Wisecarver 1

Kiefer Wisecarver

Mrs. Selinger

English II Period 5

21 October 2022

Fear, Chaos, and Greed: The Gateway to Savagery

In the film The Phantom Menace in 1999, Yoda told Anakin, "Fear is the path to the Dark

Side. Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering" (Lucas 1999). These words

can be applied to anyone no matter their current situation. Since the beginning of humankind,

chaos, fear, and greed have manipulated and influenced people's daily lives. Fear brings people

to instinct rather than logical thinking, whether it be fear of something or someone. Chaos leads

people to panic and disarray, which often introduces sudden and unpolished new ideas and ways

of control out of a need for order. In Lord of the Flies, William Golding shows how fear, chaos,

and greed are the most influential conditions that spring savagery into motion and nurture it to its

full extent.

Chaos and fear bring out savagery even in the nicest people because when disorder and

fear are present people are more likely to lash out and commit acts of hatred, violence, or pure

instinct. Golding uses the contrasts of Jack and Ralph’s ways of thinking to show the disarray of

ideas on the island, like when Ralph shouts to the hunters in rage and austerity: “‘You hunters!

You can laugh! But I tell you the smoke is more important than the pig, however often you kill

one. Do all of you see?’” (81). This shows that there are disagreements on what should be done

on the island, and what those arguments lead to. With the absence of adult figures, the boys are

left in a panic, not knowing what exactly to do in their situation. Their disorder leads to

confusion, that confusion leads to panic, and panic leads to lashing out and resorting to instinct.
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In addition, in Golding’s article “Why Boys Become Vicious”, Golding gives his personal point

of view on how fear and chaos bring out savagery, and he claims that: “Without the support of

mothers and fathers such children have nothing but the fruits of what they can beg and steal to

live on. It would not surprise me if in these conditions, where the orders and patterns of society

cease to matter, gangs begin to find cohesion merely in the joint fulfillment of their darkest

instincts” (2). Golding talks about how nurture affects people’s behavior along with the presence

of fear and disorder and people are merely left to their instincts. When there is no order, people

tend to resort to their instincts, especially when it’s kids without guardians. When people are

afraid, they can not think rationally, again resorting to their intuition. Like chaos and fear, greed

has a hefty influence on people’s actions, and it can bring out the worst in people.

While fear and chaos bring out savagery in people, greed can make savagery thrive and

prosper either with fear and chaos or if fear and chaos ever fade or diminish. In Lord of the Flies,

Jack and Ralph bicker aimlessly: “‘The rules!’ shouted Ralph. ‘You’re breaking the rules!’ ‘Who

cares!... Bollocks to the rules! We’re strong - we hunt!’” (91). Here Jack’s greed and lust for

hunting have gotten in the way of him behaving civilized. Greed leads Jack further down the

rabbit hole that is savagery, only leaving him wanting more bloodshed and less order. Later in the

novel, Piggy tells Ralph, “‘They didn’t come for the conch. They came for something else.’…

From his [Jack’s] left hand dangled Piggy’s glasses” (168). Jack takes the glasses after he and

Ralph’s groups separate because he wants the fire all for himself to cook meat rather than send a

signal. As Ralph pontificates throughout chapter eleven, Jack could have just asked to share the

fire and he would have, but Jack’s greed got in the way of him even considering asking, resorting

to a much more uncivilized approach to getting the fire.

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Fear chaos and greed: all three cause people to lash out and contribute to the continuation

of instinctual and savage actions. As seen with William Golding’s personal and literary view on

the topic of savagery, fear, chaos, and greed are the spark and flame of cruelty and viciousness.

As seen with Jack, Roger, and the rest of the hunters in Lord of the Flies, where once they step

into the waters of savagery, they find it hard to swim back to the lands of civilization. A way to

describe how the island affects the boys is how their suffering leads them to hate, hate leads them

to anger and antagonization, that hate leads to fear, and fear leads them to the Dark Side. Fear,

chaos, and greed will always affect our society; they are the gateways and paths to savagery.
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Works Cited

Golding, William. Lord of the Flies. New York, Penguin Group, 1954.

Golding, William. “Ẅhy Boys Become Vicious.” San Francisco Examiner, 28 February 1993.