How does Golding convey Jack’s regression to a more savage state? :: English Literature

How does Golding convey Jack’s regression to a more savage state? William Golding conveys Jack’s regression to a more savage state in many different ways. One of the ways in which he does this is by using the setting. The fact that wild plants and creepers are growing almost everywhere around Jack is a typical stereotype of primitive land. Jack did not seem to be trying to avoid them, which could suggest that he has already started getting used to them, as a savage or primitive being would be. Also, Jack had not planned the way that he was going to take when travelling through the forest; instead, he just followed faint trails and hoped they would lead him to what he wanted. By doing this, he was already thinking like a savage. Jack seemed to have a very close connection with the forest that he was hunting in. With only small signs, he was able to realise that the forest was inhabited as other creatures, creatures that he was trying to hunt. Also, Golding describes the forest like he describes Jack, for example when he says ‘the forest and he were very still’. This emphasises the close connection between the two. Another way in which the author conveys Jack’s regression to a more savage state is by making him seem more animal like. Savages are thought of more as animals than people, therefore the animal-like description is very effective to show Jack returning to his savage roots. When searching for prey, he was described as a dog in more than one way, ‘his nose was only a few inches from the humid earth’, just like a dog or wolf hunts, and ‘dog-like, he was uncomfortable on all fours’. There were also some more subtle ways in which he was indirectly compared to animals that were savage-like. He was becoming hairier than he was before, just like an ape. This suggests the reversal of evolution. Also, he was almost naked, apart from his knife belt. This much like a savage or animal, but the fact that he was not at all embarrassed by this was even more significant. In our modern day world, walking around naked would be thought of as a taboo and is even illegal in a lot of places, but in the time that savages were around, it was very common for them to walk around wearing close to nothing. This is exactly the state of mind that Jack wants to revert to in order to hunt like a savage. Jack was also starting to use his senses more effectively like animals. ‘His nostrils flared’.