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Unit 27: William Golding — Lord of the Flies: Themes and Characterization

Jack Notes

The strong-willed, egomaniacal Jack is the novel’s primary representative of the instinct of
savagery, violence, and the desire for power—in short, the antithesis of Ralph. From the
beginning of the novel, Jack desires power above all other things. He is furious when he loses
the election to Ralph and continually pushes the boundaries of his subordinate role in the
group. Early on, Jack retains the sense of moral propriety and behavior that society instilled
in him—in fact, in school, he was the leader of the choirboys. The first time he encounters a
pig, he is unable to kill it. But Jack soon becomes obsessed with hunting and devotes himself
to the task, painting his face like a barbarian and giving himself over to bloodlust. The more
savage Jack becomes, the more he is able to control the rest of the group. Indeed, apart from
Ralph, Simon, and Piggy, the group largely follows Jack in casting off moral restraint and
embracing violence and savagery. Jack’s love of authority and violence are intimately connected,
as both enable him to feel powerful and exalted. By the end of the novel, Jack has learned to
use the boys’ fear of the beast to control their behavior—a reminder of how religion and
superstition can be manipulated as instruments of power.

Simon

Whereas Ralph and Jack stand at opposite ends of the spectrum between civilization and
savagery, Simon stands on an entirely different plane from all the other boys. Simon embodies
a kind of innate, spiritual human goodness that is deeply connected with nature and, in its
own way, as primal as Jack’s evil. The other boys abandon moral behavior as soon as civilization
is no longer there to impose it upon them. They are not innately moral; rather, the adult
world—the threat of punishment for misdeeds—has conditioned them to act morally. To an
extent, even the seemingly civilized Ralph and Piggy are products of social conditioning, as
we see when they participate in the hunt-dance. In Golding’s view, the human impulse toward
civilization is not as deeply rooted as the human impulse toward savagery. Unlike all the
other boys on the island, Simon acts morally not out of guilt or shame but because he believes
in the inherent value of morality. He behaves kindly toward the younger children, and he is
the first to realize the problem posed by the beast and the Lord of the Flies—that is, that the
monster on the island is not a real, physical beast but rather a savagery that lurks within each
human being. The sow’s head on the stake symbolizes this idea, as we see in Simon’s vision
of the head speaking to him. Ultimately, this idea of the inherent evil within each human
being stands as the moral conclusion and central problem of the novel. Against this idea of
evil, Simon represents a contrary idea of essential human goodness. However, his brutal
murder at the hands of the other boys indicates the scarcity of that good amid an overwhelming
abundance of evil.

27.3 Summary

• Golding’s emphasis on the negative consequences of savagery can be read as a clear
endorsement of civilization.
• Lord of the Flies introduces the question of man’s ideal relationship with the natural
world.
• In Lord of the Flies, one of the effects of the boys’ descent into savagery is their increasing
inability to recognize each other’s humanity.
• The arrival of the naval officer at the conclusion of the narrative underscores these
allegorical points.

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