“They were savages it was true; but they were human [...]” (Golding, 185). In one succinct sentence, Golding bluntly shatters the delusion that humans are advanced creatures and have risen above animalistic and primal actions. Throughout Lord of the Flies, Golding explores the carnal and barbaric nature of humans through a group of seemingly innocent, uncorrupted English boys who are abruptly uprooted from the security of their sheltered civilization and thrust into a lawless world, where their human fallibility becomes glaringly apparent. He demonstrates that savagery goes hand in hand with being human; it is in our DNA and history, a disregarded part of us that can never be erased, and shows itself in the conduct of many. Two leading theories on the natural tendencies of humans are Maslow’s theory, which suggests that humans are genuinely selfless and virtuous, but become self-serving when deprived of their basic needs, and Freud’s theory, which argues that humans are innately egotistical and immoral, and only appear to be good-natured because that is seen as acceptable by society. Although some may argue that Maslow’s theory better applies to the situation in The Lord of the Flies because the boys only turned to greed and barbarism on the island once removed from their accustomed safety and abundant resources, William Golding’s book is aligned more with Freud’s theory as, when removed from society, the boys’ social graces and expected behaviors disappear and their true selfish natures are revealed through savage and self-benefiting actions.

The opposing view, on the side of Maslow’s theory, could contend that the boys enter the island as guiltless, principled children and only revert to more primitive methods of living once they are stripped of essentials, like food, water, rest, and safety, that allow them to function appropriately. Based off of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, the boy’s survivalist and savage responses are fully justified because they were doing so to achieve what all humans yearn for: happiness and one’s full potential. However, Freud’s theory utterly disproves this claim as the boys had all their basic needs: sources of food (fruit and potentially pigs’ meat), potable water from a freshwater river on the island, an environment to sleep and rest, and no immediate danger threatening their existence,  at the time that they embraced their natural instincts of brutality and rapacity. The boys’ first step towards becoming savages is amplified through an older boy, Jack’s, immediate fixation on killing the pigs on the island for meat. While it might at first appear that Jack’s obsession is fueled by the good intention of bringing the group nourishment, it is soon made clear that he is much more focused on the physical slaughter than the product of it. This delivers a first glimpse into his bloodthirsty and violent nature that is beginning to emerge as a result of being put in a position where all societal rules are eradicated and there is nothing and no one telling him he cannot kill something, or someone. Golding writes, “He tried to convey the compulsion to track down and kill that was swallowing him up [...] The madness came into his eyes again. ‘I thought I might kill’” (51).  Jack’s selfishly motivated drive to hunt and kill is demonstrated when he comes back from a failed hunt and is describing to Ralph how he felt while tracking a pig down, to attempt to make Ralph see the importance of hunting and killing a pig, rather than building shelters, like Ralph was currently trying to do. Golding writes of “madness [coming] into [Jack’s] eyes,” showing the crazed emotions Jack is consumed by when presented with the opportunity to destroy. Immediately, once isolated from his accustomed conditions and given a chance to acceptably exhibit an activity barred in conventional life and society, Jack inherently regresses to primitive and brutish behaviors, rather than upholding society’s expectations. Jack’s frenzied first attempt at hunting reveals a deeper, darker, and savage part of him that only continues to grow as the book moves forward and Jack spends more time on the island.

Throughout history, humanity has only further proven their susceptibility to resorting to violence and physical combat as the means to solve a problem. No inch of Earth remains untainted by the cruelty and destruction that are results of wars, massacres, crimes, and genocides. The atrocities committed by one human against another are inconceivable, yet continue to occur in all parts of the world and during every period in history. Whether it is the evil, “highly organized strategy of persecution, murder and genocide aimed at ethnically ‘purifying’ Germany” committed by the Nazis in Europe, the Rwandan genocide, where “[r]adio was also used to dehumanize [the oppressed ethnic group] by calling them ‘cockroaches,’ making acts of violence against them seem less inhumane,” or the Sudanese government “murdering 300,000 & displacing over 2 million people” as well as dropping 3,700 bombs on their own civilians, humanity has displayed the persistent necessity and natural desire to maim, murder, and maul those around us for personal gain of dominance, authority, and supremacy  (“Past Genocides - Armenia, Holocaust, Bosnia, Rwanda, Darfur.”)

Those who believe that Maslow’s theory is better represented would dispute that the boys’ motivations for organized leadership, collected resources (food and water), and fire for a smoke signal is to allow the whole group of boys to survive and get rescued. Ralph illustrates their innate urge to save the whole group through multiple actions, like convincing the boys to collectively create a fire, in order to send out a smoke signal that will rescue all of them, and attempting to unite the group by having them build shelters, which would have benefited everyone if he had been successful. Despite this argument, Freud’s theory, which states that the natural human instinct is one of selfishness and violence, is a superior expression of the rationale driving the behaviors of the group. A particular character that is fueled by his selfish desires, disguised as plans for the good of the whole group, is Piggy, an older boy with a history of being taken advantage of and overlooked. Piggy adamantly advocates for Ralph to stay in power, instead of being replaced by Jack, not because he believes that Ralph will make better decisions for the group, but because he is convinced that he will be treated better under Ralph’s leadership rather than Jack’s. Piggy pleads to Ralph to stay in power, saying, “If you give up,[...] He can’t hurt you: but if you stand out of the way he’d hurt the next thing. And that’s me” (93).  Piggy urges Ralph to stay as chief and not concede to Jack because Piggy knows, with Jack in charge, he will not be protected as he is under Ralph’s control. Piggy is solely concerned about what would individually happen to him, and does not even acknowledge the possible negative effects that Jack as chief could inflict upon the group as a whole.

Later, when Jack holds a vote to see who still wants Ralph as chief, and everyone but Jack does, he becomes ashamed and feels alienated from the group. This is a mental turning point for Jack because he begins to resent the other boys when he does not receive what he desired, and subsequently retaliates with forming his own tribe and uses it to wage war on others who had previously wronged him. “I’m not going to play any longer. Not with you.” is Jack’s response to the unanimous vote for Ralph to maintain his leadership of the group (127). Jack reveals that is willing to go beyond the playful, innocent methods he has been using to get what he wants, and extend into more serious, violent conduct in order to steer things in a direction for his benefit Additionally, Jack leaves the group to fulfill his selfish “need” for control, and creates his own tribe, not because he thinks that his leadership will be more beneficial to the boys, but because he will be in control, and not Ralph. Jack’s egotistical acts are fueled by wanting himself to be in charge and Ralph to not have power, rather than by what and how the two of them would differ in their guidance of the group. Furthermore, Jack’s dialogue indicates that he is dissatisfied with how their constructed society is performing and will not tolerate it any longer, and threatens to  use severely consequential measures to convey his ideas and control, if necessary. The gluttony that is ingrained into humanity’s instincts are unmistakably prevalent from the barbaric actions of the boys on the island, in order to fulfill their selfish desires.

Some may believe that the boys lacked the basic needs of food, safety, and water and that their choices were made to aid the whole group’s survival, so their violent actions while on the island do not undermine their naturally moral and righteous instincts. However, due to the fact that the boys had all their essentials to live and were motivated solely by self-preservation, the sadistic and self-absorbed behaviors displayed by them were caused by the inherently malicious natures that all humans possess in some capacity. Trapped in a perpetuous cycle, events of unparalleled violence and destruction have created a pattern of savagery in human history that is still accepted as habitual of man. Any side of a conflict can be condemned for their atrocities, yet, in the end, we are all humans, with the fatal flaws of cruelty and greed, and afflicted with our own inhumanity, despite being the very essence of humanity.