Matt Manning
Savagery and Civility
Mr. Chiumento CP English
5\24\12
Savagery and Civility
The novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding is a story of the comparison and
diffusion of the savagery and civility found in every human being. In this novel, a group of boys
become stranded on an island and are forced to cope with the reality of being alone. As time
passes, unrest and savagery grow until the point that total war between the boys envelops the
island. Without adult supervision, or any sort of training, the boys are tossed into this situation in
which they are forced to forfeit their innocence and face the challenges the world contains. Not
only is Lord of the Flies a story of survival, but an allegory for World War II which touches base
on many of the key aspects of the war.
During the 1930s and 1940s, the world goes to war in Europe and the Pacific. The two
factions involved in the conflict are the Allied Nations and the Axis Powers. The Allied Nations
mainly consist of the USSR, the United States, France, and Great Britain. The Axis Powers are
made of up the Italians, the Germans, and the Japanese. The leaders of the Allied Powers are
FDR and Winston Churchill, while the Axis Powers answer to Adolf Hitler. In the story, Jack
Merridew can be compared to Adolf Hitler by the aspect that each was naturally violent and
hunted specific groups. The fire on the island can be compared to the atomic bomb, since both
were the most devastating forces in each scenario, and because they both ended each conflict.
The final comparison is of Piggy and the pigs on the island being like the Jews, since each was
persecuted, hunted, and eventually killed.
In Lord of the Flies, Jack plays the role of the antagonist. This is not known
immediately in the book, but the motif of leadership and its stress on Ralph and Jack
foreshadows what is to come. During WWII, Hitler was the leader of the Axis powers, making
him the sort of real-life antagonist. Jack and Hitler both use rough situations in order to rise to
power, where Jack exploits being marooned and Hitler exploits the recession after WWI. Jack
says “I gave you food and my hunters will protect you from the beast. Who will join my tribe?”
(Golding 150). This quote shows how Jack takes the fears and needs of the boys on the island
and attempts to exploit them and take over control, much similar to Hitler. During WWII, Hitler
took the aspirations of the people of Germany, who wanted to escape the recession they had so
lengthily been in, and made them a reality. “Victory, as well as giving him control of all of
Europe, would provide the opportunity to destroy ‘Jewish Bolshevism’ and win lebensraum for
the German master race” (Farmer). In this quote, Farmer expresses Hitler’s feeling of supremacy
of his race and the destruction of the others, being the Jews. This can be related to Lord of the
Flies because Jack makes fun of piggy, and hunts the pigs. Jack even says at the beginning of the
story, before he even becomes savage, how the British are superior and can handle any situation.
Hitler and Jack take instances of fear and capitalize on the desperation in order to assume
control, and even believe in their own supremacy. Jack is not the only aspect in Lord of the Flies
that relates directly to WWII, but also the persecution of those who could not protect themselves.
During World War II, the underlying atrocity of the war was the hunting and killing of
the Jewish people. In the Lord of the Flies, the victims are Piggy and the pigs on the island. The
hunting of the pigs and Jews is comparable, because neither could fight back nor flee from such
an oppressive enemy. At the beginning of the book, Piggy says, “’then’, went on Piggy, ‘that
boy- I forget-‘ ‘you’re talking too much’ said Jack Merridew. ‘Shut up fatty.’ Laughter arose”
(Golding 21). This quote shows the obvious disdain against Piggy, and the hate generated from
his differences is a testament to the dislike of such differences. Piggy has done nothing wrong,
but is being persecuted due to his size, which doesn’t hurt anyone and has no current effect on
those around him. The Jewish people had similar instances in which they were persecuted for not
only things that they were innocent of, but pf things that that they had no control over. “This
hatred was directed at Jewish children as well as grown-ups. It began in small ways. Jewish
children were teased. They were called names. Friends who were not Jewish turned away from
them. Those who did not turn away told them they were ‘good Jews,’ not like other Jews. Jewish
children were harassed, taunted, and sometimes beaten” (Gottfried).Not only were the Jews
persecuted, but eventually they were murdered by the millions, and the destruction of their lives
has still not recovered. This relates to Piggy because he also dies, and the pigs because they are
brutally killed. The savagery of murder, although devastating, cannot compare to the destruction
the fire that ravages the microcosm as well was the world.
In the Lord of the Flies, the fire on the island represents technology and civilization, as
well as life and death. This one aspect has such different meanings because of the way that is
portrayed on the island, such as when the boys use it in order to cook and such, as well as when
the fiore claims the life of the boy with the birthmark at the very beginning of the book. During
World War II, the factor that played much similar roles was the atomic bomb. Created from a
new source of renewable energy, the splitting of the atom could have been used for technological
advances, or the destruction of entire cities. When the island began to catch fire for the final
time, it was described as “a flame, seemingly detached, swung like an acrobat and licked up the
palm heads on the platform. The sky was black” (Golding 150). In this quote, the pure
destruction of the fire is revealed in a way that shows how it envelops everything and cannot be
contained. This is similar to the atomic bomb in the way that the bomb engulfs entire cities,
blackens the sky, and is purely cataclysmic. “the possible weapon was considered to be a new
and tremendously powerful explosive, as legitimately as any other of the deadly explosive
weapons of modern war” (Stimson). In this quote, Henry Stinson describes the raw power of the
atomic bomb, and that of course this new energy deriving from the splitting of an atom would be
put to use militaristically. The destruction that both the fire and the atomic bomb cause is not
equivalent to the technological advances they may stem, due to the fact that both can destroy
microcosms single handedly, but are only a piece to build them.
Lord of the Flies contains allegories that shatter the split between the fiction of the story
and the reality of our world. Although the story will always be fiction, it will always relate to
something in society. Although Golding never directly states that the story is taking place in the
shadow of WWII, it is obviously assumed due to the closeness of the somewhat obvious
allegories. The pigs and the Jews, the fire and the atomic bomb, and lastly Jack and Hitler are all
examples of an allegory at the furthest extent, one that reaches into our world and does so in a
way that makes one think. The savagery and civility of the microcosm in the story, as well as our
own world, defines how quickly we stoop back to primeval instincts and the always cliché
mantra of survival of the fittest. Civilization is torn apart by the savagery that lurks inside of us,
the real problem is that while savagery is always there, civility must be learned.
Farmer, Allen. "Hitler and the Holocaust." History Review 4.58 09 2007. n.pag.
EBSCOhost. Database. 20 May 2012.
Gottfried, Ted. "The First Young Victims." Children of the Slaughter 15. (2001): n.pag.
EBSCOhost. Database. 20 May 2012.
Stimson, Henry. "The Decision to Use the Atomic Bomb." Decision to Use the Atomic
Bomb 1. (2008): n.pag. EBSCOhost. Database. 20 May 2012.