Significance of Clothing in lord of the flies Consider the significance of Jack hunting wearing fewer clothes. What do clothes represent on the island and what are the implications of no longer wearing them? Use quotes and examples.
Lord of the Flies is about a group of boys aged between 6-12 years old, that find themselves stranded on a deserted island without any adults. The book explores the notion that people are drawn toward pleasure and violence, as they are fundamentally savage. Over the past centuries, human beings have successfully managed to create thriving civilisations, in which the extremes of human nature are suppressed. It seems the modern constraints of society have drawn humans away from savagery. Golding argues that civilisation is like a veil with rules and laws that mask the evil hidden within each individual.
modern society thrives because we are hiding the beast that lies within us.
At the beginning of the book the boys are still supremely shaped by their background to British society. When they first arrive it is clear they are not ready to live the ‘island lifestyle’ because they remain fully clothed to avoid getting their “fair skin” burned.
As the first elected chief, Ralph attempts to reinforce some of the rules from the society that the boys have left behind.
THE CONCH THAT RALPH POSSESSES SYMBOLISES THE RULE OF LAW AND CIVILISATION. IT IS USED TO CALL ASSEMBLIES AND ACTS A MICROPHONE AS THE BEARER OF THE CONCH MAY SPEAK.
THE WEARING OF CLOTHING IS A SYMBOL OF THE BOYS STILL BEING ‘CIVILIZED', AS IT IS NOT SOCIALLY ACCEPTABLE TO GO OUT INTO PUBLIC WITHOUT THE APPROPRIATE ATTIRE.
The longer the boys are on the island the more they shed civilisation in exchange for savagery. Jack the leader of the hunters, symbolises the human love of dominance and power.
Jack is the first boy to adopt savagery, wears less clothing and paints his face "for hunting. Like in war... Like things trying to look like something else-"(p.79). Jack gets angry when he does not get his way and loves to kill and hunt. Once he stops wearing his choir boy clothes and adorns his hunting mask, it is as though he is no longer accountable for his actions and does not need to follow the rules of the society he was once apart of.
