Maybe There Is The Beast In Lord Of The Flies

William Golding’s quote in Lord of the Flies that “maybe there is a beast… maybe it's only us” helps support the message he is sending in his novel. Lord of the Flies is a novel about a group of schoolboys who crashed onto a mysterious island with no adults. The boys attempt to recreate the civilization by electing Ralph to lead, but Jack wants to lead and creates a group of savages. In Lord of the Flies, William Golding uses the mysterious island to show that Jack turned from a proper British schoolboy to a savage, ultimately sending the message that one’s surroundings can affect and change who one is as a person. When Jack was first introduced in the novel he was simply “chapter chorister and head boy” (Golding 22) of the choir. The boys landed on a mysterious island which was far from civilization. The island was next to the sea and had many different physical features such as the jungle and a mountain. Since the crash had just taken place the islands affects hadn't taken a toll on Jack yet. From the beginning he was arrogant and believed “he ought to be chief,” (Golding 22) but at this time even though he wasn’t elected he wasn't too bothered by the election because he was basically the co-leader.
He has begun to turn on the other boys and his group begin to kill the other children. The first incident of Jack’s savageness was when he told his tribe to “kill the beast! Cut his throat!spill his blood!” (Golding 152) even though it was only simone who was trying to tell the group important information he had found out. Jack also intends on killing ralph with “a stick sharpened at both ends” (Golding 198). Showing that not only is Jack going to kill Ralph with the stick but he has the other end of the stick to mount Ralph’s head on it. Jack’s final transformation of becoming a savage reveals the message William Golding was trying send by conveying the idea that one’s surroundings can change who the person