sEssay- The irony of the ending of the Lord of the Flies.
The ending of the novel Lord of the Flies, was somewhat surprising. I was surprised, at least. Its very ironic how they are rescued and who they are rescued by. At this point in the novel, the boys are no longer acting like humans, but are savages. They fight for power, and hunt each other down like animals. Jack has taken control and has formed a tribe to hunt the pigs, and whoever wont follow his rules.
They eventually start killing each other, and loose all sense of morals that they had before landing on this island. By the end of the novel, the boys have evolved into completely different people, with different beliefs and desires. It is very ironic how there only way off the island is a naval cruiser, and this fancy, neatly dressed officer comes to rescue them. The closing of the book begins with Ralph running from the savages during the manhunt where he trips, falls to the ground, and expects Jack and his inhuman tribe to attack him.
To his surprise, he is not attacked, and he stands up to find himself facing a British naval officer. The savages shortly behind him ended up there as well, and were stunned into silence by this adult on their island. He staggered to his feet, tensed for more terrors, and looked up at a huge, peaked cap. It was a white-topped cap, and above the green shade of the peak were a crown, an anchor, and gold foliage. He saw a white drill, epaulettes, a revolver, and a row of gilt buttons down the front of a uniform. A naval officer stood on the sand, looking down at Ralph in wary astonishment.
(LoF p200). The attire of the boys and the officer also stand in stark contrast. The officer is dressed with a military neatness, with a clean, decorated uniform. The boys however are in need of haircuts, most of them are covered with clay, and they are probably wearing the tattered remains of shorts or pants. They are dirty, with bruises and cuts, and half starved; they are like animals.
Its quite ironic how the officer appears very different from the boys, but at the same time holds a similar quality. This officer represents adult life, responsible, capable, but still bearing the same prospect for evil as the savages. This officer, who interrupted a manhunt, is going to rescue the children and take them off the island; but where is he taking them? To a cruiser that will soon be hunting its enemy in the same fashion as the savages were hunting down Ralph. To me, the irony is that although the officer and his cruiser seem to be so much more civilized than these little savages, they are not. Its just like what the Lord of the Flies, told Simon. No matter where you go, you cant get away from him.
Because this Beast, this capability for evil, exists in everyone everywhere. The boys have evolved into barbaric savages, and this British naval officer is a savage. Both the officer and Jacks tribe attack their enemys with no compassion towards them. Everyone has the ability to be a savage; sometimes its just more obvious.Words/ Pages : 566 / 24
