Prompt Revision: Prompt #1

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 and savage in nature. He does this by adding in scenes with excessive amounts of brutality as the plot progresses, thus showing the reader how the distance from civilization has turned the boys into savages. Being that the characters are still young, they are able to revert back to their natural instincts, according to Golding.

                An example of this is seen is when Jack decides to take some of the boys hunting. The thrill of the hunt causes them to acquire a thirst for blood and they become more violent and ruthless with their killing. As the story progresses the boys grow obsessed with hunting and begin to use brutal tactics and kill 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.

               Golding’s use of violence continues when the all of the boys go to a feast at Jack’s part of the island. While there, the boys talk about the “beast” and how they plan to kill it. The excitement grows as they discuss 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 completely lose control and violently attack him, calling him the “beast”. Nearly all the boys participate and ultimately kill Simon before taking notice of his identity. This scene of violence contributes to the idea that their separation from society has caused the boys to become primitive and savage.

                Another example of Golding’s strategic use of violence is during the climax of the story when Roger drops a boulder that hits Piggy and sends him airborne, and results in his head being crushed by the impact. This is the final and most powerful scene of violence used by Golding and its dramatic imagery gives the reader a sense of horror. The ferocity in this scene 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 in the absence of civilization.

                Golding uses these various scenes of violence to portray the overall theme and meaning of the novel, that 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. Since the violence becomes more extreme as the novel progresses, it reiterates the idea that detachment from society returns humans to their more primal state.