This contrast of innocence and evil in one character can also be seen in Jack. Also it can be seen in chapter 1 where it is quoted Jack saying “I’m chapter chorister and head boy”. This quote shows that Jack regularly attends church so we don’t expect him to commit evil action because Jack is known as leading chorister.
Also it is quoted that,
“Jack had the pig by the hair and was brandishing his knife- when Jack’s arm came down”.
This is quoted in chapter 6. This quote immediately shows a difference in Jacks character because he is committing such actions, which you would associate with a savage and not a chapter chorister.
“You know- dazzle paint. Like things trying to look like something else”. This quote shows that Jack now wants to change the choir from being hunters to war type Solders, William Golding uses the symbol of paint to show loss of youth, under the guidance of Jack the boy’s characteristics have changed drastically because Jack has guided them to there primitive nature.
Also in chapter 8 it is quoted Piggy saying,
“Grown up’s know things”.
This quote shows that if grown ups were present none of these acts will occur.
It can be seen that William Golding is trying to show an experiment by leaving the children on the island. In this novel he has shown that society plays a vital role in structuring the thoughts of a person.
Another way in William Golding shows evil at work is when the children learn about hunting. The idea of hunting comes originally from Ralph. As we progress into the novel it will be seen that the idea of hunting becomes progressively more violent than the initial way of hunting.
The first act of hunting occurs when Jack, Simon and Ralph go for a hunt. Unfortunately they don’t come back with anything, but Jack cried, “We’ll get food and hunt until we catch things”. This quote is found in chapter 1.
With this quote it can be seen that Jack is willing to hunt animals at any cost as he refers this in an arrogant way, which show links to evilness. Also the type of emotions used in the first chapter it is of an adult nature. Jack is quoted as saying,
“I was just waiting for a moment to decide where to stab him (the pig)”.
Jack thirst for hunting grows larger and larger until they mistakenly kill Simon. This shows that William Golding has shown evil at work through hunting. This is because at the start of the novel, Ralph, Jack and Simon carried out the hunts and the three boys became closer. As the novel progressed the boys gained the mental strength to kill therefore when they realise that a beast is in the island the boy’s courage is out of the ordinary for the children because they step up to the beast in such a way that the beast is a child. This can be seen in chapter 8.
This is a small example of how William Golding has manipulated the boys and gave them the courage from hunting as a result. William Golding will now be able to show more evil intentions at work. This is because, now the boys have realised that they have it in them to commit evil actions-they will enhance their abilities.
At the end of the novel it can be seen that Jack is hunting Ralph down. This can be seen in chapter 12 when Ralph is on the run from Jack and his tribe. The quote;
“They (Jack and Roger) hate you Ralph, they’re going to hunt you to-morrow. The chief says we got to be careful and throw our spears like at a pig”.
This quote shows how William Golding has used the concept of evil throughout lord of the flies. This is because at the start they hunt pigs for food. Gradually they start to hunt for fun and now they have started to hunt humans.
This shows how the character of Jack has developed from being a nice lad to an evil intentioned, mature minded child. As a result of no adults being there the power Jack realises has made him think that he is untouchable. I believe that William Golding is demonstrating the corrupting nature of power.
Gradually as Simon realised what started to happen around him, William Golding changes his character from being a child to an adult minded child then he realises what he is surrounded by, he decides to go back into a child minded child. William Golding is showing how the children can switch off from the acts that they have committed.
This can be seen in chapter 6,
“Simon stirred in the dark”.
This quote shows that Simon is keeping out of the way because he has realised the evil around him. Due to the reason that Simon stays out of their way it eventually costs him his life. William Golding is showing that to survive you have to be apart of it or you are against it. This can be seen in the quote,
“At once the crowd surged after it, poured down rocks, leapt on the beast, screamed, struck, bit, tore”.
This quote shows that everyone was involved in killing the so-called beast. The reason that Simon is tragically killed is because his interaction with the rest of the group is limited and as a result he is unaware of what they are thinking.
Greed is another evil, which is distributed in the novel. It seems as if Jack wants full control. This is probably due to the fact that Ralph won the leadership at the start democratically, but now William Golding is trying to show evilness of greed. This is because, Jack has got closer to the choir, and has realised that he has got the upper hand over the boys and as a result Jack takes the leadership in a dictatorship style. This can be seen in chapter 8 when Jack says,
“We’ll hunt and I’m going to be chief, they (choir) nodded and the crisis passed away easily”.
This quote shows again how Jack has the upper hand over the choir because a small crisis arises over the leadership and when Jack says I’m chief the choir’s fear from him makes them take his decision.
This can also show that Jack’s willingness of being leader has demoralised his respect for others. This is because at the start of this novel there is an argument between Ralph and Jack over the leadership. This arises early on in the novel (chapter1) because Jack arrogantly says,
“I ought to be chief”.
This quote makes Jack’s intentions clear, but will the other respect his intention?
This is due to the fact that Jack has gained so much power that he thinks he could do anything.
The answer to that question is no, because the children voted for both Ralph and Jack, but Ralph had the greater popularity. When Ralph counted the votes he realised that he had been nominated as chief. As all the children applauded for Ralph,
“Jack’s face disappeared under a blush of mortification”. This quote is found in chapter one.
This quote shows the nature at which William Golding is trying to cause a conflict between Ralph and Jack. Jack feels humiliated from his defeat in the small election over the leadership. As a result Jack will want revenge on Ralph. Early in the novel it can be seen that William Golding has made Jack physiologically angry and now in the novel Jack will get his revenge.
The evil, which is shown in this part of the novel, is that of greed for power.
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William Golding uses a line in chapter 1 where he wants to tell us about Jack’s character,
“He rolled and peered into Jack’s fierce, dirty face”.
This quote describes Jack as fierce and dirty and these are the signs of an evil person. The way, in which William Golding describes Jack, is the way in which you would describe a dictator.
With intentions such as evil William Golding wants to show the causes of conflicts caused by this. This can be seen in chapter 10, when Jack says,
“We shall take the fire from others”.
This quote shows the evil of greed because the hunters needed fire for light. It also shows that Jack thinks he could get away with any act of evil. It can be seen that William Golding has used the concept of greed. This shows that Jack thinks he will get what he wants and it seems as if William Golding has changed Jack’s character from being a young chap in the choir to an adult minded bully. It is quote in chapter 11 that the boys found out that the hunters had, “stolen our fire”.
When Ralph’s boys find this out they feel rage at Jack, but their fear for the hunters stopped them from reacting to this crime. It is quoted in chapter 11, “they understood only to well the liberation into savagery that the concealing paint brought”.
Ralph says,
“We won’t be painted because we are not savages”.
These two quotes show that Ralph and his boys have recognised that the hunter have started to base themselves upon savages and as a result of this Ralph is telling his boys that we will not sink to the level of the hunters.
From the quotes it can be seen how William Golding has used savagery in Lord of the flies. This is because; the boys paint their faces to show that their soldiers and that they are different from others. Due to this taking place, William Golding shows how the motive of savagery gets to the hunters and as a result the hunters start to commit evil in such a way that they believe will get away with it.
William Golding shows evil at work in lord of the flies in several different ways. He shows it through using children to carry out these acts, hunting and the hunger for power. It can also be seen that William Golding illustration of evil has been heavily influenced by the acts committed during the Second World War, and acts that are shown in the creation and savagery in lord of the flies.
