Prompts (September 16th)

1982. In great literature, no scene of violence exists for its own sake. Choose a work of literary merit that confronts the reader or audience with a scene or scenes of violence. In a well-organized essay, explain how the scene or scenes contribute to the meaning of the complete work. Avoid plot summary.

                In the novel, Lord of the Flies, William Golding includes various scenes of violence to prove his idea that humans are evil in nature. He does this by adding in scenes with excessive amounts of violence as the plot progresses, thus showing the reader how the distance from civilization has turned the boys into savages.

                The first example of this is seen is when Jack decides to take some of the boys hunting. This causes them to acquire a thirst for blood and they become more violent and ruthless with their killing. The boys grow obsessed with hunting and use brutal tactics—even killing baby pigs for the sport of it. These extreme levels of violence in their hunt show the reader that the boys are losing their grip of right and wrong and are becoming savage in the lack of civilization.

                Another example of a violent scene with meaning is when all of the boys go to a feast with Jack’s group. Here they speak of the beast and how they are going to kill it. Excitement grows as they talk of how they will triumph over the beast, causing them to lose their sense of reason by the time Simon walks in from the forest. The boys lose control and violently attack him, ultimately resulting in his death. This again shows Golding’s expression of how the boys had become primitive without the rules of society to keep them in line.

                The third example of Golding’s use of violence in scenes to show the meaning of the novel is during the climax of the story when Piggy and Ralph go to Jack’s fort to get Piggy’s glasses back and Roger drops a boulder that hits Piggy and sends him airborne. This causes Piggy’s head to be smashed from the impact and he dies instantly. This is the final scene of violence used by Golding and its dramatic imagery gives the reader the sense of horror. The violence in this is used to emphasize how truly savage the boys have become since their initial arrival on the island. In addition to this, Golding’s targeting of Piggy creates a greater contrast—the one who maintained the ideas of society throughout the novel is being killed in the most savage way. This makes the brutality seem even more extreme, thus reiterating how horrible the boys have become.

                Golding uses these various scenes of violence to portray the overall theme and meaning of the novel—without the rules of society, people would be evil in nature. The brutal acts represent the change in morality within the boys. The more horrific the action, the further they have grown from civilization and the more savage they have become.