then killed by the fire. The boys' passion for hunting is the passion that becomes the most dangerous. This passion starts in chapter one, whenJack first sees a pig and talks passionately about killing it. It continues through chapter four, when the boys are hunting, and becomes more and more destructive until the boys are no longer limiting themselves to killing pigs but have moved on to killing each other. The game culminates violently when all the boys, even Ralph, participate in the killing of Simon. With Jack as their leader and role model, the boys give into their natural passion and become less human and more animalistic as time goes on.

A final moment when we can see the value that Golding puts on the trappings and establishment of civilization is when the boys are finally rescued. The British officer comments that he thought British boys should have been able to put up a “better show” than what he had found with these boys, and Ralph weeps for the “darkness of man’s heart.” Passion comes from the heart, and in Golding’s view, this passion is dark.

This famous novel makes a very important comment on the savagery that exists within all humans, even supposedly innocent choirboys, and therefore it is important to question how much the novel suggests it is important to pursue your passions. Clearly, the bloodlust that overcomes Jack and his hunters is presented as a passion that it is not important to pursue, as this kind of "passion" is presented as evil and results in the pain and death of others. Note how this passion is described in Chapter 4, after Jack has killed his first pig:

His mind was crowded with memories; memories of the knowledge that had come to them when they closed in on the struggling pig, knowledge that they had outwitted a living thing, imposed their will upon it, taken away its life like a long satisfying drink.

There is clearly no way that this description of Jack's savagery could be described as a healthy passion, especially when it is remembered that this bloodlust leads to the death of at least two other boys later on in the novel. The overwhelming message of this story is therefore that passions need to be moderated by society which has a legal system and a carefully developed way of rewarding "good" behaviour and punishing "bad" behaviour. Without this system, Golding suggests, we become the victims of our passions, and rather than pursuing them, they overcome humans and envelop them.

How important is it to pursue our passions?

To answer this question from the perspective of an analyst highlights the plight of the boys in Lord of the Flies and their attempt - some more successfully than others - to meet expectations or completely defy them - in terms of the civilized world they have left behind.

Ralph and Piggy strive to create the familiarity that they know relating to what "my auntie told me" (Ch 1) whose philosophy Piggy constantly refers to and, for Ralph, the fact that his father is "a commander in the Navy" whom Ralph is sure will " come and rescue us."(Ch1) 

Piggy is a budding scientist and it is his natural curiosity and instinct that supports Ralph in his efforts to become the perfect leader. Despite the fact that Ralph is unable to confirm how his father will know to come and get them, other than "because, because" he relishes this "coral island" as

"here at last was the imagined but never fully realized place leaping into real life.Ralph's lips parted into a delighted smile..."(Ch1)   

Ralph suddenly spots the conch and Piggy immediately "was a-bubble with decorous excitement." He recognizes its potential - "It's ever so valuable--"Piggy continues in his excitement and this whole passage reveals Piggy's passion in life as he "babbled." There will be several  instances throughout the novel that will indicate Piggy's natural- born logic and his death confirms the loss of this potential great mind.

As for Ralph, he would be completely ineffective without Piggy as his leadership skills are not fully developed and, for all his teasing of Piggy and irritability, he does recognize the true value of his friend - even if only at the end. Ralph "has the directness of genuine leadership" (Ch1) and leads Jack and Simon off to explore whether the island is indeed an island as this will then allow him "time to think things out."

Ralph, by chapter 5 undertands how difficult it is being a leader and the meeting he calls "must not be fun but business." (Ch5) Ralph longs to lead the group but

"We are all drifting and things are going rotten. At home, there was always a grown-up. Please, sir; please miss; and then you got an answer. How I wish!"  

This passage is crucial in Ralph's quest to follow his passions and manage the group and meet the expectations of the grown-ups - even though there are no grown ups there. Ralph almost gives up but is spurred on by Simon and Piggy. Ralph's vision of himself as a great leader is being replaced by a reality that is almost too much to cope with. It is significant that, by the end, his leadership will have been seriously compromised and Simon and Piggy both dead.

Jack is another natural leader - "chapter chorister and head boy. I can sing C-sharp" (Ch1) but his leadership style is dangerous and unchecked. He does not have the vision that Ralph has nor the brilliant mind of Piggy. Instead he has "the dark boy" Roger who brings out the worst in Jack. It is characteristic of Ralph's natural leadership that he recognizes Jack's potential as he is quick to point out that Jack will continue to lead the choir - "They could be the army--Or hunters--" significantly Jack chooses "Hunters." (Ch1)

Jack will be consumed by his desire and following his passion will result in tragedy. Refer to chapter 11 and Jack's "tribe" - "a solid mass of menace." 

Sometimes, following one's passions, without guidance, results in tragedy , or in this case savagery, of unimaginable proportions.