocent boys become cruel. As the boys did, the island which was once a peaceful and beautiful place becomes corrupted. Adolf Hitler’s brutality, which led to the death of millions during the Holocaust, is similar in many respects to the boys. The Khmer Rouge regime, which was cruel and responsible for many deaths during the Cambodian genocide, is similar to the boys.
The novel’s main villains are boys. The darkness inside of you is not something that just takes over. It requires you to surrender to it and to all your light. In Chapter 8, Jack decides that Ralph has been his chief for too long and he wants to be the leader of his own group. Ralph and a few other boys that were not corrupted remained at their camp. Jack brought all of the boys with him to his tribe. Ralph was happy to follow Jack around and play all day. Ralph became chief because they elected him. He had to be mature as chief and make the best decisions for all. Jack was chosen by the others because they wanted to have fun. The others decided that Jack’s method was best, regardless of how dark the night may be. Jack kills Simon during his first night as a leader of a tribal group. It is this night that the tribes who have not yet fully surrendered to darkness are taken over. The crowd hurled punches, kicked and screamed at the beast. They bit it, ripped its teeth, and screamed. Simon went over to them and explained that the only thing that was moving was the claws and teeth tearing. But then the beast appeared and snuffed out the last bit of light these boys had, and killed their only witness. Ralph is the protagonist in the novel and one of few boys to remain civilized during the cruelty of others. Ralph, the protagonist of the novel, is one of only a few boys who have not joined Jack’s corrupt tribe. Simon and Piggy were killed because they refused to join Jack’s corrupt tribe. Jack knew Ralph “wouldn’t leave him alone” because he wouldn’t follow Jack. Samneric had said to Ralph: “‘They hated you, Ralph. They’re gonna do you.” The savages hunted him relentlessly. They burned down the bush that he had been hiding in. They also chased and frightened him. The fire was not important to them, they just wanted Ralph to die. Ralph was one of the few who still had some light in him.
The island was once beautiful, calm and luminous, but as the boys grew older, it began to corrupt. It became a dark place, a place no one wanted to enter. The island darkened as the boys became more violent. Simon’s first discovery was a tiny clearing. It represented the peace of the island.
“He squatted and looked at the clearing. There was nothing moving except for a pair or gaudy butterflies who danced around each other. He cocked his ear to the island’s sounds, holding his breath. The island was getting closer to the evening; sounds of bees, bright birds, and fantastic birds.
Simon’s clearing was transformed into a place of darkness and terror, the beast. Simon returns to that clearing in Chapter 8 where the Savages offered the pighead as an offering to the beast. In the clearing, he begins to experience hallucinations. The pig’s head speaks to him saying things like “Aren’t You Afraid of Me ?”[…]”Fancy Thinking the Beast Was Something You Could Hunt and Kill !”[…]”I Am Part of You? Simon’s peaceful place has become a place of cruelty and darkness, much like the boys are transforming into their new, more savage selves. Ralph stumbles into the clearing when he’s being hunted. The pig face was smiling at Ralph when he went out in the clearing. This smile wasn’t a happy one, it was a spooky, eerie smile that sent shivers up his spine. Ralph’s personal Hell, the island will do anything to make Ralph miserable. Ralph has to deal with the island constantly when Jack’s savages and Jack are hunting him. Ralph thinks he is hiding in a perfect spot, but his savages destroy it with the island’s boulders. They try to burn him with fire. Ralph attempts to hide in a blaze of flames, but he is found by the savages. It was a danger to him from the very beginning. Ralph, who was struggling with the undergrowth […], began to run as he saw the ship.
Lord of the Flies Jack’s savages were able to see the darkness they always had inside of them. As a result, the island was also engulfed by darkness. You can see in the novel how leadership and power, when placed in the wrong hands, create chaos. It also shows how ruthless people can be if they are given this power. The darkest and most brutal things on this planet are people. Unintentionally, we cause chaos and havoc everywhere we go. We use darkness to hide pain, to stay together and survive. In reality, however, it is this darkness that tears us apart.
