‘High overhead, Roger, with a sense of delirious abandonment, leaned all his weight on the lever.’
However, with this quotation, it also shows us that Roger is not in control of his actions and that he has become a complete savage as civilisation has died within him. Roger siding with Jack is an integral part of the attempt to kill Ralph at the end. This quote shows us that with Jack, Roger has the confidence to be malevolence and evil.
Another character that is a definite link to evil is Jack, but not as much as Roger. Jack is about the same age as Ralph who is twelve. He is described as having a skinny build and red hair,
‘He was tall, thin, and bony: and his hair was red beneath the black cap’
It’s also very interesting that he is repeatedly associated with the colour black which represents darkness and evilness, for example ‘black cloak’. His freckles are described as being ‘ugly without stillness.’ Jack arrives in the novel as leader of the choir, who seems the obvious candidate for ‘chief’, but when Ralph wins the ‘election’, Jack turns his attention to hunting.
‘Hunters.’
Jack seems to harbour emotions of anger and savagery from the beginning. From this we see the start of the transformation of Jacks character to savagery from civilised.
Jack has been compared to Hitler in an allegorical way. This is the case during the middle of the book when Jack becomes a dictator amongst his tribe of savageges and when Jack paints on a mask on his face of the nazi colours of red, black and white. Jack's mask of face paint represents a cover that he can hide behind, which liberates and frees him, allowing him to do anything when wearing it, without worrying about any important matters.
Jack is a character that was civilised at the beginning of the novel, but is soon the head savage. At the start he was the first to suggest having rules in the camp.
“‘We’ve got to have rules and obey them. After all we’re not savages’”
However it can be argued that Jack only said that so he could punish the person. We know when he has become a savage when he ‘had to think for a moment before he could remember what rescue was’. We also know that he has turned savage when he increasing becomes obsessed with hunting and leaves Ralph’s tribe. The animalistic description of Jack at the beginning of the chapter is a good example of this,
‘Then dog like, uncomfortable on all fours….he stole for five yards.’
Jack does show us that savagery can be evil. The savage behaviour of only ‘looking after ones self’ is portrayed thought the book by Jack. The way he killed the pig was not only evil but this was emphasised by the savagery manner in which he killed the pig.
Jack has become so evil that he hunts Ralph at the end of the novel; this shows us that he is savage because he has no limits and is prepared to kill Ralph. He goes as far as setting the island on fire. This happens because of Jack’s savage personality and ability to tell people what they want to hear. Jack wears a mask in the colours of the Nazi symbol: red, white and black.
Another thing that Jack does that show us that he is evil is Jack's killing of the mother pig which, shows his great lack of foresight, as by killing the mother, they were losing all the other piglets who would've been a future source of food. Also the way he killed them, in a violent way.
The characters of Jack and Roger are portrayed as evil in contrast to the character of Ralph and Simon who are good. Simon is described as the ‘Christ-figure’ in the novel. He is very good and pure, and has a very positive outlook. Simon also has a tranquil spot on the island which allows him to escape the evil doings of Jack’s tribe. He meets the ‘Lord of the Flies’ which represents the devil or evil. Simon is killed when the rest of the boys got caught up in a savage dance. Ralph is also a good character which represents order and democracy. We know this because Piggy blows the conch in the book more than any other person, and he is also holding the conch. When he dies, it also very significant as the conch shatters to pieces.
‘His head opened and stuff came out and turned red.’
This is a quotation taken at the scene of Piggy’s death. When he dies the ‘red stuff’ seeps out of his head and because Piggy dies, there is no order and democracy, and this is when evil can spread. The ‘red’ could be related to communism or Nazism in an allegorical level. He was hunted at the end of the novel by Jack’s tribe.
I don’t think that it is their fault that they became evil because there were no adults to manage them and because there were no social control over them. The group of boys were also very young and weren’t used to being left alone for a long period of time.
On the island there are different objects that represent evil. One object is the ‘beastie’ which is mention by a littlun who claims that he saw it; however Simon knows the truth about the ‘beastie’. While the other boys on the island speculate about what the beast was, Simon knows that the beast is the evil residing within everyone, the dark side to human nature. When Simon tries to tell the rest of the group about the ‘beastie’, he gets laughed at and teased.
‘Simon’s effort fell about him in ruins; the laughter beat him cruelly and he shrank away defenceless to his seat.’
Another object that represents evil is the Lord of the Flies. The Lord of the Flies represents the devil, greater danger or evil. The Lord of the Flies is a pig’s head on a stick which is left for the beast as a present from Jack. When Simon confronts the 'Lord of the Flies', it is just a pig's head on a stick, which Jack had stuck into the ground in Simon's special retreat. However, when Simon is speaking to it he doesn't see it as a pig's head, he sees it as all that is evil. The Lord of the Flies insults and mocks Simon.
‘ “you silly little boy,” said the Lord of the Flies, just an igorant, silly little boy.”’
Another object is the flies that are flying above the pigs head. In Simons retreat, the butterflies represent his soul. These butterflies disappeared when the pig's head was put there. The flies from the smell of the rotting flesh, replaced the butterflies. The flies can therefore be seen as evil.
The island itself is considered to be evil, because the shape of the island does look like a skull which symoblises evil. The island may also be considered evil because of the ‘scar’ that the crashed aeroplane left at the beginning of the novel.
‘he looked up and down the scar.’
The ‘scar’ represents man’s destruction on nature and destructive forces such as atomic bombs etc. the island is a microcosm representing the world, where war, famine, racism and prejudice is taking place. These were all evil things going on at that time.
At first the description of the island is very peaceful but thay soon changes. The description of the island gave an imagery of evil, when something bad was going to happen. When Simon died the weather and the scenery changes to bad. This gives it a climax. The author also uses strong langauage and images when something ‘evil’ has happened.
‘only the beast lay still, a few yards from the sea. Even in the rain they could see how small a beast was; and already its blood was staining the sand.’
Another example of the island protraying evil is the describtion after Piggy’s death. In this case the author uses a sibilence to protray the evil of the island.
‘Then the sea breathed again in a long slow sigh, the water boiled white and pink over the rock; and when it went, sucking back again, the body of Piggy was gone.’
The author uses weather on the island to show evil. William Golding uses this to effect before Simon dies, which is a signal to the reader that something ‘evil’ is about to occur.
‘Between the flashes of lightning the air was dark and terrible.
Lightening is often used to create tension and drama; this is where Golding uses it to effect. This shows us that ‘the island was getting worse and worse’. Golding also uses strong word for an imagery of evil, when he describes the ‘scar’ and the first forest fire.
To conclude William Golding uses many objects and characters to portray evil in the Lord of the Flies, such as Roger, the ‘scar’ and the ‘beastie’. At the end of the novel they are saved by a naval officer. The arrival of the naval officer thus seems like a happy and ironic ending, but if one digs deeper it is just a continuance from one war to another. Once all the boys get on the Navy cruiser, they'll most likely just be subjected to more battle and fighting, this time on a worldwide level, due to the war taking place in the outside world. Golding makes his views and messages of the ‘darkness in mans heart’ with this book, because it shows us what man is capable of if there was no social control. He has shown us that without these conditions, our ideals, values, and the basics of right and wrong are lost. Without society's rigid rules, anarchy and savagery can come to light.
