The degenerative nature of man is a clear theme throughout the Lord of the Flies. This theme is most evident in the character of Jack. Human beings reverting back to animalistic ways is a prominent theme throughout the book. Children are especially close to nature. They are able to change their natures entirely without any thought. They are similar to clay. You can form the way they behave incredibly easy. The children in The Lord of the Flies were forced to change their behavior. They were thrown into an environment with no adults, no food and no shelter, none of the things they were accustomed to. They were forced to become adults very quickly. This change in their environment was the first step to their changing nature. To make up for the lack of adult supervision and provision, the children picked a leader. The children then assigned others to important roles that needed to be filled in order for everyone to function together. The children grew up and changed. Soon after this change happened, the children started going through another change. The biggest change. They began to revert back to a state of animalism. Their hunting began to get more brutal, the way their government ran was less progressive and they started treating each other like animals. This became clear in the character of Jack. He was leading his group of children to be animals. This was what made sense to him. They lived out in the wilderness and became a part of the wilderness. Jack taught his boys how to fight like animals. He ran his camp in an animalistic way. This was made apparent when he began beating boys who went against his commands. He started treating humans like animals. Human nature is changeable. It is most easily changed in children who are closest to nature, closest to animals. Easiest changed. This changeability is evident in the Lord of the Flies, especially through the character of Jack.