Kill the pig! Cut his throat! Kill the pig! Bash him in!
Interpretation
This quote represents the primal instincts of humanity, showcasing violence and chaos when civilization breaks down.
In William Golding's 'Lord of the Flies', the intense cry to 'kill the pig' symbolizes the descent into savagery and the loss of innocence when societal norms are stripped away. It reflects the internal struggle between civilized behavior and base instincts, highlighting the duality of human nature and the potential for brutality that exists within us all.
In practice
During a discussion on the nature of humanity, this quote can highlight the darkness within individuals.
Consider a man riding a bicycle. Whoever he is, we can say three things about him. We know he got on the bicycle and started to move. We know that at some point he will stop and get off. Most important of all, we know that if at any point between the beginning and the end of his journey he stops moving and does not get off the bicycle he will fall off it. That is a metaphor for the journey through life of any living thing, and I think of any society of living things.
The skull regarded Ralph like one who knows all the answers and won't tell.
Maybe, he said hesitantly, maybe there is a beast. The assembly cried out savagely and Ralph stood up in amazement. You, Simon? You believe in this? I don't know, said Simon. His heartbeats were choking him. [...] Ralph shouted. Hear him! He's got the conch! What I mean is . . . maybe it's only us. Nuts! That was from Piggy, shocked out of decorum.
The mask was a thing on it's own, behind which Jack hid, liberated from shame and self-conciousness.
Man produces evil as a bee produces honey.
Utopias are presented for our inspection as a critique of the human state.
Contemplation is that condition of alert passivity, in which the soul lays itself open to the divine Ground within and without, the immanent and transcendent Godhead.
The enduring lesson is war is a disaster. Whoever wins, tremendous loss of life, property - a set back for civilisation.
When war becomes the most profitable course of action, we can certainly expect more of it.
Anger and intolerance are the enemies of correct understanding.
The foundations of the world are to be found, not in the cognitive experience of conscious thought, but in the aesthetic experience of everyday life.
To be a philosophical sceptic is, in a man of letters, the first and most essential to being a sound, believing Christian.
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