Chapter 7 of the narrative depicts Ralph's descent into savagery, marked by his participation in a hunt and his subsequent fear of a mysterious figure on the mountain, highlighting the fragility of civilization and the inherent human capacity for primal instincts.
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In chapter 7, Ralph has a dream of cleaning himself up. He looks out into
the ocean and feels he'll be condemned to the island forever. Simon tells him he'll
get back home. Meanwhile Roger sees pig droppings and the boys decide to hunt it.
They find a boar, and when it breaks through the pack of hunters, Ralph throws
his spear and hits it. He feels excited. He thinks hunting may
be good after all. As they near the mountain, the boys become nervous and
want to stop for the day, but they push through it and continue. Ralph says they
can't leave Piggy alone with the little 'uns. They are afraid to go back, so Simon
ends up volunteering. Ralph suggests they stop because it's getting dark, but Jack
challenges him by asking if he's scared, so they continue. No one wants to climb
the mountain, especially as it's getting later, except Jack, but Ralph feels
challenged by him again so he goes, too. Roger joins them. Ralph feels this is
pointless and they're being foolish and he stops, but Jack continues to the
summit. Then Jack comes back and says he saw something, so the other boys go
forward, and they come across the body of the parachutist, which moves when the
wind picks up—and they run! Ralph's quick downfall into savagery shows that this
aspect of human nature lurks inside everyone. Now up until this point he'd
been a symbol of society, but as soon as he hunts that boar, he shows the same
bloodlust that the other boys have. Also, the boys attack on one of their own,
Robert, when he's pretending to be a boar is disturbing. It shows that they're
hungry for blood and it doesn't matter if it's animal or human.
Jack jokes and suggests that they use a little 'un next time. It's becoming
increasingly conceivable that Jack would actually do that. Now by laughing instead
of disapproving, it shows that the others aren't
far behind him in terms of their depravity. Jack and Ralph are openly
competing for power at this point, fighting and negating each other at
every turn. Even though Ralph gets carried away during the hunt, he retains
his morality. And while Jack and Ralph have moments where they get along, they
don't last long. The two and what they represent can't coexist.
Now this plays out away from the meeting platform, where Ralph is less capable, but
Jack is more in his element. When Ralph is challenged by Jack, he is easily
manipulated, especially with other boys around. Ralph worries what the other boys
will think and feels the need to stand up to Jack.
Despite his willingness to think things through and consider different
alternatives, when he's challenged by Jack—who wants to act right in the
moment—Ralph acts against his better judgment.
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