Desertion In Lord Of The Flies
William Golding wrote The Lord of the Flies in response to another story of desertion, where characters were stranded on an island and left to fend for themselves. This story described the lonely lives the characters faced, but it was not in the way that Golding perceived it to be. Golding believed that, if left to his own devices in a society with no rules, man would revert to savagery, a statement which can be proven by the events that occur on the island in The Lord of the Flies. At first, life on the island is fine. The boys are understandably worried and frightened, but they quickly learn to adapt to their new surroundings after a pep talk from Ralph. “This is our island. It’s a good island. Until the grownups come to fetch us we’ll
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Jack is to turn his fellow choir boys into hunters, and the rest are to set up shelter. This plan is quickly ruined when Jack does not make the kill he so deeply desires and the only ones who tend to the shelters are Ralph and Simon. Upon returning from his almost-kill, Jack gets into a squabble with Ralph over his apparent obsession with killing a pig. Ralph wants to be rescued, and argues that it is the best thing the boys can do. Jack replies with, “Rescue? Yes, of course! All the same, I’d like to catch a pig first (pg. 53). Ralph tries to remind him of the importance of the fire, but it virtually blown off by Jack, whose priority is the thrill of the kill. He makes the excuse of everyone wanting meat, but it is clear that Jack has begun his dissension to madness and savagery. Jack is not the only one who becomes a bloodthirsty Neanderthal over the course of the boys’ stay on the island. In one scene, Jack decides that he needs more boys and enlists the help of the twins to kill a pig. This would be fine, if not a little obsessive, if it were not for the fact that the twins were currently in charge of keeping the fire lit. They wanted to protest and stay with the fire, but Jack had painted his face in hopes of camouflaging more easily, and the mask that he had painted “compelled them (pg.
Jack is to turn his fellow choir boys into hunters, and the rest are to set up shelter. This plan is quickly ruined when Jack does not make the kill he so deeply desires and the only ones who tend to the shelters are Ralph and Simon. Upon returning from his almost-kill, Jack gets into a squabble with Ralph over his apparent obsession with killing a pig. Ralph wants to be rescued, and argues that it is the best thing the boys can do. Jack replies with, “Rescue? Yes, of course! All the same, I’d like to catch a pig first (pg. 53). Ralph tries to remind him of the importance of the fire, but it virtually blown off by Jack, whose priority is the thrill of the kill. He makes the excuse of everyone wanting meat, but it is clear that Jack has begun his dissension to madness and savagery. Jack is not the only one who becomes a bloodthirsty Neanderthal over the course of the boys’ stay on the island. In one scene, Jack decides that he needs more boys and enlists the help of the twins to kill a pig. This would be fine, if not a little obsessive, if it were not for the fact that the twins were currently in charge of keeping the fire lit. They wanted to protest and stay with the fire, but Jack had painted his face in hopes of camouflaging more easily, and the mask that he had painted “compelled them (pg.