![]() Later, the death of Piggy is caused by the savage boy Roger, and sparks Jack to attack Ralph. There were no words, and no movements but the tearing of teeth and claws (152-153).” The death of innocent Simon was aided by the all the boys, however it was led by the savages and would not have happened if they had not started their dance. At once the crowd surged after it, poured down the rock, leapt on to the beast, screamed, struck, bit, tore. “The beast was on its knees in the center, its arms folded over its face… the beast struggled forward, broke the ring, and fell over the steep edge of the rock to the sand by the water. Next, Jack and his savages progress from killing animals, to killing humans. And no longer is he safe just from his insecurities about killing animals he feels safe from the judgement of others. He was safe from shame or self-consciousness behind the mask of his paint and could look at each of them in turn (140).” The most notable section of the nature of this speech Jack gives is that the author states that Jack is safe behind his mask. Perhaps not.’ He paused and looked round. If you want to join my tribe come and see us. Me and my hunters, we’re living along the beach by a flat rock. Demoniac figures with faces of white and red and green rushed out howling… Jack ignored him, lifted his spear and began to shout. Jack is furious that Ralph has gotten all of the power and attention. Jack and some of his close friends decide to break away from Ralph’s civilized group. Then Jack grabbed Maurice and rubbed the stuff over his cheeks (135).” Until that point, Jack has been the only one to wear paints, now his hunters are masked in the literal blood of their prey. ‘Look.’ He giggled and flicked them while the boys laughed at his reeking palms. They boys drew back, and Jack stood up, holding out his hands. The sow collapsed under them and they were heavy and fulfilled upon her… At last the immediacy of the kill subsided. “Then Jack found the throat and the hot blood spouted over his hands. The next time Jack and his hunters kill a pig, Jack decides to strangely rub the blood of the pig onto one of his hunter’s faces. He is using violence against animals, which is not unusual, however the way he goes about it and discusses it surely is. ‘Look! We’ve killed a pig-we stole up on them-we got in a circle- (69)’”, and later, “‘Bollocks to the rules! We’re strong-we hunt! If there’s a beast, we’ll hunt it down! We’ll close in and beat and beat and beat-(91)!’” These situations show his changes before he falls into complete savagery. “Jack, his face smeared with clays, reached the top first and hailed Ralph excitedly, with lifted spear. He is successful at hunting pigs, and loves to talk about his strength and fearlessness. Once Jack has begun to wear a mask, his personality and actions change harshly. This newly discovered mask allows him to do these strange things in front of other boys without feeling insecure the mask gives him the power to act without thinking realistically about what he is doing. While he is not using violence against or harming other boys at this point, he exhibits signs of unusual behavior, including his snarling and dancing. He capered toward Bill, and the mask was a thing on its own, behind which Jack hid, liberated from shame and self-consciousness (63-64).” This is the beginning of Jack’s transformation into a savage, which I believe is aided by his mask of paint. He began to dance and his laughter became a bloodthirsty snarling. ![]() Beside the pool his sinewy body held up a mask that drew their eyes and appalled them. ![]() He spilt the water and lept to his feet, laughing excitedly. “He looked in astonishment, no longer at himself but at an awesome stranger. His reaction takes place in front of some of the other choir boys. Once he paints his face, however, Jack sees his reflection and discovers that the paint is more powerful than just concealment from the pigs. Now, he has the idea to camouflage his face with charcoal, and sneak up on the pigs. He and Ralph have encountered a pig in the past, however Jack was too timid to kill it. It is introduced in Chapter Four, Painted Faces and Long Hair, when choir leader and aspiring hunter Jack, is frustrated that he has not been successful in catching any pigs. Their behavior illustrates that it is easy for people to harm others when they are hiding behind a mask because it limits their emotional connection. This is so easy for them to do as they hide behind new identities and painted faces. They completely abandon their values and never think twice about their actions. They spin out into stealing, violence, and eventually murder. The downfall of the fragile society is when most of the older boys break off into a group of savages. William Golding’s Lord of The Flies follows the rise and fall of a civilization created by a plane full of stranded preteen boys. ![]()
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