Ralph is the child who represents democracy throughout Lord Of The Flies, as he is fair in what he says and tries to negotiate with people, mainly Jack, in most of the subjects raised. At the beginning the reader can see this characteristic in Ralph when the children have their first meeting. ‘Jack’s in charge of the choir.’ At this point Ralph compromises by allowing Jack to be the leader of the hunters. As a result the first major signs of savagery are shown by Jack’s determination as a hunter to pursue and kill the pig. In chapter three we see Jacks attitude to hunting, he is portrayed as an animal while hunting the pig down, ‘down like a sprinter.’ It is obvious that Jack has a strong killer instinct and finds it easy to blend in with the nature on the island. From reading this passage is becomes apparent that Jack is slowly moving away from civilisation. As a result of failing to kill the pig Jack becomes more determined and creates himself a mask in order for him to ‘creep up’ on the pig. This development portrays the difference between the boys that first arrived on the island and the boys that now inhibited it. To begin with Jack and his choir wore a strict and orderly uniform like the other boys, which represented how well educated and civilised they were, however the uniform Jack has chosen to create completely contrasts their previous one. The masks and disorderly dress that the boys have decided to wear portrays their savage side.
In a way Jack is a strong representation of a fascist, as he is an extremely strong dictator, which is why many of the boys choose to listen to him and follow his actions. When Jack creates the mask it ‘compels’ them, due to this the boys copy Jack by painting their faces, which in turn leads to them savagely hunting down the pig. When they make their first kill the boys show their uncivilised sides by the way they chant, ‘Kill the pig, cut her throat, spill her blood.’ These are extremely brutal words to chant, which yet again shows how savagery is taking over the boys personalities. Also the way in which Jack describes killing the pig as being fun portrays his sadism and killer instinct.
Another way in which Jack’s cruel nature becomes apparent to the reader is when he bullies Piggy. As a person Piggy has many disadvantages, for example he has asthma, wears glasses and is overweight plus he is very annoying, as he constantly reminds the boys of the rules. Due to this he gains no respect from the other characters, especially Jack who has impudence for the rules. As a result he gets tormented by Jack, ‘would you? Fatty!’ Not only does Jack verbally abuse Piggy; he also physically abuses him, which the reader sees when Jack punches Piggy in the stomach. There are also other signs of bullying that take place on the island. In chapter four Maurice and Roger stamp on the smaller children’s sand castles, which shows an inner sadistic side to them both. It is apparent from this that Golding is trying to express how the human kind does have an essential illness that makes us do things that are slightly mischievous, although if controlled it is quite harmless. However on the island it is uncontrolled due to there being no adults present to manage the boys, therefore they have no limits to what is right and wrong and are allowed to show their vindictive sides as a result.
Another way in which the reader can see that the boys are becoming uncivilised is the way in which they are finding no need for man made objects, this shows how the children’s primitive side is taking over. Plus the way in which all the younger boys are called ‘littluns’ depicts the contrast between the life on the island and civilisation where people are all individuals; as on the island the littluns do not have an identity.
Ralph’s deterioration as a leader to the group also represents their path to savagery, as Ralph in a way is a representation of democracy and the boys are disobeying the rules and orders given by Ralph, which portrays the way in which law and order is falling apart and being ignored on the island. Ralph is beginning to get worried about his control over the whole situation and how the boys are becoming barbaric and unruly. ‘If they don’t come back, then we’ve had it.’ This is a pivotal moment for Ralph as he realises that the conch may not gain peoples respect anymore, which yet again symbolises the break down of civilisation and order.
Overall Golding has made the island a microcosm of the whole world in general. This has been done to portray how the human kind can be savage and how a structured society can fall apart by rules being repeatedly broken, this is illustrated through the actions of the boys on the island.
