What are the themes found in chapter 8 of Golding's novel Lord of the Flies?

One theme that emerges in chapter 8 is the seductive power of lawlessness and even evil.
When Jack and his group violently kill the sow, their actions immediately afterward show completely lack of compassion or empathy for their actions. Instead, the group is fueled by the violence:

The boys drew back, and Jack stood up, holding out his hands.
"Look."
He giggled and flicked them while the boys laughed at his reeking palms. Then Jack grabbed Maurice and rubbed the stuff over his cheeks ... Robert stabilized the thing in a phrase that was received uproariously.
"Right up her ass!"
[...]
This time Robert and Maurice acted the two parts; and Maurice's acting of the pig's efforts to avoid the advancing spear was so funny that the boys cried with laughter.

The boys have left Ralph's sense of order and priorities and have chosen to follow Jack, a bloodthirsty leader who has no sense of vision for getting off the island. The boys begin to lose the real focus that Ralph provides, one of hope, and instead become swept up in Jack's quest for killing and power. After this kill, one boy asks how they will cook the meat. Jack doesn't miss a beat with his answer: They will raid Ralph's group and take fire. When they follow this plan, they arrive with "demoniac" faces of white and red and green that send the littluns screaming.
Thunder booms as Jack invites Ralph's group to the feast that will follow, nature itself sending a foreboding warning of choosing to align with such wickedness.


In chapter 8, the group turns from order and responsibility to anarchy and violence as Jack takes over. The message or theme of this chapter is that the barbarism that Jack unleashes is an evil force. It is symbolized by the dripping, blackened, and rotting head of the pig that Jack's followers have tortured and triumphantly killed.
A second theme or message that emerges from the chapter is the relationship of barbarism to pleasure. Barbarism is seductive. The boys want to eat the meat from the pig. They want to abandon responsibility. Roger wants to torture for the pleasure of it. The authoritarianism of Jack's leadership gives them an illusion of freedom as the boys begin to feel liberated under his influence to give into their darker desires. As they descend into their ids, or pleasure seeking selves, they begin to lose their capacity to reason or behave responsibly, making it all the easier for an authoritarian figure like Jack to control them.
The chapter invites us to explore both the evils and seductions of barbarism. It has two sides, but at this point only Simon can see the full horror of it in the pig's rotting head.


Golding examines several themes throughout Chapter 8, including fear, leadership, manipulation, and inherent wickedness. Ralph's lack of leadership allows Jack to leave the group and start his own tribe without any repercussions. Ralph does not know how to effectively motivate the boys, while Jack skillfully promises them that they will only have to play and hunt. Seeking a better leader, the majority of the boys leave Ralph's camp to join Jack's tribe and indulge in their carnal desires.
Other prominent themes in Chapter 8 deal with fear and manipulation. It is the fear of the beast which acts as the catalyst of the boys' descent into savagery. Jack also uses the fear of the beast to manipulate his tribe into following his demands. Once they savagely kill a pig, Jack orders his hunters to severe its head and leave it as a sacrifice for the beast.
Golding also examines the theme of inherent wickedness throughout Simon's encounter with the Lord of the Flies. The Lord of the Flies confirms Simon's belief that the beast was actually each person's inherent wickedness.

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