The novel Lord of the Flies endeavors to showcase the human nature as to inherit evil from within, Golding’s philosophy of evil is sculpted by the character, setting and the beast in the story. It is shown that the inner nefariousness is unleashed when a man does not have discipline and civilization in his life. The vile wickedness to kill, fight, hunt and to do everything which the boys could not even think about when they landed, came from the evil, lingering within them, that popped out when they found out the mask which protected them. Golding, deliberately puts the boys on an island where there is no one to harm or hurt them, to exhibit that the boys evolved from being civilized too evil, due to nothing but the inner anxiety and rivalry. …show more content…
Despite this, towards the conclusion Golding unfolds a monstrous, savage, and hostile, Jack coming forward. Ralph blames Jack of being "a beast and a swine and a bloody, bloody thief!"(Golding 204), this emphatic statement recapitulates what Jack has turned into. To add on, Roger who “picked up a stone, aimed, and threw it at Henry- threw it to miss” (Golding 66) in the beginning, had killed Piggy “with a sense of delirious abandonment” (Golding 205), using a rock in the end. This subtle irony, irrefutably exhibit the demonic behavior. The change in character over a due course of time proves Golding’s point, that all living beings surrender to the dark inside them when the civilized world is stripped off them. Golding subtly uses diction to fortify the theme of man’s capacity of corruption through the innate human psyche, as well as its influence on the most sophisticated children. The quote “kill the beast! cut his throat! Spill the blood” (Golding 171) is chanted to express rage, savagery and the blood thirst in the boys. This phrase is vital demonstration of the evil enunciation used by Golding. In spite being sung by young boys, this zealous assertion carries vice and blood …show more content…
When the boys were sophisticated, they didn’t fear the beast; “there isn’t a beastie” (Golding 36), and they even consoled the littleuns who were startled by the illusions of the island, “I’ve been all over the island. By myself. If there were a beast I’d have seen it…. there is no beast in the island” (Golding 90). However, as the violence and corruption started to rise, during the climax, the biguns started to convince themselves that "'Maybe there is a beast.... maybe it's only us.'"(Golding 96), this phrase is a fervent double entendre, its conveys that the fear is driven by the evil is inside humanity. Moreover, as the book heads towards the end, the boys create the fear into their major priority, struggling to fight with it; they offer a pig’s head to the beast, “Jack held up the head and jammed the soft throat down the pointed end of the stick which pierced through the mouth……’this head is for the beast. It’s a gift’” (Golding 154), Jack’s action stich the ruthless anger built by the devil, and outrageous delusion of the fear of the beast. The Lord of the flies perplexes and torments Simon when he tells him the truth, it asks a rhetorical question Simon, “"You knew, didn't you? I'm part of you? Close, close, close! I'm the reason why it's
Like Jack, the boys no longer value kindness, compassion, or empathy, Instead, they resort to violence and force. This is shown when the boys do their dance and chant “kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood!” (Golding 168) This chant is one of violence and savagery. When the boys see Simon crawling out of the jungle, they don’t care if it’s a human or a beast, their first instinct is just to kill. Another example of the boy’s lack of compassion and empathy, is when they participate in tying up Wilfred and allow Jack to beat him for no apparent reason. Jack’s tribe continues to slip further into savagery. They rebel against, and destroy everything that represents kindness, order and civilization. This is evident when Jack, Roger, and Maurice go to Ralph’s camp, taunt Piggy, steal his glasses to make a fire, and beat up the civilized group. Piggy’s death and the breaking of the conch also represent the group’s disintegration of humanity. Piggy says while holding the conch: “Which is better-to be a pack of painted niggers like you are, or be sensible like Ralph is?” (Golding 200) The tribe chooses savagery over order when Roger releases the boulder that kills Piggy, and shatters the conch. The evolution of savagery is complete when the group’s morals and values become the laws in which they abide
‘Kill the pig! Cut his throat! Kill the pig! Bash him in!’” (Golding, ). This quote demonstrates how Ralph’s ruthlessness takes control and how he begins to turn senseless. The transformation the boys undergo is substantial to the theme of loss of identity because it reveals how the island is truly affecting the boys mindsets. Ralph, who was chosen as leader because he showed confidence and fortitude soon became paranoid about hunting the beast. This caused Ralph to lose himself, and it allowed the ruthlessness to consume
...e and begins a wild chant, dancing around a fire. Towards the end of the book, the reader can fully see Jack’s brutal and savage nature as he orders a fire to kill Ralph. This extreme growth in Jack’s sinister side is very significant as this is what gives him the ability to have control over the group. It is also important as Golding is showing that human nature can be unforgiving and that there is a good and bad side to everyone.
Whether people will deny it or not, it is certainly apparent that human nature is all too evil; for there is a demon that lurks in everyone, just waiting to come out. Humans can build civilizations and attempt to deviate themselves from such basic instincts, yet nevertheless, evil is not something that they can run from; it is not something that they can defeat. William Golding knew this, and so in his book, Lord of the Flies, he presents so by portraying a microcosm of a society in the form of little British schoolboys. Their plane, in an attempt to escape from the raging war, came to its own demise as it was shot down, leaving the boys stranded on an island they know nothing of. Ralph, later on the leader of the boys, and with the help of
In the novel The Lord of the flies, William Golding illustrates the decline from innocence to savagery through a group of young boys. In the early chapters of The Lord of the Flies, the boys strive to maintain order. Throughout the book however, the organized civilization Ralph, Piggy, and Simon work diligently towards rapidly crumbles into pure, unadulterated, savagery. The book emphasized the idea that all humans have the potential for savagery, even the seemingly pure children of the book. The decline of all civilized behavior in these boys represents how easily all order can dissolve into chaos. The book’s antagonist, Jack, is the epitome of the evil present in us all. Conversely, the book’s protagonist, Ralph, and his only true ally, Piggy, both struggle to stifle their inner
Part of Golding’s intent was to demonstrate that the evil is not recognised in specific populations or situations. On the island the beast is manifest in the deadly tribal dances, war paint and manhunt: in the outside world the same lust for power and control plays out as a nuclear war. Throughout ‘The Lord of the Flies’ Golding has managed to show that evil is present in everyone.
Lord of the Flies provides one with a clear understanding of Golding's view of human nature. Whether this view is right or wrong is a point to be debated. This image Golding paints for the reader, that of humans being inherently bad, is a perspective not all people share. Lord of the Flies is but an abstract tool of Golding's to construct the idea of the inherent evil of human nature in the minds of his readers. To construct this idea of the inherent evil, Golding employs the symbolism of Simon, Ralph, the hunt and the island.
Circumstances which occur in particular are when Ralph mindlessly attacks Robert and foolishly joins into the dance. Having had a taste of meat, the pack of boys decide to hunt once again. As stated previously, things go awry as the group reenacts the hunting of the pig. Robert becomes the mock pig and the once noble Ralph is overcome with the “desire to squeeze and hurt” (Golding, 115). The boy appears eager to harm his fellow friend because it is a quality and want ingrained in him from birth. Subsequently, the celebratory dance turns into a cannibalistic murder. The seemingly innocent dance takes a dark spin as Simon enters the circle, unknowingly becoming the substitute pig. Ralph begins to feel the pull of evil once again, this time “thick, urgent, [and] blind” (Golding 152). The once pure boy has tainted his hands with the cruel ways of humanity and murdered. In brief, Golding has depicted a more accurate picture of mankind and given his audience a glimpse of their barbaric
William Golding’s Lord of the Flies portrays the lives of young British boys whose plane crashed on a deserted island and their struggle for survival. The task of survival was challenging for such young boys, while maintaining the civilized orders and humanity they were so accustomed too. These extremely difficult circumstances and the need for survival turned these innocent boys into the most primitive and savaged mankind could imagine. William Golding illustrates man’s capacity for evil, which is revealed in man’s inherent nature. Golding uses characterization, symbolism and style of writing to show man’s inhumanity and evil towards one another.
Golding has a rather pessimistic view of humanity having selfishness, impulsiveness and violence within, shown in his dark yet allegorical novel Lord of the Flies. Throughout the novel, the boys show great self-concern, act rashly, and pummel beasts, boys and bacon. The delicate facade of society is easily toppled by man's true beastly nature.
This paper will explore the three elements of innate evil within William Golding's, Lord of the Flies, the change from civilization to savagery, the beast, and the battle on the island. Golding represents evil through his character's, their actions, and symbolism. The island becomes the biggest representation of evil because it's where the entire novel takes place. The change from civilization to savagery is another representation of how easily people can change from good to evil under unusual circumstances. Golding also explores the evil within all humans though the beast, because it's their only chance for survival and survival instinct takes over. In doing so, this paper will prove that Lord of the Flies exemplifies the innate evil that exists within all humans.
When viewing the atrocities of today's world on television, the starving children, the wars, the injustices, one cannot help but think that evil is rampant in this day and age. However, people in society must be aware that evil is not an external force embodied in a society but resides within each person. Man has both good qualities and faults. He must come to control these faults in order to be a good person. In the novel Lord of the Flies, William Golding deals with this same evil which exists in all of his characters. With his mastery of such literary tools as structure, syntax, diction and imagery, The author creates a cheerless, sardonic tone to convey his own views of the nature of man and man’s role within society.
The novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding used a group of British boys beached on a deserted island to illustrate the malicious nature in mankind. Lord of the Flies dealt with the changes the boys underwent as they gradually adapted to the freedom from their society. William Golding's basic philosophy that man was inherently evil was expressed in such instances as the death of Simon, the beast within the boys, and the way Ralph was fervently hunted.
Even though humankind tries its hardest to prevent evil actions, eventually evil grows above all others. Humans are breathing in ignorance, evil is always brewing and waiting to ambush those in society with turned backs, represented in William Golding’s Lord of the Flies. One could rationalize that this isn’t the case, that good always conceals evil’s ugly face, and that evil is just a uncommon hole in the way. However, one’s outlook on society doesn’t exceed the grim reality of humankind’s natural inclinations. Particularly , how things are never as they seem, how easily humans can denounce their emotions and how humans choose to ignore tough situations in search for an easy answer.
In the book Lord of the Flies by William Golding, a group of young boys from England are evacuated out of their country due to a war. The plane is then shot down and results into a plane crash on a deserted island. The boys are left all alone with no adults, no supplies, and no one to come and rescue them. They are all on their own and have to establish a new “society”. The boys have to choose someone to govern them and that person ends up being Ralph, who had an internal struggle between what is right and wrong closer to the end of the novel. The boys turn into savages, killing each other, and showing their evil inside each of them. According to, William Golding man is inherently evil, evil is in all of us, but it is oppressed by society, and comes out when there is not anything to hold us back, civilization is what holds back evil from coming out, or it is what triggers evil inside of man.