In chapter 7 of The Lord of the Flies, we see that Jack and the boys are tracking a wild boar. They want to find it and kill it, so they decide to hunt it. Ralph, who has never hunted before, goes along with them. We know that Jack enjoys this kind of thing, but we haven't seen Ralph take this kind of position before. Ralph has always been the one who is seen as the more responsible child. Ralph would rather be building a hut or trying to keep the fire burning, increasing their chances of being rescued, but now we are seeing a different side to Ralph.
Ralph really gets into the hunt; when he throws his spear at the boar and hits its snout, he feels pride in his ability to hit the wild animal. He gets caught up in the excitement of the other kids.
Ralph was full of fright and apprehension and pride...He sunned himself in their new respect and felt that hunting was good after all.
However, when Jack and the others suggest they play like they are hunting and make Robert play the part of the boar, the playing gets out of control. The kids seem to forget that Robert is not really an animal. Jack and the others get carried away with the playing, and Ralph joins in. This is the first time we see Ralph let the wildness take him over. He does realize what he is doing, however, and stops, but it happened nonetheless.
This whole time we have seen Jack and his group becoming wilder and wilder, yet Ralph has stayed the same. In this chapter we see Ralph begin to allow the wildness to take over. This chapter shows us that we are all capable of savagery, but we have to reign that part of ourselves in. Jack and his group don't want to reign it in, but Ralph wants to remember that he is still a human being.
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