A Dualism of Primitivism versus Civilisation: A Postcolonial Study of the Lord of the Flies
Abstract
The British novelist, playwright, and poet William Golding was the winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature and the recipient of the Booker Prize for Fiction for his notable work Rites of Passage (1980). Golding as a part of the Royal Navy during the time of the Second World War had witnessed all the havocs of the war. This provides him the setting for his celebrated novel Lord of the Flies (1954). He has explored in his work the nature of evil that is innate in all human beings and this led humans to involve in all the callous activities towards their fellow beings. The novel was written during the time England, as a superpower nation, was fading away due to decolonization. This provides the opportunity to read the novel from the postcolonial perspective. The spirit of domination of the uninhabited island, the clash for power and supremacy, the “Otherization” of some boys, representation of evil and savagery among the groups of English boys in the plot of the novel has a deeper layer of meaning to be explored.
Keywords: post-colonial criticism, power, civilization, nature, colonialist ideology
Objectives
The present study intends to explore the elements of the dualism of 'savagery' and 'civilization' in the novel. It seeks to analyse how post-colonialism lies at the heart of the novel. The study also pays closer attention to the portrayal of ‘self’ and the ‘other’ and further looks at the politics of power inherent in the novel. The objective of the study is to view the text in the light of postcolonial criticism. As John Mc Leod describes, any text that is written by writers having a colonialism history and run with the legacy of colonialism can be read from postcolonial perspectives.
Review of Literature
The available scholarly articles and resources reveal that many studies have been conducted on William Golding and especially his work Lord of the Flies. Research has been carried out from the perspectives of various themes like colonialism, post-colonialism, imperialism, humans’ evil nature, etc. Human nature remains one of the important discussions in the novel. The novel provides different aspects of human nature. Major among them are man’s character. It shows how Ralph’s character grew from an innocent boy to a responsible and mature person. However, he could not maintain this at the end of the novel. This is how Golding describes human nature to be in society. Stefan Hawlin in his article “The Savages in the forest: decolonising William Golding”, presents Britain’s politics in the wake of the war and how it can be seen as a defence against colonialism. Also, a new exciting interpretation has been given by David Agruss in his writing “Going Native: White Masculinity, Colonial Panic, and the Threat of Homosexuality in William Golding’s Lord of the Flies”. Along with exploring the British civilization and culture, he analysed the possible heterosexual nature of the boys in the novel. An Eco-Critical interpretation of the novel is given by C. Sathya in the article titled 'An Eco-Critical Analysis of William Golding's novel, "Lord of the Flies”. This study attempts to add greater meaning and value to the existing body of literature.
Analysis
The Nobel prize recipient William Gerald Golding wrote his celebrated novel Lord of the Flies in the year 1954. The plot of the novel was set in the backdrop of the gigantic World War II. It mirrors boldly the atrocities, violence, and displacement that a war-ravaged country like England faced. Historically, it was also the same time frame where England as a superpower nation was fading and disintegrating. Its mighty position is being challenged by emerging powers like America. Important movements like postmodernism, poststructuralism, and post-colonialism were leading in literature.
Post-colonial theory sustains the key ideas and concepts of how the formerly colonized nations like Asia, Africa, South America, and others analyze or write back about the unequal representation of their culture, race, religion, and people in any forms of cultural practices by the colonial powers. They try to dissuade the Eurocentric outlook of these colonized nations. It also looks into the possible forms of resistance or negotiation of the colonial ideologies. Homi k. Bhabha maintains that "postcolonial perspectives emerge from the colonial testimony of Third World countries." (Bhabha171). Thus, postcolonial literary criticism examines how canonical English literary texts incorporate the colonial designs of cultural hegemony and imperialism in them. The demands of nationalist movements and anti-colonial protest created the process of decolonization and gradually the post-colonialism emerged and had a full bloom. Activists all over the world resisted the dominating colonial masters. They voices against colonialism and interpreted it as a process of cultural domination through representation and discourse apart from being a military-political exercise of power. So, the postcolonial burst out with the idea of resistance, while exposing the inequalities demands for nativism and nationalism by the colonized nations of Asia, Africa, and South America. Early proponents like Edward Said, came up with his influential work Orientalism (1978). Said propagates his ruling idea that the documentation and ideological construction of the native cultures in European text resulted in their inferior position and enabled the whites to hold on to their superiority.
Frantz Fanon opines in his groundbreaking works The Wretched of the Earth (1963) and Black Skin, White Masks (1967), that the constant representation of the natives as 'savages' and uncivilized results in the very destruction of the identity of the native. Postcolonialism not only deconstructs the accepted notion of the white man's values as higher but urges that the European 'self' is created and exists only in contrast to the native ('other') values. The demands for anti-colonial protest through activism and arts were made by towering figures like Mahatma Gandhi in the Indian context and Aime Cesaire, Leopold Senghor, and Chinua Achebe, to name only a few, in the African context who came up with the ideas of resistance that black colonized people of Africa embraces. Mahatma Gandhi's role in the independence from the British colonial rule cannot be ignored. His anti-colonial struggle was quite different from others as he adopted and gained victory through the non-violence movement. His path became one of the most radical ways to resist colonialism and had its desired effects. This form of resistance became one of the innovative ideas in the postcolonial world. Likewise, Chinua Achebe in his groundbreaking debut novel Things Fall Apart (1985), has exposed the inhumanities of the colonizer towards the colonized and given a new light to see the African 'self'. According to him, African society is not primitive, and that they are not the 'other'. Through the story of Okonkwo, he tries to highlight the African culture as civilized and ordered.
Golding’s text seems to carry the colonial ideologies instead of critiquing the various forms of imperialism. The very opening scene of the novel demonstrates how a plane crash killed its pilot and landed a group of British boys on a deserted island. The boys were brave enough to survive on the island in the absence of any adults. Golding here gives the impression of setting his novel similar to that of Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe (1719) and Shakespeare’s The Tempest(1623) setting. It gives us the colonial idea of 'discovery' and domination. The question of race, sexuality, identity, and equality are the main focus of postcolonial criticism. In The Tempest, Shakespeare also sets his play based on the tradition of the travel writing of the Elizabethan age. He was motivated by the story of a shipwreck written by William Strachey in 1610 who recounts the story of Sir Thomas Gates. In the plot of Shakespeare's play, Prospero's dominant nature and indifference for Caliban is notable. It was Caliban who gave a warm welcome to the former and showed him the island along with its resources necessary for a living. Prospero was cast ashore along with his daughter Miranda by his brother who plotted against him to take his position and became himself the king. The character of Caliban is placed here with cannibals or the ‘savages’. He is abused as the ‘inhuman’ and ‘savage’ who is beyond redemption. Not only Prospero made Caliban his slave but he also demanded the service of a sprite named Ariel. He appropriated his power by placing his culture, religion, and language as superior to the others. He recounted the story of Sycorax’s mother in a negative way to Ariel. The magic that is practiced by her through which she captivated Ariel is seen as evil and black magic. While the one practiced by himself through which he commands Ariel is described as an art. Further, Caliban’s romantic move towards Miranda is rudely hindered by her father. Caliban is seen as the rapist and Miranda too despised him and relates how kind they were to 'civilize' and taught him the language. Caliban’s attitude of resistance is evident when he uses the very language the so-called ‘master’ taught him to curse them.
Again, in Robinson Crusoe, Defoe establishes a relationship between the 'master' and the 'slave'. Crusoe also discovered an uninhabited island after a shipwreck near Trinidad. He lived on the island for nearly twenty-eight years encountering captives, cannibals, and mutineers over whom he had his commands. He establishes the European lifestyle and their ways as a superior one. He rescued a man whom he named Friday and he made Friday his subordinate. Friday's original identity was completely ignored in an attempt to 'civilize' him. For instance, Crusoe gave Friday an English name as it is considered as the standard form. And the ways of the cannibals are defined as the inferior 'other' ways. He declares himself as the king after possessing the land. He made full use of the resources available on the island. It is shown that by employing the English techniques the place was made a self-sufficient place in itself. Again, later on, the product of this place was transported to their motherland and the rewards were taken back by Crusoe. This attitude of his defines him as the colonial master.
Thus, both the text tries to justify the enslavement of the natives as a part of their 'civilizing mission'.Resources that are gathered from such places ultimately benefit the mother nation. Such works run through the undercurrent of colonial ideologies.
The idea of discovery is also ruling in the novel Lord of the Flies. It is one of the main characteristics of post-colonial criticism. A group of English boys 'discovered the uninhabited island. Although there is a little difference in the process of landing on the place. While most of the works took the shipwreck as a means to reach such unknown places, Golding here took the plane crash as a means to land on the place. Narrating his idea of discovery, partially grouped Golding with most of the typical English writers, who see beautiful and bountiful islands to be conquered and ruled. The boys on the island were only between six to twelve years of age, yet they became charismatic for discovering the island with all its beauties and boons. As Golding wrote: “Eyes shining, mouths open, triumphant, they savoured the right of domination" (Golding 28). This indicates the intention of the boys to dominate the place and make full use of it. It is the dominant characteristic of colonialism, as, during those times, the European countries look at nations of the third world like Asia, Africa, and South America as sites for exploitation and have the right to use their resources as they pleased. The boys on the island not only used the resources but eventually they burnt and destroyed the same. Moreover, they were happy at the thought that they could claim the Island as its sole masters. This is evident from Ralph's statement in the very first chapter, "This belongs to us" (Golding 26). Unfortunately, they misused the very thing that they so proudly called their own. This ideology is common to most colonial writers.
It is a land where they can live freely according to their sweet will without the intervention of their parents or society. Their primary business would be just to play and have fun. This shows the innocence and purity of those little boys lost on the island. However, things turn out quite the opposite with the passing time. Gradually, in the absence of any guidance and law, they were to turn into 'savages'. The little world on the island is the microcosm of the adult world. It can be seen that all the politics of power, supremacy, dominion over each, etc. are very much present on the island like the world outside. The continuous flickering of lights in the sky as the plane battles, the idea of the atom bomb, and the plane are enough to give the impression of the chaotic world outside. The reason behind such situations can be no more than for power, influence, and hope of dominating one another resulting in various wars. The little world on the island also struggles for such power and supremacy.
Golding here divides the boys into two groups. One group resembles the 'civilized' English society that is drawn as retaining the principles of the civilized society. While the other group portrayed in quite a contrast to the former group. They are portrayed as lacking in culture and proper civilization.As soon as the boys landed on the island the elders among the boys realized that they must socially organize themselves like the world outside and set some rules and orders to survive on the uninhabited island. Their statement regarding this also shows Golding's sense of the supremacy of the English culture over other cultures. "We have got to have rules and obey them. After all, we're not savages. We're English; and the English are best at everything." (Golding 43-44). So, they called for a leader among them to control its functioning. This very initial activity created the politics of power among the two powerful boys Ralph and Jack. It was ultimately Ralph the oldest among them to win the election. The very first activity shows the victory of civilization as Ralph represents 'civilization'.A sense of 'otherness' was creeping into Jack's mind. This also created a sense of difference and disobedience in him. He kind of protest against the ruling power. He began to adopt other ways to retain his power and control over the other boys. It is said that he became more inclined towards his animalistic instinct. He became more rude and intolerant in his behaviors. For instance, it was he who had the urge to hunt and kill the pigs. The reference of killing animals many times in the novel hinted at the colonial attitude. As it can be seen that cannibalism and animal hunting, also shown in Robinson Crusoe, are often involved and emphasised in postcolonial study.
Jack's group is portrayed as the 'hunting' group and they are shown as one lacking in reason and logic. They did not stick to the required conventions of society. Their ignorance and negligence towards their duty to look after the fire was the reason they missed their first chance of being rescued by the distant passing ship. They were no longer afraid to be on the island and thoughtless about the chance of their being rescued. Golding crafted Jack's character as a dark figure with all his 'savagery' ideologies. He and his group are shown as 'evil' and 'pagan'. They are caricatured in the manner of the 'native who is easily thought to succumb to their instincts. At the same time, he pictures the superiority of white men and their civilization in the character of Ralph. This makes Lord of the Flies worth reading from the perspectives of Post-colonialism. However, Golding also strives to show that darkness and evil are inherent in all human beings and it is up to them to follow their instincts.
Many times in the novel, Golding has drawn the clash between the 'civilized' world and the world of 'barbarity'. But to establish the supremacy of one over the other, the 'self' over the 'other' he pulled the string too much upon civilization. In fact, he has drawn the 'other' in a biased way. Also, another noteworthy fact is that he resorted to the same canonical materials to weave his work. For instance, he strives to show inferior the lives of primitivism caricatured dreadfully by the white boys like Jack and his hunting groups who cultivate darkness in their hearts. This places him quite in contrast to other British authors like George Orwell or Jonathan Swift. George Orwell in his work like 1984, published in 1949, speaks against colonialism and its ideologies. The suspension of human rights by Big brother relates the novel to postcolonialism. They are also ripped off from their identity. There are many such ties to postcolonialism as the way the dominated Oceania and its culture was set up reveals it all. Again, Jonathan Swift in the concluding parts of his masterpiece Gulliver's Travels(1726) does not seem to speak in favour of the empire that has dominated more than half of the world. Eighteenth-century Britain was marked by seizing many colonies abroad through political and military threats or discourses. Swift has revealed how darkness and corruption had been practiced by the British ruling class of the eighteenth century. He also shows that brutal colonial wars were fought far and wide.
The concept of the beast, which is omnipresent in the novel, is created to pay more focus on tribal lives. Jack represents the loss of civilization and uses the idea of the beast to gain domination over other boys. He tries to prove himself as the promising leader of the group and one who would protect them from the beast that is said to hunt the boys. He was daring enough to do so. However, this is done through the erosion of British culture. This means that he is allowed to perform 'evil' activities only after he loses his British values.
There was no beast on the island in reality. It was the body of the dead parachutist that floated in the extreme weather and gave the impression of being the beast. The first encounter of the dead parachutist (whom they thought to be the beast)by Sam and Eric instilled fear among the other boys. They recounted how they saw the beast. The leaders, Ralph and Jack, set out to retain their influence, responsibility, and power over other boys and decided to hunt for the beast. They were unable to track the beast so the fear of the beast remains among the boys. It was only the wise saintly figure, Simon who wandered around the forest and found out that there was no beast in the forest. The head of the pig, covered with dozens of flies, staked on the stick also seems like the best. In his frenzied state, he imagined to have heard the undebatable truth and valid statement uttered to him by the 'lord of the flies', i.e. the pig's head stake on the stick as an offering to the beast: "I'm part of you?"(Golding 161). This line speaks volumes about human nature. Golding has given the universal truth of human nature through Simon's imagination. He goes on to show that evil, darkness, fear, and beast are inherent in human hearts. It is like the other side of the coin along with goodness. A human being must decide what ways they will adopt in their lives.
As soon as Simon discovered the dead man and his parachute on the top of the mountain in the cave which till then gave the impression of the beast among the other boys, he ran to the place where the other boys were enjoying the feast. The boys were almost caught up in a wild stage of frenzy in the feast after killing a pig. They performed their mock dance of animal hunting in that wild and overexcited state. At the very unfortunate hour, Simon came running towards them to illuminate the real identity of the beast but he was sliced and torn up into small factions with the sharp wooden weapon by all the other boys. They imagined his figure to be the beast. This marked a harsh fading of 'civilized' human activities among the boys. It was even worse when Jack justified his action by stating that they did the right thing to kill Simon who was a form of the beast. Jack's primitive attitude is highlighted here on the one hand and on the other hand, Ralph who represents the 'civilized' one realized the guilt of being a part of the murder of Simon and cried with a heavy heart. Golding again reinforced and administered the idea of racial difference between the 'self' and the 'native'.Jack was by now degraded to the position of the native or the 'savage'. Ralph is seen as having compassion and guilt for the dead while Jack lacks fellow feelings.
The hunger for power and material possessions were so much so that they did not even bother at the cost of others' lives. Younger boys in the groups who have hardly learned civilizations are forced to join Jack's hunting group. They wanted to gratify their immediate needs like hunger and were ready to serve as slaves to Jack who would provide the meat. On the contrary, Ralph tried to persuade the boys to remain in his group and perform the most necessary work of building shelter, which probably is the sign of the civilized society or to make fire as a signal so that they will be rescued back to their homes by some passing ships. He very much liked and hoped to be rescued back to the civilization and society that he comes from. While Jack is seen to be rooted in the wildlife that is free from any dominant force. He thought little about getting back to his parents. He camouflages himself and the ones in his groups with clays on their faces like the primitive peoples. This reminds of the primitive natives of South Africa who took hunting as their livelihood. Also, it is their culture to draw marks on their faces. It can be said that Golding has created this peculiar image of the colonial native in his work. Like most of the colonial text and discourse, it is made to see and believe the British ways as the superior. The natives were represented in a biased manner by the Europeans. They stress and make an effort to perpetuate the underprivileged position of the native. This they do through a system of representation of ‘self’ and the ‘other’.The 'self' is always drawn as morally and culturally higher than the 'other'.
So, Golding allowed all evil activities to be performed by the English boys under such masks. They are responsible for all the chaos, irrationality, and 'savagery'. They kind of submitted themselves to the beast unknowingly when they offered the head of the pig as a gift to the beast. They made the beast an omnipresent thing in their lives which they both fear and admire for its power. Golding here knowingly or unknowingly presents the idea of worship of beast by such a community. In their mockery hunting dance, they were so devoid of emotions that they almost unthinkingly attack their friend Roger who pretended to be a pig in the game. They could pelt stones at anyone and punish the ‘littluns’ with no proper reasons at the command of Jack. The limits of ‘barbarity’ crossed when Piggy was murdered by rolling a huge rock down on his head. He was still talking with the conch in his hand when suddenly at Jack's order his group inhumanly attacked Piggy. This also leads the conch to shatter into pieces. With this, ends all the orders or decorum of the civilized world as the conch initially had the importance of bestowing a right to speak and listen to in the gatherings.
Piggy lost his life because of the tussle between the two groups for power and possession. It was through the rays of his glass that the boys managed to make fire whether for signals or roasting meats. When the group got divided it was piggy along with Sam and Eric who continuously helped in the efforts of Ralph to be rescued. He has also often proved to be the wisest one to advise Ralph in his actions. However, he was often bullied by the other boys because of his appearance and tone that often made him 'marginalized' or the outsider. He suffered the most when his glass was stolen by Jack and his groups and he could hardly see anything. Along with being a 'savage', Jack was also placed in the line of a thief. It was common to blame the natives that they were thieves and superstitious.
Ralph could not bear this anymore so he decided to go to Jack's camp with Piggy who took the conch with him and demanded back the spectacle in a civilized manner. This demarcation of two separate camps also shows the postcolonial concept of conflict for 'space' between the groups. In Jack's camp, they were received with assaults and violence much in the way of an under civilized world. Jack's group refused to maintain any decorum even with or without the conch. Later, they killed Piggy brutally. They were the murderers for the second time and this time they did it intentionally.
Situations further worsen when they targeted Ralph, after the murder of Piggy. Ralph could not sustain such a situation where there was a complete loss of human values and morals. He runs for his life throughout the forest. Jack to track his enemy sets the whole forest on fire. He was fearless to cross the limits of destruction. It became difficult for Ralph to save his life under the huge fire and still he was worried about the forest, its fruit, and animals. The beautiful forest was turned down into barren land. Jack and his friends did not realize that the forest and its fruits had been their shelter and food for so long. Thus, they used their resources to the level of extinction and destruction.
This is the exposition of the cruel reality of the life of the 'savages' that Golding has drawn to inhabit in a group of evil little hearts. They would also destroy themselves by doing such irrational and dark activities and so they must be intervened by some superior powers. Like other colonial writers, Golding has made the superior being in the face of an Englishman. It was a turning point in the novel when there was no way out for Ralph's rescue from the blood lust group of hunters. Golding presented his deus ex machina by casting a white man at that crucial moment. He was a British navy officer who came to rescue these boys after seeing the fire in the jungle on the island. His comments on the group of boys are quite ironic. He said he was disgusted at seeing such horrific sights and scenes created by his refined 'civilized English' boys. They were never expected to indulge in such a barbaric way. The officer did not even realize that darkness and evil are inside the human heart, not in any culture or race. Golding, thus, at the end showcases the English manners and cultures to be superior. The boys were restored to the English society after all the trials and tribulations. It seemed he did not believe in the harmonious existence of the boys on the island like the primitive peoples. Their existence rather created a tumultuous situation in the jungle that is harmful not only to themselves but to the landscape as a whole. They did not try to cope or amalgamate to the existing circumstances as Robinson Crusoe did on the island for some time although later on, he misused the resources of the island in one way or the other.
Thus, Ralph's hope to be rescued was fulfilled. His earlier prediction that his father who was also a navy officer would find them out as there were many gigantic maps and pictures in the queen's room that includes all such uninhabited islands of the world turns true. The idea of maps in the Queen's room indicates their plan to conquer and discover such an island in search of wealth. They eventually practice their 'exploitative mechanism' in such places. Moreover, it is suggestive of the European ideology of expanding its territories through conquest. The main concept of colonialism lies in such a process in the name of the development of the mother nation. Thus, they gave us the impression of colonialism and imperialism practiced by the British Empire. The group of boys was representatives of the Colonial masters who have the right to govern whatever they found on the island. It is seen that England's superiority was sought through the dynamics of such 'representation'. The study intended to expose the postcolonial elements highlights such dualism in the style of post-colonial criticism. All the traits of the novel are enough to make it a worth study of the novel from the postcolonial perspective.
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