The Role Of Animals In William Golding's 'Lord Of The Flies'
True Colors by Grace Shi
Animals. It is a word that is often associated with savagery, wildness, and bestial manners. Scientifically speaking, humans are a part of the Kingdom Animalia; our biological processes are strikingly similar to the rest of the Kingdom. However, nobody really grows up believing they are an animal. People tend to classify themselves as a whole new species, isolating themselves from their biological kingdom and depicting themselves as people, not animals. But how different are we from animals? Throughout time, the evolutionary chasm between humans and animals has grown farther apart, but they originate from the same ancestors - biologically speaking. Ultimately, it seems the distinctions between …show more content…
If the author had instead illustrated the humans as primates, it would have been a plausible and expected image. It would not be unexpected or surprising to see humans behaving the same as the primates in this illustration. This is a quintessential example of juxtaposition; when humans share an environment with their primitive relatives, it is similar to Lord of the Flies when Jack and Ralph, one civilized and one savage person, are put together. Towards the beginning of the famous novel, the more civilized Ralph refuses to behave like Jack - he is incapable of truly understanding the barbaric and brutal behaviors of the other boys. However, he gradually progresses from one end of the spectrum, and joins Jack on the opposite end as he unintentionally begins to adapt to his community. In contrast, Jack transitions to his bestial form at a much quicker pace, which is one example of the path to revealing natural behaviors. Ralph - someone who appears to be the least likely to meaningfully harm someone - eventually does just that. In this particular scene, “ Ralph, carried away by a sudden thick excitement, grabbed Eric’s spear and jabbed at Robert with it. ‘Kill him! Kill him!’ All at once,
Animals. It is a word that is often associated with savagery, wildness, and bestial manners. Scientifically speaking, humans are a part of the Kingdom Animalia; our biological processes are strikingly similar to the rest of the Kingdom. However, nobody really grows up believing they are an animal. People tend to classify themselves as a whole new species, isolating themselves from their biological kingdom and depicting themselves as people, not animals. But how different are we from animals? Throughout time, the evolutionary chasm between humans and animals has grown farther apart, but they originate from the same ancestors - biologically speaking. Ultimately, it seems the distinctions between …show more content…
If the author had instead illustrated the humans as primates, it would have been a plausible and expected image. It would not be unexpected or surprising to see humans behaving the same as the primates in this illustration. This is a quintessential example of juxtaposition; when humans share an environment with their primitive relatives, it is similar to Lord of the Flies when Jack and Ralph, one civilized and one savage person, are put together. Towards the beginning of the famous novel, the more civilized Ralph refuses to behave like Jack - he is incapable of truly understanding the barbaric and brutal behaviors of the other boys. However, he gradually progresses from one end of the spectrum, and joins Jack on the opposite end as he unintentionally begins to adapt to his community. In contrast, Jack transitions to his bestial form at a much quicker pace, which is one example of the path to revealing natural behaviors. Ralph - someone who appears to be the least likely to meaningfully harm someone - eventually does just that. In this particular scene, “ Ralph, carried away by a sudden thick excitement, grabbed Eric’s spear and jabbed at Robert with it. ‘Kill him! Kill him!’ All at once,