Throughout the novel, Lord of the Flies, the characters display a variety of good and evil. Goulding uses the actions of Ralph, Jack, and Simon to illustrate the nature of good and evil which is present in everyone.
Ralph is shown as an overall good character who leads the boys in times of desperate measures. Goulding chooses to depict Ralph as a good character though these actions. Rarely does Golding show the evil side of Ralph. We see him building shelters for the kids on the island. He barely even knows these kids and is helping them while they lounge and eat Golding also shows him as the leader of the group who helps create order and maintain leadership. At a meeting of the boys Ralph suggested, “‘give the conch to the next person to speak. He can hold it when he’s speaking”’ (Golding 50). These ground rules help to keep order and show Ralph is doing what he can to help the boys get off the island. As a meeting was taking place Ralph suggests, “‘A fire. Make a fire”’ (Golding 38). This is what kept the idea of survival in his eyes lit. He was intrigued by the idea; which kept a sense of survival close. Golding mainly reveals the good in Ralph which is why there are so many actions to support his moral value. He can also be viewed as evil through few of his actions. (Oldsey)
Ralph’s evil is few and far between but, is still shown in Lord of the Flies. In the very beginning of the book Piggy and Ralph meet in the beginning of the book and Piggy specifically says to not tell anyone his name because people would make fun of him. Of course Ralph told the group which displays his evil inside him. More evil comes out in Ralph when he takes part in the killing of Simon. Ralph was caught in the moment when Simon stumbled into the g...
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...ction in the whole novel. Also Simons first instinct is to help which is why he is guided by impulse to do good; it comes naturally to him.
The evil inside all of the boys is what causes them to show actions of evil. It causes people to think maybe the beast is a representation of the evil inside them. Simon states, “‘maybe it’s [the beast] only us”’ (Golding 89). This backs up the idea that the beast could potentially be the evil. Arnold states in his article, “The beast is an externalization of the inner darkness in the children’s (man’s) nature” (Johnston). This justifies the idea that the beast is the evil inside of them. The beast is just a way of putting their evil into a figure. They use the beast and other objects like the parachutist to let evil take over them. The evil in them is shown through figures that the boys are taken over by fear of. (Johnston)
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.
Ralph was amongst the first few characters mentioned in the story and he quickly takes to the role of gathering the surviving boys by calling out to all that are in the area. He believes in leading with a democratic style, which gives people freedom of opinion, as well as equality to all group members. This is seen as Ralph uses Piggy’s idea for the conch to gathers the boys together in order to
In Lord of the Flies Ralph can be seen as the civilized character. During the novel, Ralph and the boys seem to be stranded on the island, somehow he devotes himself to convince all the other boys that they’re all going to be rescued. Therefore, he was elected as leader based on that reason. Ralph tries to continuously remind all the other boys to keep calm and tell them that the only way they will be rescued if the cooperate among each other. He also insist that they build a shelter and signal a fire. “Ralph waved the conch. Shut up! Wait! Listen! Here’s another thing, we can help them find us. If a ship comes near the island they may not notice us. So we must make smoke on top of the mountain. We must make a fire!” This quote symbolizes how Ralph wants the best for everyone and not just himself. This can be seen in chapter two “Fire on the Mountains”.
In the book “ Lord of the Flies” William Golding shows that human nature is basically evil through the symbolism he uses. The entire novel is full of hidden meaning, and many of the items and people are facets of human nature. The preponderance of the symbols represent either virtuous or wicked characteristics, and because the theme of the novel is evil human nature, the symbols that represent evil become more prevalent than the ones that represent estimable traits. The symbols that represent good properties include: the conch and the platform. The representations that have evil connotations are: the Pig’s head and the beast.
Ralph's actions as a character in the novel assist in reinforcing Golding's point that the prevalent force within man is evil. While Ralph struggles, albeit unsuccessfully, to maintain a civilized society on the island, he repeatedly tries to resist the temptation of evil inside him. As the island descends into chaos under Jack's tyrannical regime, the rest of the boys on the island let their hair become longer, at the same time becoming increasingly vicious. Ralph tries to ignore the temptation of having long hair, trying to push it back to maintain the good he has inside him. Ralph wants to “have a pair of scissors” to cut his hair, but the hair is coaxing him to let evil dominate (109). ...
He blows the conch and summons the deserted children together” (Li & Wu 1). While all the boys are interested mainly in playing and setting out to satisfy their own needs, Ralph is focused on building shelter and keeping a fire going to facilitate their rescue. As one can see, Ralph is “the representative of civilization and democracy, lives by rules, acts peacefully, and follows moral commands and values the good of the group, who dramatically reveals the condition of civilization and democracy in Golding’s time” (Li & Wu
The psychology of evil is vital to understanding why Jack and Ralph progress through the story as they do. In Lord of the Flies, evil is an undoubted key to life on the island. The main characters in William Golding’s Lord of the Flies demonstrate Zimbardo’s “Seven Social Processes that Grease the Slippery Slope of Evil,” most notable mindlessly taking the first step, blind obedience to authority, and de-individualization of self.
The Lord of the Flies by William Golding is tale of a group of young boys who become stranded on a deserted island after their plane crashes. Intertwined in this classic novel are many themes, most that relate to the inherent evil that exists in all human beings and the malicious nature of mankind. In The Lord of the Flies, Golding shows the boys' gradual transformation from being civilized, well-mannered people to savage, ritualistic beasts.
Imagine the world without judgement, rules, and those who enforce them, the key principles in a civilized society. How long would it take until desires and craving rebel against morality? With an authoritative power ceasing to exist, civilization would turn to chaos as the glory and thrill of savagery override ethics. In his novel Lord of the Flies, Golding demonstrates that without the restrictions of society, human instinct causes the boys to defy and shun social morals.
It can be said that Golding describes the moral of the book in relation to the scientific mechanics of society. This is found as a major theme in the book, which is actually fear. The boys on the island view this ideal in the form of the "beastie". The "beastie" is an unseen figure on the island, which is symbolized of the dead parachutist. This fear, however, represents the potential evil found in humans. Yet, this evil is only brought about amongst specific environmental conditions, which Golding synthesized in the book.
Man’s inhumanity to man literally means human’s cruelty towards other humans. This is a major theme of the story and is seen throughout it. Golding himself even states that “man produces evil as a bee produces honey.” A review of the book states how Golding portrays this “because the boys are suffering from the terrible disease of being human.” Piggy, Ralph, and Simon are the “rational good of mankind” portrayed in the book, and Jack and his hunters are the “evil savagery of mankind.” “The beast” is a symbol for the evil in all humans, and Simon and Piggy, or rationality, are almost helpless in his presence. Simon, though, in a book filled with evil, is a symbol of vision and salvation. He is the one to see the evil as it truly exists, in the hearts of all humanity. When he tries to tell the others of this truth, however, he is killed, much like Christ was trying to bring salvation to the ignorant. Simon being there gives us hope; the truth is available to those who seek it. In the book, Jack and his hunters become so evil that they end up killing two boys while on the island. Man’s tendencies towards evil in The Lord of the Flies are also compared to the book of Genesis in the Bible. Nature, beauty, and childhood can all be corrupted by the darkness within humankind. The ending of this truly dark and evil story tells readers how Golding feels about evil within society and where he thinks humanity is headed. Evil will triumph over the intellect and good, unless some force intercedes. In th...
While reading this story the reader is driven to cheer on Ralph for his good nature and strong leadership role. However, towards the end when even he joins in for the death of Simon shows the reader how even the good ones seem to be evil by nature. Although Ralph did his best to focus on getting off the island by using a signal fire, he probably should have stayed more focused in the beginning instead of adventuring with the others. Perhaps if he had been a stronger leader, more focused on keeping order and maintaining a civilized culture, then they could stayed functional on the
However, at the end of the book, he simply stood for a common human being. In the beginning of the story, before a formal introduction, Ralph was described simply as “a fair boy.” This already sets him out in a favorable light. Then it further describes how he is apparently good-looking and has the natural air of leadership. Of course, the conch played a big role when the kids voted him for leader, but his appearance played a large role as well. For the good first part of the book, Ralph has always symbolized leadership. As the story progresses and the kids became more and more distant from the idea of civilization, Ralph became more like a representation of common sense. Golding wrote, “‘I was chief, and you were going to do what I said. You talk. But you can’t even build huts-then you go off hunting and let the fire-’ He turned away, silent for a moment. Then his voice came again on a peak of feeling. ‘There was a ship-’” At this part, Ralph criticized Jack for not doing the necessary civilized things in favor of quenching his thirst for a hunt. As more and more of the kids become more and more uncivilized, Ralph became one of the last voices of common sense. When Simon and Piggy died, Ralph was the last one who retained that common sense and yearned for civilization. He had no leadership powers left anymore, and he stood for nothing more than a
It seems as though there is so much more evil than good in the world today. We hear of war and fighting 24/7 but we rarely hear about the good things that happen. Everyone is born with both good and bad within them. We, as humans, must choose which one we want to be. In The Lord of the Flies, Ralph is good while Jack is evil. Ralph represents the good side of us while Jack represents the evil side. Although sometimes it is easier to be evil, it pays off to be good. The novel is a perfect example of how all people are born with both sides. At the beginning, the boys choose the good side, with morals and civilization. But as the story moves on, the boys find it more exciting to be on the bad side. It shows that all the boys are torn between good and bad and there is a very thin line that separates both. We realize that people are born inherently good and bad because in life there are always right and wrong choices, children are born good but are easily influenced to do bad, and it is always harder to do what is right than what is wrong.
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.