Chapter 8 of Lord of the Flies continues on from the last chapter by narrating Piggy’s shock from hearing the news about the beast. Jack calls a meeting, accuses Ralph, and soon creates his own tribe against Ralph’s. Ralph and Piggy realize that other than Simon and Samn, Eric, all the other have joined Jack. Jack and his group find a group of pigs resting peacefully under the trees. Jack aims at a sow with piglets feeding on her milk. Some chase the piglets while Jack corners the poor sow and cuts her throat, as hot blood spills out. He then puts the head on a stick as a gift for the beast. Meanwhile, Simon sees the beast and the pig’s head. The beast tells him that all the other biguns will kill Simon. Soon, he discovers that the figure is just a dead parachutist, and the beast is the boys themselves, and rushes to tell the others.
Human nature shows how human beings act by nature; in other words, humans’ activities that are seen through civilization. Golding shows that human nature, without the constraints of society, makes humans supposedly savage. In the chapter, Golding shows that while some boys like Piggy, Ralph, and Simon try to stay civilized, boys like Jack and his tribe absolutely give in to their nature and start acting like wild savages. When they see a mother pig resting while he babies feed on her milk, they attack. They kill the poor sow with piglets instead of lighting the signal fire to be rescued. Therefore, while a ship crosses by, there is no smoke coming out from the fire, losing hope for rescue. Soon, it is also shown that the boys start using the fire to cook meat instead of trying to get back to civilization. Throughout the chapter, Golding especially emphasizes how when the boys get too much freedom, they start to float away from civilization and start becoming more and more savage. The make-shift civilization created by the boys at the start collapses because of humans’ inner savagery. They start to relate being on the island as “fun”, afraid of an imaginary “beast” and soon become more and more violent. The beast, or the Lord of the Flies, really just symbolizes the boys’ inner beast and fear of themselves, resulting in complete chaos. Human nature emphasizes that when humans have too much freedom, it results in giving up civilization and giving in to savagery.
Spirituality and religious people are neither like people who hide behind civilization nor the people who give in to savagery. They occupy a role in which they accept the fact that there really is an obstacle but are determined to face it. In the story, Golding shows not only the two sides of civilization and savagery within the boys but also shows a side of spirituality and religion, within Simon. Throughout the story, Simon can be seen as a fearless and peaceful boy who is the first to conquer the fear of the beast and discover that the “beast” everyone fears is just themselves. The beast seemingly talks to Simon and says threatens him that if he doesn’t turn against civilization like everyone else, he will face the consequences. Simon realizes that that’s how the beast makes many of the other boys give in to savagery. When going down from the mountaintop to tell all the other boys the truth, all the boys kill Simon, including the civilized and savage ones. They do that because, unlike Simon, they are unable to be brave enough to face the beast squarely and admit it is only themselves. The civilized boys keep denying that the beast is real, while the savage boys give in to the beast but are greatly fearful of it. The characteristics of the religious gods and men all over the world, like Buddha, Jesus, Moses, and more, are all shown in the neatly carved character Simon. Spirituality and religion can reflect more peaceful, fearless, yet accepting people with kind hearts.
Belonging and respect are the desires everyone seeks, but many who attempted to get them used the wrong way. People are also willing to sacrifice and worship to ones they fear, for example, Jack and the Beast. Many of the boys Golding describes try using violence to determine the weak and strong, respected and mistreated. In the story, many boys have made fun of people easy to pick on, like Piggy, when they feel defeated and vulnerable. Other times, they use age, size, strength, and violence to create the boundaries between biguns and littleuns, the leaders and followers. Jack is shown as one of the many boys who desire an exceedingly amount of respect and belonging from all the other boys. Jack takes the advantage of how all the boys are scared of the beast in order to enhance his leadership and status. When Jack feels humiliated and embarrassed, he always chooses to pick on smaller and weaker boys like Piggy in order to show his “strength” again. Many people have an instinct in which one picks on another or use violence to appear strong and powerful. However, this only creates more fear and hatred within the followers, and would soon result in several consequences if the person doesn’t act more carefully later on. Jack and several other boys, like to pick on, mock, and abuse the weaker, smaller, and ones who were already neglected or mistreated by other boys. The battle between civilization and savagery shows the complex relationships and status of the boys attempting to thrive on an abandoned island.
Chapter 8 of The Lord of the Flies not only provides in great detail the steps the boys take that go further away from civilization and closer to wild savagery but also sows the complex relationships and characteristics of each and every member on the deserted island. Within the chapter human nature is shown using the two sides of civilization and savagery within the boys. The savagery causes the boys to go from killing sows to humans. The “beast” that many are scared of is really just the boys themselves. However, Simon isn’t on any side, rather, he looks upon the situation with a spiritual and religious view: he accepts the existence of the beast, but instead, bravely faces it with courage. While the battle of the two or multiple sides is continuous, there are also minor battles between two boys for respect and a sense of belonging.
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