In Lord of the Flies and Pollock and the Porroh Man, the characters become accustomed to death and savagery. In Lord of the Flies, the hunters become accustomed to killing pigs so they start to become savage and form tribes and chase after Ralph and sharpen sticks at both ends. A character who really changes throughout the novel in terms of civilization and savagery is Roger. When Roger is throwing stones at Henry he “threw it to miss” because “Roger’s arm was conditioned by a civilisation.” However, later on in the novel Roger is a hunter and is hunting a pig. He becomes accustomed to killing; this is evident from later on in the novel when Roger pushes the rock onto Piggy. He doesn’t think about it but he has gone from being controlled by civilization to becoming a murderer. In Pollock and the Porroh Man, this is also true. Pollock has “seen so much brutality during the last three months, so many dead women, so may burnt huts, drying skeletons, up the Kittam River in the wake of the Sofa cavalry, that his senses were blunted.” This shows that Pollock is like Roger; he has become accustomed to savagery. You can tell this also by the quote “he was not upset by the murder that had just happened.” Pollock has just seen the women he was sleeping with murdered and he is not upset. However, with Roger it is a gradual change and throughout the novel he slowly becomes accustomed to death and savagery. Whereas in Pollock and the Porroh Man, Pollock is accustomed right at the beginning of the story. This shows that there is a greater savagery at the beginning of Pollock and the Porroh Man than there is in Lord of the Flies.
In both of the stories there is savagery, but there are also civil meetings. In Lord of the Flies, there are the meetings with the conch. To start off with they are civilized “Let’s have a vote” “We’ve got to decide about being rescued” and they discuss things in an appropriate manner. They hold meetings, which everyone attends and they talk about civil things like building shelters and rescue. However, as the story progresses and civilization starts to fall, the meetings become less frequent and they are not orderly. In one of the meetings Jack says “Bollocks to the rules!” This affects the point of view of the reader towards the boys. To start with they seemed civilised with their school uniform and decisions about rescue, but now they don’t seem as civilised because Jack swore and this makes him seem more of a savage. It shows that the civilised meetings have gone wrong and cannot be conducted properly. This shows a real break down in civilisation because the meetings and the conch were the only civilized things on the island and when they start to break down, it shows the fall into savagery. After this meeting, Jack goes off and starts a tribe of his own, his tribe hunts and wears war paint which are savage traits. I think that change in power is very important. The conch was in power to start with and it stopped people interrupting and made them go to meetings but when the power changes to the tribe leaders things become more savage. Now there is no conch it is up to the leader to decide what to do, there is no democracy. In Pollock and the Porroh Man, there are civil meetings also. Pollock discusses things with Waterhouse over tea. The fact that they are drinking tea shows civilisation because tea drinking is a habit of civilised people. The reader will have a picture of people drinking out of cups, which affects the reader’s view on the meeting because it makes the reader think the meeting is civilised and makes them think that the characters will be civilised too. However, in the meeting they do have an argument and savageness creeps into the meeting. “Ashamed of civilisation” “vindictive devils” “snarled Pollock” however, because of the effect of the tea on the readers opinion, the argument doesn’t seem so savage because the reader has just formed an opinion of a civilised meeting. In both Lord of the Flies and Pollock and the Porroh Man, they have meetings but savageness is apparent in both. However in Lord of the Flies it is gradual and the meetings start off calm but in Pollock and the Porroh Man it starts off savage “You’re one of those infernal fools” This statement appears savage because it is using strong, harsh language like the swearing in Lord of the Flies. Also in Lord of the Flies the conch controls the meeting whereas in Pollock and the Porroh Man, there is no powerful object and it keeps changing from Waterhouse being in control to Pollock being in control.
In both stories they start off civil and then lead to savagery. In Lord of the Flies it starts off civil with the boys getting along and they have civil meetings; “I’m calling a meeting.” Also there is the uniform, which is civil and shows their backgrounds “school sweater” but gradually the uniform goes. However, as the idea of the beast is introduced, and people start to hunt, the meetings start to get more desperate and become arguments instead of the friendly discussions over what to do earlier in the novel. Also, Jack says “the conch doesn’t count this side of the island.” The conch originally represented civilisation because it called the meetings and let people wait their turn to speak. I think that the drop in power of the conch means the drop in civilisation because Jack is saying that from now on there will be no meetings or orderly discussions, it is up to him what to do, not the conch. You can also see the fall to savagery with the choir. To start with they are all smartly dressed and come along the beach singing, then they become hunters. They become ferocious hunters “kill the pig, cut her throat, bash her in” “screamed, struck, bit tore” and at the end they chase Ralph to kill him and savagery becomes clear when Sam says “he’s sharpened a stick at both ends” This is savage because Jack has done this so he can at least scare Ralph but also so he can attack him with it. I think it is a very savage gesture and is made even more so by the fact that Jack is only a kid. In wartime, adults kill each other and this is tragic and horrific but would be made even more savage and horrifying if it was eleven or twelve-year-old boys doing the shooting and murdering. In Pollock and the Porroh Man, there is the history at the beginning “the women of that country are famous for their good looks.” This is civilised because it is talking about the history of the place, which seems civilised because civil people keep track of history. Also people seem to associate good looks with civil people. A very stereo typical view is that savages who live wild and kill for food are ugly and dirty but civilised people who are clean and neat are good looking. However, in the same sentence it says “English slave traders.” This shows savageness, civilised people doing savage things. Next Pollock watches the girl killing and is “sick and trembling with the excitement of the affair.” This shows savagery because of the killing and, the fact that Pollock is excited, not upset or terrified. Also as Pollock and the Porroh Man progresses, Pollock tries to destroy the head savagely. “He lit his pile of wood hastily, and threw the head upon it.” This shows how Pollock has become less civilised throughout the story. However, in Lord of the Flies, they try to be civil at the beginning with the meetings and the conch but in Pollock and the Porroh Man, the killing of the girl is at the beginning so it shows that savageness is present right from the start. This is true about Lord of the Flies as well, e.g. the weather, the setting, Jack deciding straight away that he wanted the choir to be hunters, but it is more evident and clear in Pollock and the Porroh Man at the outset.
Both H.G Wells and Golding present their main characters as civilised. In Lord of the Flies the boys are introduced as English schoolboys in uniform. The uniform is important because it makes them more civilised and shows their backgrounds. Also Piggy is very civilised because he is always referring to and obeying his Aunties rules. Also at the beginning Piggy takes names at the first assembly, “What’s yer name?” This makes Piggy seem very civilised and it gives the whole opinion of smart, English schoolboys who have rules and stick to them. Also the conch represents civilisation. The conch is the main feature of the meetings; you have to have the conch to speak. This is very much like school where you have to put your hand up and wait your turn before speaking. Similarly, this makes the boys seem very civilised at the beginning and creates a bigger impact when they become very savage. In Pollock and the Porroh Man, Pollock is presented as being civil at the beginning. Pollock has servants, which makes him rich and powerful, this gives him a better status and that status is linked to being more civilised. I think this because rich people have servants and they seem to be very civil because they only do things that are right and they don’t do savage things that could get them a bad reputation. If a person has a better social status they tend to act in a more civilised way than a person who doesn’t because they have more to loose. Pollock and Waterhouse have discussions over cups of tea: “Pollock got him some tea.” This shows that there is already civilisation present but it is shown more through objects like tea and guns whereas Golding uses the inanimate behaviour of the boys themselves to represent civilisation. There are no objects in Lord of the Flies to make the setting civilised, there are only the boys and their school uniform. Golding uses the boys to show civilisation, like them deciding to have meetings, similarly Pollock uses meetings but he also uses objects. The use of guns can be civil or savage. Guns show that a civilised race has made them because the making of guns is an intellectual process. However, the use of the gun at the beginning: “Pollock, using his revolver” and Pollock not being upset by the girls death could be H.G. Wells presenting the potential for savagery early in the novel. Similarly Golding informs the reader of the savagery within his characters at the beginning. The fact that the boys choose to have a chief suggest savageness because it conjures up an image of North American Indians, who are portrayed in the media as uneducated savages. They call him a chief not a leader. A chief tells people what to do without consultation, and this could be used to take advantage of the other boys. Also, once a chief is chosen, that is it, that person is in charge. This could mean that even if the chief chooses to do something that the majority knows is wrong still it is done. Jack says he wants the choir to be “hunters” which is savage behaviour also and Golding is using this to show that the boys are not as innocent as they appeared at the beginning when they were in their school uniforms and Piggy was obeying his Aunties rules.
Both H.G. Wells and Golding present their characters as civil but then show them falling into savagery. They both use civil people to do savage acts. I think they do this to make the savage acts seem more violent because it emphasises the contrast between civilisation and savagery. In Lord of the Flies, the characters are presented as being arrogant but innocent English boys: “We’re English and we’re the best at everything” “Wizzard” “Wacco” “Smashing”. These quotes make the reader think of boys are innocent schoolboys like Billy Bunter. Later on however they hunt and become savage. “Kill the pig. Bash her in. Spill her blood.” “The chief has spoken.” Golding is showing that even the nicest of people do savage things. He is showing that there is evil in all of us, it is human nature. I think that Golding might also be saying that the boys were conditioned to be nice in their old lives. People taught to be nice. Golding is showing in the novel that although the savagery is sometimes covered up, there is savagery in all of us just waiting for the nice side that has been conditioned into us to drop. Golding also explains this when Simon is talking to the pig’s head. “Fancy thinking the Beast was something you could hunt and kill!” “I’m part of you?” “I’m the reason why it’s no go? Why things are what they are?” The pig’s head is saying that there is evil in everyone, he is part of everyone. Golding is expressing his views on human and he does this by making civil people do savage things.
In Pollock and the Porroh Man at the beginning it says “English slave traders” this is showing that English, good people do horrible things like slave trading. Also like in Lord of the Flies Pollock has English arrogance; “I was meant for a civilised life.” Pollock is presented as civilised by the chats over tea with “wise Waterhouse” and by the use of objects like pipes and guns. However Pollock does savage things. “Pollock, using his revolver to parry the lightening stab” “he suddenly rushed at the thing and kicked it” “Pollock fired at the sound.” This shows a civil Englishman doing savage things, which makes the brutal things seem increased because a civil person does it. However, in Pollock and the Porroh Man H.G. Wells introduces the savagery right at the beginning and has interlinked savagery and civilisation, a fight between one and the other until savagery wins, while Golding shows the boys are nearly all civilised from the beginning with just a hint of savagery and then they fall into full savagery.
Both H.G. Wells and Golding treat the themes of civilization and savagery similarly but with some subtle differences, and both show civilization and savagery present in Lord of the Flies and Pollock and the Porroh Man. This gives the stories more tension and suspense and makes the savagery more shocking because of the contrast with civilisation.
