Poetry Assignment Lord of the Flies

A battle started within man.
Two instincts equally strong,
Have been inside us all along.
Each trying to take control.
Different desires and different needs,
Possessing our thoughts and our deeds;
Two instincts control them all.

Savagery is the vicious one.
Thirst for blood and inclination to destroy.
The end justifies what to be done.
Our primitive desires. Our own selfish joy.
An instinct so brutal and reason-free.
Inside our being it will forever be.

Civilization is the disciplined one.
Longing for sociality and inclination to know.
Forming our heritage in the long run,
As we desire for law, morals and life to grow.
An instinct that fulfills our social nature,
Distinguishing us from any other creature.

Two instincts battle within man,
Ever since humanity began

http://merizzz.deviantart.com/art/Savagery-VS-Civilization-203277270

Poetry Assignment
I decided to do my poem on theme and I guess conflict, Savagery VS Civilization. I chose this poem because it reminded me of not only Jack, but of all the boys on the island. In the poem it says, “Ever since humanity begin, a battle started within man…” and I think that’s the same thing Golding wanted to let everyone know. That you have two instincts within yourself and if put into a position that challenges both, you’ll see which instinct is stronger: the instinct to remain civilized or to slip into savagery. Honestly, if I didn’t find this poem randomly on the computer, I’d think that someone wrote it specifically for that book because the savagery is clearly Jack and the civilization part is Ralph. Some might argue that Piggy or Simon was the most civilized but this poem and the whole novel is about the fight between the two. Simon didn’t have the fight in him, nor did Piggy, they just were civilized and nothing could change that.

The second part of the poem talks about the savage, vicious side of a person which is how Jack is portrayed in the novel. “The thirst for blood and inclination to destroy,” would describe Jack so much because at one point in the story he gets so obsessed with killing a pig to have meat. He even gets his little tribe to chant, “Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood!” while hunting. I mean, a bunch of kids yelling that out? Savagery, I tell you! In the beginning he tries to remain the disciplined leader of the Choir, who could sing c-sharp, he was when all the boys first met on the beach. Anyways, Jack doesn’t fight his downfall into savagery, he embraces it. He lets that instinct take over his body and mind. He doesn’t care that he’s killing the other kids. To him, it’s the strongest will survive or at least that’s what I think. Golding didn’t show us any other side to him other than him wanting to be the top man around there by being the chief and wanting to just hunt for meat instead of keeping a signal fire going.

I honestly think Jack won’t be the same boy he was after what he went through on that island. In the third part of the poem I picked, it talks about being civilized and disciplined. Throughout the novel, Ralph had this obsession with keeping the signal fire going so that if a passing ship saw it, they could rescue the boys. Meaning that he still longed to be in a civilized environment with adults who knew what to do and kids who didn’t act out. Although, Ralph had a slip up when the boys gave into the savage side and killed Simon during a reenactment, he quickly regained is civilized persona the next day. I think this poem suits Ralph best because it talks about the battle going on inside all of us: savagery versus civilization. Ralph is fighting hard to keep himself different from Jack, who is a “savage”, by thinking about everyone’s need and not giving up on civilization like Jack. Just like in the poem, it shows he has morals, and hopes for “…life to grow.” The last part just says the same thing as the first two lines, “Two instincts battle within man, ever since humanity began.” Ralph represents order and leadership and Jack represents savagery and the desire for power.